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Ecological subsidies: a conceptual framework for integrating ecosystem and exposure studies in linked aquatic-terrestrial systems
Citation:
WALTERS, DAVID M., J. Blais, K. M. FRITZ, J. Kraus, T. Schmidt, AND J. Smol. Ecological subsidies: a conceptual framework for integrating ecosystem and exposure studies in linked aquatic-terrestrial systems. Presented at Society for Freshwater Science, Louisville, KY, May 20 - 24, 2012.
Impact/Purpose:
The goal of this research is to develop methods and indicators that are useful for evaluating the condition of aquatic communities, for assessing the restoration of aquatic communities in response to mitigation and best management practices, and for determining the exposure of aquatic communities to different classes of stressors (i.e., pesticides, sedimentation, habitat alteration).
Description:
Ecology and ecotoxicology share common goals - tracing and quantifying material flux in the environment. Bridging these disciplines is challenging because their practitioners have slightly different methods, terminologies and objectives. For example, ecologists strive to identify pathways of energy flow and how these flows affect properties like animal diversity whereas ecotoxicologists measure flow pathways to better characterize wildlife exposures. Here, we illustrate how the concept of ecological subsidies (that material fluxes from donor systems affect ecosystem processes in recipient systems) can bridge ecosystem and exposure science and provide a better understanding of contaminant and resource movements. Integrating these disciplines would allow us to better address such questions as: Under what conditions are moving resources important drivers of contaminant flux and under what conditions do contaminants alter the quality and quantity of resources moving between systems? These questions are particularly relevant in linked aquatic-terrestrial systems because (1) aquatic systems (and their sediments) are major repositories for contaminants, and (2) there is a globally accepted model that productive aquatic systems are sources of abundant, high-quality resources to terrestrial systems.