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Experimenting with ecosystem interaction networks in search of threshold potentials in real-world marine ecosystems Thrush, S.F.; Hewitt, J.E.; Parkes, S.; Lohrer, A.M.; Pilditch, C.A.; Woodin, S.A.; Wethey, D.S.; Chiantore, M.; Asnaghi, V.; De Juan, S.; Kraan, C.; Rodil, I.; Savage, C.; Van Colen, C. (2014). Experimenting with ecosystem interaction networks in search of threshold potentials in real-world marine ecosystems. Ecology 95(6): 1451-1457. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/13-1879.1 In: Ecology. Ecological Society of America: Brooklyn, NY. ISSN 0012-9658; e-ISSN 1939-9170

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Available in	Authors
VLIZ: Open access 257875 [ download pdf ]

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Keywords

Bifurcations Bivalves Properties > Physical properties > Turbidity PSE, New Zealand, North I., Manukau Harbour Thresholds Austrovenus stutchburyi (W. Wood, 1828) [WoRMS]; Tellina liliana Iredale, 1915 [WoRMS] Marine/Coastal

Author keywords

Austrovenus stutchburyi; Break points; Ecosystem dynamics; Macomona liliana; Marine sandflats

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Authors		Top
Thrush, S.F. Hewitt, J.E. Parkes, S. Lohrer, A.M. Pilditch, C.A.	Woodin, S.A. Wethey, D.S. Chiantore, M. Asnaghi, V. De Juan, S.	Kraan, C. Rodil, I. Savage, C. Van Colen, C.

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Abstract

Thresholds profoundly affect our understanding and management of ecosystem dynamics, but we have yet to develop practical techniques to assess the risk that thresholds will be crossed. Combining ecological knowledge of critical system interdependencies with a large-scale experiment, we tested for breaks in the ecosystem interaction network to identify threshold potential in real-world ecosystem dynamics. Our experiment with the bivalves Macomona liliana and Austrovenus stutchburyi on marine sandflats in New Zealand demonstrated that reductions in incident sunlight changed the interaction network between sediment biogeochemical fluxes, productivity, and macrofauna. By demonstrating loss of positive feedbacks and changes in the architecture of the network, we provide mechanistic evidence that stressors lead to break points in dynamics, which theory predicts predispose a system to a critical transition.

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