Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1038/s41598-018-21219-x
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Interactions between predation and disturbances shape prey communities
Author KarakoƧ, C.; Radchuk, V.; Harms, H.; Chatzinotas, A.
Source Titel Scientific Reports
Year 2018
Department UMB; iDiv
Volume 8
Page From art. 2968
Language englisch
Supplements https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41598-018-21219-x/MediaObjects/41598_2018_21219_MOESM1_ESM.pdf
Keywords Biodiversity ;Community ecology
UFZ wide themes RU3;
Abstract Ecological disturbances are important drivers of biodiversity patterns. Many biodiversity studies rely on endpoint measurements instead of following the dynamics that lead to those outcomes and testing ecological drivers individually, often considering only a single trophic level. Manipulating multiple factors (biotic and abiotic) in controlled settings and measuring multiple descriptors of multi-trophic communities could enlighten our understanding of the context dependency of ecological disturbances. Using model microbial communities, we experimentally tested the effects of imposed disturbances (i.e. increased dilution simulating density-independent mortality as press or pulse disturbances coupled with resource deprivation) on bacterial abundance, diversity and community structure in the absence or presence of a protist predator. We monitored the communities immediately before and after imposing the disturbance and four days after resuming the pre-disturbance dilution regime to infer resistance and recovery properties. The results highlight that bacterial abundance, diversity and community composition were more affected by predation than by disturbance type, resource loss or the interaction of these factors. Predator abundance was strongly affected by the type of disturbance imposed, causing temporary relief of predation pressure. Importantly, prey community composition differed significantly at different phases, emphasizing that endpoint measurements are insufficient for understanding the recovery of communities.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=20014
KarakoƧ, C., Radchuk, V., Harms, H., Chatzinotas, A. (2018):
Interactions between predation and disturbances shape prey communities
Sci. Rep. 8 , art. 2968 10.1038/s41598-018-21219-x