Community ecology theory predicts the effects of agrochemical mixtures on aquatic biodiversity and ecosystem properties.

Autor: Halstead NT; Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620., McMahon TA, Johnson SA, Raffel TR, Romansic JM, Crumrine PW, Rohr JR
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Ecology letters [Ecol Lett] 2014 Aug; Vol. 17 (8), pp. 932-41. Date of Electronic Publication: 2014 May 09.
DOI: 10.1111/ele.12295
Abstrakt: Ecosystems are often exposed to mixtures of chemical contaminants, but the scientific community lacks a theoretical framework to predict the effects of mixtures on biodiversity and ecosystem properties. We conducted a freshwater mesocosm experiment to examine the effects of pairwise agrochemical mixtures [fertiliser, herbicide (atrazine), insecticide (malathion) and fungicide (chlorothalonil)] on 24 species- and seven ecosystem-level responses. As postulated, the responses of biodiversity and ecosystem properties to agrochemicals alone and in mixtures was predictable by integrating information on each functional group's (1) sensitivity to the chemicals (direct effects), (2) reproductive rates (recovery rates), (3) interaction strength with other functional groups (indirect effects) and (4) links to ecosystem properties. These results show that community ecology theory holds promise for predicting the effects of contaminant mixtures on biodiversity and ecosystem services and yields recommendations on which types of agrochemicals to apply together and separately to reduce their impacts on aquatic ecosystems.
(© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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