Effects of multiple stressors on river biofilms depend on the time scale
dc.contributor.author
dc.date.accessioned
2020-06-25T09:41:40Z
dc.date.available
2020-06-25T09:41:40Z
dc.date.issued
2019-11-01
dc.identifier.issn
2045-2322
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dc.description.abstract
Global change exposes ecosystems to a myriad of stressors differing in their spatial (i.e. surface of stressed area) and temporal (i.e. exposure time) components. Among freshwater ecosystems, rivers and streams are subject to physical, chemical and biological stressors, which interact with each other and might produce diverging effects depending on exposure time. We conducted a manipulative experiment using 24 artificial streams to examine the individual and combined effects of warming (1.6 °C increase in water temperature), hydrological stress (simulated low-flow situation) and chemical stress caused by pesticide exposure (15.1–156.7 ng L−1) on river biofilms. We examined whether co-occurring stressors could lead to non-additive effects, and if these differed at two different exposure times. Specifically, structural and functional biofilm responses were assessed after 48 hours (short-term effects) and after 30 days (long-term effects) of exposure. Hydrological stress caused strong negative impacts on river biofilms, whereas effects of warming and pesticide exposure were less intense, although increasing on the long term. Most stressor combinations (71%) resulted in non-significant interactions, suggesting overall additive effects, but some non-additive interactions also occurred. Among non-additive interactions, 59% were classified as antagonisms after short-term exposure to the different stressor combinations, rising to 86% at long term. Our results indicate that a 30-day exposure period to multiple stressors increases the frequency of antagonistic interactions compared to a 48-hour exposure to the same conditions. Overall, the impacts of multiple-stressor occurrences appear to be hardly predictable from individual effects, highlighting the need to consider temporal components such as duration when predicting the effects of multiple stressors
dc.format.mimetype
application/pdf
dc.language.iso
eng
dc.publisher
Nature Research
dc.relation.isformatof
Reproducció digital del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-52320-4
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Scientific Reports, 2019, vol. 9, art. núm. 15810
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Articles publicats (ICRA)
dc.rights
Attribution 4.0 International
dc.rights.uri
dc.subject
dc.title
Effects of multiple stressors on river biofilms depend on the time scale
dc.type
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.rights.accessRights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.relation.projectID
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/603629/EU/MANAGING THE EFFECTS OF MULTIPLE STRESSORS ON AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS UNDER WATER SCARCITY/GLOBAQUA
dc.type.version
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
dc.identifier.doi
dc.type.peerreviewed
peer-reviewed
dc.relation.FundingProgramme
dc.relation.ProjectAcronym