Collaborative Research: RUI: Effects of N and P deposition on stoichiometry, structure, and function of whole-aquatic ecosystems (Bromeliaceae and Sarraceniaceae)

Project Details

Description

Human activity has more than doubled global nitrogen and phosphorus input to the biosphere. Nitrogen loading from fossil fuels and fertilizer is much larger in North America and Europe than in the Southern Hemisphere. Phosphorus loading comes mostly from agriculture. It is smaller in the Northern Hemisphere, but especially important in the tropics. In tropical forests of Central America and Asia, however, nitrogen input is increasing and will continue to do so in coming decades. Changes in the input of these critically important elements are profoundly changing ecosystem structure and function. Ecosystem responses to these changes remain poorly understood. This project will fill this knowledge gap by studying the miniature ecosystems that exist within pitcher plants. These plants are widely distributed across the tropics. They are useful as model environments to study the effects of changes in nitrogen and phosphorus inputs on ecosystem structure and function. This research will use pitcher plants to advance our understanding of ecosystem responses to environmental changes. Results of this work will inform management of ecosystems subject to changing nitrogen and phosphorus loading. It will also train graduate and undergraduate students, and will engage large numbers of high school students in the scientific process.

This study will quantify elemental patterns by conducting standardized field surveys of phytotelmata ecosystems across large geographical gradients of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) deposition. Leaves of tank bromeliads and pitcher plants form compartments that fill with rainwater. These compartments capture leaf litter and arthropod prey, which provide the energy to support a persistent food web of invertebrates. These systems provide an opportunity to test for nutrient deposition effects on the standing stocks and fluxes of nutrients for the whole ecosystem and within different ecosystem sub-modules (e.g., bromeliad and pitcher tissue, periphyton, water, and macroinvertebrates). This study will reveal whether whole-ecosystem stoichiometry reflects local availability of N and P, or whether stoichiometric ratios are buffered across deposition gradients. Overall, the well-defined aquatic habitats created by phytotelmata and their broad geographic distribution allow the researchers to examine large-scale patterns of diversity, stoichiometry, and ecosystem function in a relatively invariant habitat. This research will give insight into the geography of N and P within and across replicated whole ecosystems. It will also test the ecosystem-level consequences of increased nutrient inputs at scales difficult or impossible to achieve in more traditional aquatic habitats.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

StatusFinished
Effective start/end date7/1/186/30/23

Funding

  • National Science Foundation: $150,000.00

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