Title: | Chemical and natural stressors combined: from cryptic effects to population extinction |
Author(s): | Gergs A; Zenker A; Grimm V; Preuss TG; |
Address: | "Department of Environmental, Social and Spatial Change, Roskilde University, Universitetsvej 1, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark. gergs@ruc.dk" |
ISSN/ISBN: | 2045-2322 (Electronic) 2045-2322 (Linking) |
Abstract: | "In addition to natural stressors, populations are increasingly exposed to chemical pollutants released into the environment. We experimentally demonstrate the loss of resilience for Daphnia magna populations that are exposed to a combination of natural and chemical stressors even though effects on population size of a single stressor were cryptic, i.e. hard to detect statistically. Data on Daphnia population demography and along with model-based exploration of our predator-prey system revealed that direct trophic interactions changed the population size-structure and thereby increased population vulnerability to the toxicant which acts in a size selective manner. Moreover, population vulnerability to the toxicant increases with predator size and predation intensity whereas indirect trait-mediated interactions via predator kairomones may buffer chemical effects to a certain extent. Our study demonstrates that population size can be a poor endpoint for risk assessments of chemicals and that ignoring disturbance interactions can lead to severe underestimation of extinction risk" |
Notes: | "PubMed-not-MEDLINEGergs, Andre Zenker, Armin Grimm, Volker Preuss, Thomas G eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2013/06/21 Sci Rep. 2013; 3:2036. doi: 10.1038/srep02036" |