Global understanding of how plant diversity responds to multiple, co-occurring global change drivers (e.g., elevated CO2, climate change, and nitrogen addition) remains fragmented, largely due to the highly context-dependent nature of responses and disparate experimental evidence. To address this, we conducted a global meta-analysis synthesising 6832 control-treatment comparisons from 465 studies. We found that for individual drivers, elevated CO2 had no effect on species richness, whereas increased precipitation enhanced it. In contrast, warming, decreased precipitation, and nitrogen addition generally reduced richness, with nitrogen addition consistently decreasing Shannon diversity and Pielou evenness. When drivers combined, warming-driven losses were offset by elevated CO2 and increased precipitation and those of nitrogen addition were counteracted by both increased and decreased precipitation. Interaction analyses further revealed that additive effects between drivers predominated, though significant antagonisms emerged for specific pairs. Importantly, these responses were strongly context-dependent, being mediated by a combination of site-specific conditions (i.e., local climate, soil, and background diversity) and experimental methodologies (i.e., treatment duration, intensity, and plot and sampling area). Our synthesis underscores that predicting future biodiversity trajectories necessitates that models evolve beyond main effects to explicitly represent both multi-driver interactions and the critical, often-dominant, moderating role of local contexts and experimental conditions.
{"title":"Global Synthesis Reveals Context-Dependent Plant Diversity Responses to CO2, Climate Change, and Nitrogen.","authors":"Mengmei Zheng,Jian Song,Fei Yu,Mark J Hovenden","doi":"10.1111/ele.70352","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70352","url":null,"abstract":"Global understanding of how plant diversity responds to multiple, co-occurring global change drivers (e.g., elevated CO2, climate change, and nitrogen addition) remains fragmented, largely due to the highly context-dependent nature of responses and disparate experimental evidence. To address this, we conducted a global meta-analysis synthesising 6832 control-treatment comparisons from 465 studies. We found that for individual drivers, elevated CO2 had no effect on species richness, whereas increased precipitation enhanced it. In contrast, warming, decreased precipitation, and nitrogen addition generally reduced richness, with nitrogen addition consistently decreasing Shannon diversity and Pielou evenness. When drivers combined, warming-driven losses were offset by elevated CO2 and increased precipitation and those of nitrogen addition were counteracted by both increased and decreased precipitation. Interaction analyses further revealed that additive effects between drivers predominated, though significant antagonisms emerged for specific pairs. Importantly, these responses were strongly context-dependent, being mediated by a combination of site-specific conditions (i.e., local climate, soil, and background diversity) and experimental methodologies (i.e., treatment duration, intensity, and plot and sampling area). Our synthesis underscores that predicting future biodiversity trajectories necessitates that models evolve beyond main effects to explicitly represent both multi-driver interactions and the critical, often-dominant, moderating role of local contexts and experimental conditions.","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"19 1","pages":"e70352"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147351076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jackie E Shay,Lillie K Pennington,Daniel J Toews,Elizabeth Green,Jason P Sexton
Understanding adaptation at species' climate limits is key for predicting evolutionary and ecological responses to climate change. In montane environments, warming may drive species distribution shifts, yet the adaptive potential of populations at leading and rear edges remains unclear. Few studies have simultaneously tested both fitness and local adaptation across elevational range limits. We conducted common garden experiments across the range of Erythranthe laciniata, an annual plant endemic to the Sierra Nevada, to test the disequilibrium hypothesis (higher fitness at leading edges, signalling range shifts) and the rear-leading edge hypothesis (lower adaptive differentiation at the leading edges due to founder effects and limited genetic variation). Fitness was highest at the high-elevation garden, supporting potential range expansion and revealing strong high-elevation climate adaptation, challenging assumptions of low adaptive potential at leading edges. This study provides a rare empirical test of both hypotheses and highlights the conservation importance of high-elevation edge populations.
{"title":"The Leading Edge Matters Too: Fitness and the Expression of Adaptive Differentiation Are Greatest at the High-Elevation Edge of a Species' Range.","authors":"Jackie E Shay,Lillie K Pennington,Daniel J Toews,Elizabeth Green,Jason P Sexton","doi":"10.1111/ele.70329","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70329","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding adaptation at species' climate limits is key for predicting evolutionary and ecological responses to climate change. In montane environments, warming may drive species distribution shifts, yet the adaptive potential of populations at leading and rear edges remains unclear. Few studies have simultaneously tested both fitness and local adaptation across elevational range limits. We conducted common garden experiments across the range of Erythranthe laciniata, an annual plant endemic to the Sierra Nevada, to test the disequilibrium hypothesis (higher fitness at leading edges, signalling range shifts) and the rear-leading edge hypothesis (lower adaptive differentiation at the leading edges due to founder effects and limited genetic variation). Fitness was highest at the high-elevation garden, supporting potential range expansion and revealing strong high-elevation climate adaptation, challenging assumptions of low adaptive potential at leading edges. This study provides a rare empirical test of both hypotheses and highlights the conservation importance of high-elevation edge populations.","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"15 1","pages":"e70329"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147439483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jonathan D Gordon,Brennen Fagan,Jonathan Finch,Lindsey Gillson,Nicky Milner,Chris D Thomas
The current prevailing perception is that human impacts on the biological realm have been overwhelmingly negative. Here, we test this narrative by considering the consequences for aspects of floristic diversity of the 'Black Death era' (1300-1400 ce), where one third of Europe's population died within half a decade. Based on evidence from 109 pollen records spanning the Common Era, we find increasing floristic diversity from 0 to ~1300 ce as human populations increased, followed by rapid and substantial diversity reductions during the famine- and disease-driven human mortality events of the 'Black Death era'. As human populations recovered following the mortality shock, diversity also recovered. Strikingly, it was landscapes characterized by cereal cultivation that generated both the overall Common Era increases and the Black Death era declines in diversity. The highest diversity levels were achieved in human-generated, mosaic landscapes, highlighting the integral role of human action in biodiverse European landscapes.
{"title":"Black Death Land Abandonment Drove European Diversity Losses.","authors":"Jonathan D Gordon,Brennen Fagan,Jonathan Finch,Lindsey Gillson,Nicky Milner,Chris D Thomas","doi":"10.1111/ele.70325","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70325","url":null,"abstract":"The current prevailing perception is that human impacts on the biological realm have been overwhelmingly negative. Here, we test this narrative by considering the consequences for aspects of floristic diversity of the 'Black Death era' (1300-1400 ce), where one third of Europe's population died within half a decade. Based on evidence from 109 pollen records spanning the Common Era, we find increasing floristic diversity from 0 to ~1300 ce as human populations increased, followed by rapid and substantial diversity reductions during the famine- and disease-driven human mortality events of the 'Black Death era'. As human populations recovered following the mortality shock, diversity also recovered. Strikingly, it was landscapes characterized by cereal cultivation that generated both the overall Common Era increases and the Black Death era declines in diversity. The highest diversity levels were achieved in human-generated, mosaic landscapes, highlighting the integral role of human action in biodiverse European landscapes.","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"61 1","pages":"e70325"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147350306","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brian J McGill,Faye Moyes,Maria Dornelas,Nicholas J Gotelli,Anne E Magurran
Temporal trends in biodiversity metrics such as species richness and total community abundance often average close to zero across many assemblages. However, little attention has been given to characterising the variation in trends such as the overall shape of the distribution. For a variety of biodiversity metrics and large data sets, we find that measured rates of change are not well fit by the Normal Distribution but are better characterised by leptokurtic, fat-tailed distributions. The best fit overall is to the Subbotin, with the special case of the Laplace Distribution usually performing well. These findings can improve statistical analysis and simulations, but the most important implication of leptokurtosis is that ecologists should pay more attention to the small number of systems that are experiencing strong temporal trends, rather than focusing on the large majority of cases that exhibit weak trends.
{"title":"Biodiversity Trends Show an Excess of Both Near Stasis and of Very Large Change.","authors":"Brian J McGill,Faye Moyes,Maria Dornelas,Nicholas J Gotelli,Anne E Magurran","doi":"10.1111/ele.70353","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70353","url":null,"abstract":"Temporal trends in biodiversity metrics such as species richness and total community abundance often average close to zero across many assemblages. However, little attention has been given to characterising the variation in trends such as the overall shape of the distribution. For a variety of biodiversity metrics and large data sets, we find that measured rates of change are not well fit by the Normal Distribution but are better characterised by leptokurtic, fat-tailed distributions. The best fit overall is to the Subbotin, with the special case of the Laplace Distribution usually performing well. These findings can improve statistical analysis and simulations, but the most important implication of leptokurtosis is that ecologists should pay more attention to the small number of systems that are experiencing strong temporal trends, rather than focusing on the large majority of cases that exhibit weak trends.","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"28 1","pages":"e70353"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147393778","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ann E Finneran, César A Uribe, Kai M Hung, Chia Hsieh, Matthew A Wuensch, Matthew A McCary, Lydia Beaudrot
Primary productivity and trophic interactions are fundamentally linked. However, it remains largely unknown how food web structure varies along primary productivity gradients at continental scales or how the influence of primary productivity on food webs varies within regions. Furthermore, anthropogenic pressure threatens the integrity of food webs globally with potentially predictable food web disassembly. Here, we test how plant productivity and anthropogenic fragmentation predict the pairwise similarity of food web networks within and among regions for 127 protected areas spanning deserts to rainforests. We measured food web structural equivalence independent of species identities and accounted for inherent scaling of food web structure with richness and connectance. Food webs were significantly more similar at sites with similar plant productivity at the continental scale and within woodland savannas, and in tropical rainforests with similar anthropogenic fragmentation. These empirical results inform how food web structure mediates biodiversity and ecosystem function.
{"title":"Food Web Similarity Increases With Productivity Similarity at a Continental Scale.","authors":"Ann E Finneran, César A Uribe, Kai M Hung, Chia Hsieh, Matthew A Wuensch, Matthew A McCary, Lydia Beaudrot","doi":"10.1111/ele.70368","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ele.70368","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Primary productivity and trophic interactions are fundamentally linked. However, it remains largely unknown how food web structure varies along primary productivity gradients at continental scales or how the influence of primary productivity on food webs varies within regions. Furthermore, anthropogenic pressure threatens the integrity of food webs globally with potentially predictable food web disassembly. Here, we test how plant productivity and anthropogenic fragmentation predict the pairwise similarity of food web networks within and among regions for 127 protected areas spanning deserts to rainforests. We measured food web structural equivalence independent of species identities and accounted for inherent scaling of food web structure with richness and connectance. Food webs were significantly more similar at sites with similar plant productivity at the continental scale and within woodland savannas, and in tropical rainforests with similar anthropogenic fragmentation. These empirical results inform how food web structure mediates biodiversity and ecosystem function.</p>","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"29 3","pages":"e70368"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13003585/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147484005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Erin T H Crockett,Qinfeng Guo,Jeff W Atkins,Ge Sun,Kevin M Potter,Jennifer K Costanza,Scott V Ollinger,Christopher W Woodall,Steven McNulty,Carl Trettin,Justin Holgerson,Jingfeng Xiao
Biodiversity can enhance forest resistance to drought, but the forms of diversity involved and conditions under which diversity confers resistance remain unclear. We used Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plot data to examine whether four variables-structural richness (variation in tree heights, stand density, canopy cover and/or spatial heterogeneity), species richness (number of tree species), structural evenness and species evenness-are associated with the resistance of net primary productivity to drought and whether these relationships change with drought severity and by ecoregion. Structural richness was positively associated and species evenness was negatively associated with resistance, but the strength of these relationships varied by ecoregion. Relationships between structural richness and resistance and between species evenness and resistance became stronger under more severe droughts, supporting the stress gradient hypothesis. Forest managers cannot readily change abiotic conditions but could increase structural richness and select certain species to enhance forest resistance to drought.
{"title":"Influences of Structural and Species Diversity on Forest Resistance to Drought.","authors":"Erin T H Crockett,Qinfeng Guo,Jeff W Atkins,Ge Sun,Kevin M Potter,Jennifer K Costanza,Scott V Ollinger,Christopher W Woodall,Steven McNulty,Carl Trettin,Justin Holgerson,Jingfeng Xiao","doi":"10.1111/ele.70351","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70351","url":null,"abstract":"Biodiversity can enhance forest resistance to drought, but the forms of diversity involved and conditions under which diversity confers resistance remain unclear. We used Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plot data to examine whether four variables-structural richness (variation in tree heights, stand density, canopy cover and/or spatial heterogeneity), species richness (number of tree species), structural evenness and species evenness-are associated with the resistance of net primary productivity to drought and whether these relationships change with drought severity and by ecoregion. Structural richness was positively associated and species evenness was negatively associated with resistance, but the strength of these relationships varied by ecoregion. Relationships between structural richness and resistance and between species evenness and resistance became stronger under more severe droughts, supporting the stress gradient hypothesis. Forest managers cannot readily change abiotic conditions but could increase structural richness and select certain species to enhance forest resistance to drought.","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"14 1","pages":"e70351"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147359026","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tyler C Coverdale,Mahesh Sankaran,Andrew B Davies,Jayashree Ratnam,Benjamin J Wigley,David J Augustine
The global decline or extinction of large mammals over the last 50,000 years has caused sweeping changes in the ecosystems they once inhabited. Trophic rewilding holds promise for returning lost ecological function and restoring processes that support ecosystem resilience, but there remains considerable uncertainty surrounding the efficacy of rewilding. To address this uncertainty, we experimentally excluded a diverse African savanna mammal community from replicated plots for 18 years to simulate extinction. Herbivore exclusion caused a rapid increase in tree cover, which was underlain by shifts in community composition and increases in canopy area, growth rate and density. We then removed the exclosure fences, simulating rewilding. Reintroducing herbivores rapidly reduced tree cover and largely reversed individual phenotypic shifts, but tree density remained elevated despite increased mortality rates after reintroduction. Our results suggest that even short-term extirpation can cause complex shifts in vegetation communities, some of which may be resistant to rewilding.
{"title":"Responses of African Savanna Trees to Large Herbivore Extinction and Rewilding.","authors":"Tyler C Coverdale,Mahesh Sankaran,Andrew B Davies,Jayashree Ratnam,Benjamin J Wigley,David J Augustine","doi":"10.1111/ele.70360","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70360","url":null,"abstract":"The global decline or extinction of large mammals over the last 50,000 years has caused sweeping changes in the ecosystems they once inhabited. Trophic rewilding holds promise for returning lost ecological function and restoring processes that support ecosystem resilience, but there remains considerable uncertainty surrounding the efficacy of rewilding. To address this uncertainty, we experimentally excluded a diverse African savanna mammal community from replicated plots for 18 years to simulate extinction. Herbivore exclusion caused a rapid increase in tree cover, which was underlain by shifts in community composition and increases in canopy area, growth rate and density. We then removed the exclosure fences, simulating rewilding. Reintroducing herbivores rapidly reduced tree cover and largely reversed individual phenotypic shifts, but tree density remained elevated despite increased mortality rates after reintroduction. Our results suggest that even short-term extirpation can cause complex shifts in vegetation communities, some of which may be resistant to rewilding.","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"1 1","pages":"e70360"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147439482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Katie R N Florko,Tyler R Ross,Steven H Ferguson,Joseph M Northrup,Martyn E Obbard,Gregory W Thiemann,David J Yurkowski,Marie Auger-Méthé
Prey availability and predation risk drive animal distribution, movement, and foraging ecology, yet studies rarely analyse multiple predator-prey levels together. Understanding how predators optimise risk-reward tradeoffs is important for species conservation and management, especially in systems facing extreme ecosystem change. We examined how top-down (modelled polar bear habitat selection) and bottom-up (modelled fish diversity) processes influence the habitat selection, movement, and foraging behaviour of 26 ringed seals (greater than 70,000 dives and 10,000 locations over 877 seal days). Our results suggest that polar bears spatially restrict seal movements and reduce the time seals spend foraging, potentially decreasing foraging success. Seals were more likely to be present and dive longer in high-predation risk areas when prey diversity was high. Further, seal habitat selection models excluding polar bears overestimated core space use. These findings illustrate the dynamic tradeoffs that mesopredators make when balancing predation risk and resource acquisition.
{"title":"Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processes Jointly Explain Mesopredator Movement and Foraging Ecology.","authors":"Katie R N Florko,Tyler R Ross,Steven H Ferguson,Joseph M Northrup,Martyn E Obbard,Gregory W Thiemann,David J Yurkowski,Marie Auger-Méthé","doi":"10.1111/ele.70364","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70364","url":null,"abstract":"Prey availability and predation risk drive animal distribution, movement, and foraging ecology, yet studies rarely analyse multiple predator-prey levels together. Understanding how predators optimise risk-reward tradeoffs is important for species conservation and management, especially in systems facing extreme ecosystem change. We examined how top-down (modelled polar bear habitat selection) and bottom-up (modelled fish diversity) processes influence the habitat selection, movement, and foraging behaviour of 26 ringed seals (greater than 70,000 dives and 10,000 locations over 877 seal days). Our results suggest that polar bears spatially restrict seal movements and reduce the time seals spend foraging, potentially decreasing foraging success. Seals were more likely to be present and dive longer in high-predation risk areas when prey diversity was high. Further, seal habitat selection models excluding polar bears overestimated core space use. These findings illustrate the dynamic tradeoffs that mesopredators make when balancing predation risk and resource acquisition.","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"68 1","pages":"e70364"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147454602","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Correction to 'Domestication-Admixed Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) Establish a Productive Population in the Wild'.","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/ele.70356","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70356","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"108 1","pages":"e70356"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147393999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
David M Costello,Olufemi J Akinnifesi,Renn C Schipper,Paisley Kostick,Jordyn T Stoll,Scott D Tiegs,Amy M Marcarelli,Sally A Entrekin,Raven L Bier,Krista A Capps,Dean E Fletcher
Metals are essential for microbial metabolism, yet their role as limiting nutrients in freshwater streams remains poorly understood. We quantified the prevalence of metal and nutrient (co-)limitation of primary producers in 41 streams. Metal limitation was widespread with Fe limitation eliciting the strongest and most consistent biomass responses (50% of streams). Zn limitation was also common (33% of streams), marking the first evidence of Zn-limited stream biofilms at this spatial scale. Metals were often co-limiting with N and P, highlighting interactions between macro- and micronutrients. Diatoms were more responsive to Zn and cyanobacteria reached higher biomass with N and P enrichment, emphasizing divergent nutrient responses among taxa. Predictive modelling indicated that Fe and Zn limitation could be forecasted from environmental variables related to macronutrient supply. These findings challenge the long-standing assumption that stream primary producers are rarely metal-limited and suggest that trace metals may play an underappreciated role in regulating stream productivity, community composition and nutrient cycling.
{"title":"Anaemic Streams: Iron and Essential Trace Metals Frequently Limit Primary Producer Biomass.","authors":"David M Costello,Olufemi J Akinnifesi,Renn C Schipper,Paisley Kostick,Jordyn T Stoll,Scott D Tiegs,Amy M Marcarelli,Sally A Entrekin,Raven L Bier,Krista A Capps,Dean E Fletcher","doi":"10.1111/ele.70357","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70357","url":null,"abstract":"Metals are essential for microbial metabolism, yet their role as limiting nutrients in freshwater streams remains poorly understood. We quantified the prevalence of metal and nutrient (co-)limitation of primary producers in 41 streams. Metal limitation was widespread with Fe limitation eliciting the strongest and most consistent biomass responses (50% of streams). Zn limitation was also common (33% of streams), marking the first evidence of Zn-limited stream biofilms at this spatial scale. Metals were often co-limiting with N and P, highlighting interactions between macro- and micronutrients. Diatoms were more responsive to Zn and cyanobacteria reached higher biomass with N and P enrichment, emphasizing divergent nutrient responses among taxa. Predictive modelling indicated that Fe and Zn limitation could be forecasted from environmental variables related to macronutrient supply. These findings challenge the long-standing assumption that stream primary producers are rarely metal-limited and suggest that trace metals may play an underappreciated role in regulating stream productivity, community composition and nutrient cycling.","PeriodicalId":161,"journal":{"name":"Ecology Letters","volume":"6 1","pages":"e70357"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147374155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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