dc.contributor.author | Hall, Spencer R. | |
dc.contributor.author | Smith, Val H. | |
dc.contributor.author | Lytle, David A. | |
dc.contributor.author | Leibold, Mathew A. | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2015-02-13T19:18:13Z | |
dc.date.available | 2015-02-13T19:18:13Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2005 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Hall, S. R., Smith, V. H., Lytle, D. A., & Leibold, M. A. (2005). Constraints on primary producer n:p stoichiometry along n:p supply ratio gradients. Ecology, 86(7), 1894–1904. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/04-1045 | en_US |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1808/16669 | |
dc.description.abstract | A current principle of ecological stoichiometry states that the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio (N:P) of primary producers should closely match that from environmental nutrient supplies. This hypothesis was tested using data from ponds in Michigan, USA, a freshwater mesocosm experiment, a synthesis of studies from diverse systems (cultures, lakes, streams, and marine and terrestrial environments), and simple dynamic models of producer growth and nutrient content. Unlike prior laboratory studies, the N:P stoichiometry of phytoplankton in Michigan ponds clustered around and below the Redfield ratio (7.2:1 by mass), despite wide variation in N:P supply ratios (2:1–63:1 by mass) and the presence of grazers. In a mesocosm experiment, the N:P stoichiometry of phytoplankton cells again deviated from a nearly 1:1 relationship with N:P supply. Phytoplankton seston exhibited lower N:P content than expected at high N:P supply ratios, and often higher N:P content than anticipated at low N:P supply ratios, regardless of herbivore presence. Similar deviations consistently occur in the N:P stoichiometry of algae and plants in the other diverse systems. The models predicted that both high loss rates (sinking, grazing) and physiological limits to nutrient storage capacity could attenuate producer stoichiometry. In the future, research should evaluate how limits to elemental plasticity of producers can influence the role of stoichiometry in structuring communities and ecosystem processes. | en_US |
dc.description.sponsorship | We thank T. Darcy-Hall, A. Downing, P. Geddes, and N. Howe for help with tank and field sampling; and C. Klausmeier, G. Mittelbach, two anonymous reviewers, and Editor P. Leavitt for very helpful comments on the manuscript. We analyzed the C:N samples in the Robertson lab at Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) with the help of A. Corbin and T. Darcy-Hall. Thanks also go to G. Mittelbach, N. Consolatti, A. Tessier, and P. Woodruff at KBS for technical support. M. Bishop of the Michigan DNR permitted us to sample ponds in Barry and Middleville State Game Areas. Primary funding came from NSF DEB 98-15799 to Mathew A. Leibold and Val H. Smith. Spencer R. Hall was also supported by an NSF Graduate Fellowship, a University of Chicago Harper Fellowship and Hinds Fund Award, a Department of Education GAANN training grant, and a NSF DDIG (DEB 01-05014, P.I., Mathew Leibold). Some of the data described in this article were produced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through its Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP). This is KBS contribution #1169. | en_US |
dc.publisher | Ecological Society of America | en_US |
dc.subject | aquatic ecosystems | en_US |
dc.subject | food webs | en_US |
dc.subject | grazers | en_US |
dc.subject | nitrogen: phosporus ratio | en_US |
dc.subject | N:P | en_US |
dc.subject | primary producers | en_US |
dc.subject | quota saturation | en_US |
dc.subject | Redfield ratio | en_US |
dc.subject | stoichiometry | en_US |
dc.title | Constraints on primary producer n:p stoichiometry along n:p supply ratio gradients | en_US |
dc.type | Article | |
kusw.kuauthor | Smith, Val H. | |
kusw.kudepartment | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | en_US |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1890/04-1045 | |
kusw.oaversion | Scholarly/refereed, publisher version | |
kusw.oapolicy | This item does not meet KU Open Access policy criteria. | |
dc.rights.accessrights | openAccess | |