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Consumer-mediated nutrient dynamics of marine ecosystems under the wake of global change Increases in the frequency and severity of disturbance events as a result of global change are altering population and community dynamics of marine animals. Given that animals are key recyclers of nutrients in many ecosystems, these ecological impacts may have consequences for ecosystem… Read more »

The Flux Gradient Project: Understanding the methane sink-source capacity of natural ecosystems While biogenic CH4 emissions are thought to be of a similar magnitude to anthropogenic emissions, biogenic emissions remain the most uncertain source of the global CH4 budget. The vast areas with relatively small uptake and emission rates have been largely understudied but could… Read more »

Interannual variability and long term change in pelagic community structure across a latitudinal gradient Recent synthesis has shown both similarities and differences in how pelagic marine ecosystems have been influenced by cyclic and long term changes in the marine environment. The pelagic community structure synthesis group uses comparative data to test a series of conceptual… Read more »

Response of Primary Producers and Primary Consumers to Environmental Change: from small-scale disturbances to seasonal and long-term changes This LTER SPARC Synthesis Working Group brings together LTER researchers interested in understanding how disturbances and environmental change across timescales are altering the production and transfer of organic matter from primary producers to herbivores. All ecosystems are… Read more »

Do actively cycling C and N pools depend ultimately on soil P supply? Across-biome synthesis In terrestrial systems the nitrogen cycle is more open than the phosphorus cycle. New N accumulates by biological N fixation and atmospheric deposition, and is readily lost from the system when N is in excess of biological demand. In contrast,… Read more »

Selection across scales—merging evolutionary biology and community ecology to understand trait shifts in response to environmental change Selection acts on traits at both the community level, determining community assembly, and at the population level, determining the outcome of evolution. Selection at both scales combines with phenotypic plasticity to cause shifts in community-level mean trait values… Read more »

Quantifying interactive effects of fire and precipitation regimes on catchment biogeochemistry of aridlands Increases in the frequency, extent, and severity of wildfires could have long-lasting and wide-ranging effects on hydrology and biogeochemistry of catchments, with consequences for ecosystem services including provision of drinking water. In aridlands, effects of fire will depend on interactions with the… Read more »

Human impacts on ecosystems can result in persistent compositional shifts that are difficult to reverse even after relaxation from perturbations. Considerable debate remains on whether these observed shifts in ecosystems are due to the existence of tipping points and systems with alternative attractors, or whether observed shifts in ecosystems represent communities in alternative trajectories that… Read more »