Meta-Ecosystems 2.0: Rooting the Theory into the Field

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2017.10.006

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

Volume 33, Issue 1, January 2018, Pages 36-46

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2017.10.006 Get rights and content

Trends

Cross-ecosystem movements drive landscape dynamics.

Among-ecosystem couplings are either dispersal- or resource-dominated.

Dispersal-based couplings occur at the regional scale between similar habitat types.

Resource-based couplings occur at the local scale between different habitat types.

The meta-ecosystem framework demonstrates the significance of among-ecosystem spatial flows for ecosystem dynamics and has fostered a rich body of theory. The high level of abstraction of the models, however, impedes applications to empirical systems. We argue that further understanding of spatial dynamics in natural systems strongly depends on dense exchanges between field and theory. From empiricists, more and specific quantifications of spatial flows are needed, defined by the major categories of organismal movement (dispersal, foraging, life-cycle, and migration). In parallel, the theoretical framework must account for the distinct spatial scales at which these naturally common spatial flows occur. Integrating all levels of spatial connections among landscape elements will upgrade and unify landscape and meta-ecosystem ecology into a single framework for spatial ecology.

Section snippets

Ecosystem Couplings Outside the Metacommunity Box

Spatial flows of energy, materials, and organisms are ubiquitous in nature: organisms move to forage for food, migrate, or disperse, actively or as propagules 1, 2, 3. All these organismal movements (see Glossary), along with passive flows of inorganic nutrients and detritus, connect ecosystems and influence local ecosystem dynamics 4, 5. Community ecologists have paid particular attention to spatial flows of species (dispersal), which connect several communities in a metacommunity 6, 7. The

Contrasting Natures of Ecosystem Couplings: Dispersal versus Resource Flows

Meta-ecosystem theory has extended the metacommunity framework with general models that include both dispersal and resource flows to connect ecosystems [13]. However, true dispersal, defined as the settlement and successful reproduction of individuals away from their place of birth 1, 40, 41, can only occur between ecosystems offering similar enough physical habitats for the dispersing organism to survive in both. Clearly, many organisms have some adaptations to deal with variations in habitat

Spatial Scales of Dispersal versus Resource Flows

Dispersal and resource-flow based meta-ecosystems do not necessarily operate in isolation from each other. Rather, the two types of flows and associated meta-ecosystem dynamics occur at different spatial scales within the landscape (Figure 1C). Resource-flow based meta-ecosystems occur at a local scale, across boundaries of adjacent ecosystems (e.g., litter fall or insect exchanges at lake–forest interface; [56]), while dispersal-based meta-ecosystems could connect these local meta-ecosystems

A Missing Theory Level

Current meta-ecosystem models have been built on simplest assumptions regarding among-ecosystem spatial flows to identify mechanisms general enough to apply to all systems 13, 16, 23, 25, 27, 29. However, model structures and parameterizations are too general to appropriately describe the nature of spatial couplings between real ecosystems. Moreover, equally limiting are empirical approaches based on system-centred models, which are useful for specific applications but lack generality and

Challenges Ahead for Spatial Ecology

Understanding the general effects of spatial flows on ecological dynamics is a first step. Next, theory must identify realistic situations under which spatial flows matter for ecological dynamics by grounding models into empirical knowledge. Extensive data on spatial flows already exist across different fields of the empirical literature, but the broad picture is still missing. A major task is to quantify, unify, and synthesise data across fields.

We currently have only partial knowledge of what

Concluding Remarks

By linking contrasting spatial dynamics along a gradient of dispersal versus resource flows occurring at different scales, we propose a unified framework for spatial ecology. Our framework merges the static, but accurate, view of environmental heterogeneity proposed by landscape ecology with the dynamic view from meta-ecosystem theory. We believe this unification is a crucial step toward more fruitful exchanges between theory and empirical ecology. In particular, we advocate that incorporating

Acknowledgements

We thank Dries Bonte and the EMERGE working group for helpful discussions. We thank the editor, Dr. Paul Craze, and two anonymous reviewers for comments on a previous version of this manuscript. Funding is from the Swiss National Science Foundation Grant PP00P3_150698.

Glossary

Dispersal: ‘the tendency of organisms to live, compete and reproduce away from their birth place’ [41].
Habitat: in this paper used as synonymous of biotope, that is, a set of uniform environmental conditions.
Life-cycle movement: cross-ecosystem movement occurring in an organism life to complete its ontogenic development.
Metacommunity: ‘a set of local communities that are linked by dispersal of multiple potentially interacting species’ 4, 7.
Meta-ecosystem: ‘a set of ecosystems connected by spatial flows

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Trends in Ecology & Evolution

OpinionMeta-Ecosystems 2.0: Rooting the Theory into the Field

Trends

Section snippets

Ecosystem Couplings Outside the Metacommunity Box

Contrasting Natures of Ecosystem Couplings: Dispersal versus Resource Flows

Spatial Scales of Dispersal versus Resource Flows

A Missing Theory Level

Challenges Ahead for Spatial Ecology

Concluding Remarks

Acknowledgements

Glossary

Trends Ecol. Evol.

Limnologica

J. Theor. Biol.

Trends Ecol. Evol.

Prog. Oceanogr.

Biol. Control

Dispersal

Migratory animals couple biodiversity and ecosystem functioning worldwide

Science

Transport of energy, information and material through the biosphere

Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour.

Metacommunities: Spatial Dynamics and Ecological Communities

Food Webs at the Landscape Level

Complex interactions in metacommunities, with implications for biodiversity and higher levels of selection

Ecology

The metacommunity concept: a framework for multi-scale community ecology

Ecol. Lett.

Dendritic connectivity controls biodiversity patterns in experimental metacommunities

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A.

Integrating environmental and spatial processes in ecological community dynamics

Ecol. Lett.

Dispersal and diversity in experimental metacommunities: linking theory and practice

Oikos

Biodiversity and ecosystem stability across scales in metacommunities

Ecol. Lett.

Meta-ecosystems: a theoretical framework for a spatial ecosystem ecology

Ecol. Lett.

Linking community and ecosystem dynamics through spatial ecology

Ecol. Lett.

Recent advances in metacommunities and meta-ecosystem theories [version 1; referees: 2 approved]

F1000Research

Source and sink dynamics in meta-ecosystems

Ecology

Subsidies mediate interactions between communities across space

Oikos

Subsidy hypothesis and strength of trophic cascades across ecosystems

Ecol. Lett.

Recognizing cross-ecosystem responses to changing temperatures: soil warming impacts pelagic food webs

Oikos

Spatially cascading effect of perturbations in experimental meta-ecosystems

Proc. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci.

Bridging ecology and conservation: from ecological networks to ecosystem function

J. Appl. Ecol.

The paradox of enrichment in metaecosystems

Am. Nat.

Stability and complexity in model meta-ecosystems

Nat. Commun.

Patch dynamics, persistence, and species coexistence in metaecosystems

Am. Nat.

General relationships between consumer dispersal, resource dispersal and metacommunity diversity

Ecol. Lett.

Meta-ecosystem dynamics and functioning on finite spatial networks

Proc. Biol. Sci.

Emergence of nutrient co-limitation through movement in stoichiometric meta-ecosystems

Ecol. Lett.

Ecosystem flux and biotic modification as drivers of metaecosystem dynamics

Ecology

Reciprocal feedbacks between spatial subsidies and reserve networks in coral reef meta-ecosystems

Ecol. Appl.

Are meta-ecosystems organized hierarchically? A model and test in rocky intertidal habitats

Ecol. Monogr.

Quantifying and disentangling dispersal in metacommunities: how close have we come? How far is there to go?

Landsc. Ecol.

Toward more integrated ecosystem research in aquatic and terrestrial environments

Bioscience

Linking landscape connectivity and ecosystem service provision: current knowledge and research gaps

Ecosystems

Global exchange and accumulation of non-native plants

Opinion
Meta-Ecosystems 2.0: Rooting the Theory into the Field