Lloret
Javier
Lloret
Javier
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ArticleStable isotopic evidence of nitrogen sources and C4 metabolism driving the world’s largest macroalgal green tides in the Yellow Sea(Nature Publishing Group, 2018-11-28) Valiela, Ivan ; Liu, Dongyan ; Lloret, Javier ; Chenoweth, Kelsey ; Hanacek, DaniellaDuring recent years, rapid seasonal growth of macroalgae covered extensive areas within the Yellow Sea, developing the world’s most spatially extensive “green tide”. The remarkably fast accumulation of macroalgal biomass is the joint result of high nitrogen supplies in Yellow Sea waters, plus ability of the macroalgae to optionally use C4 photosynthetic pathways that facilitate rapid growth. Stable isotopic evidence shows that the high nitrogen supply is derived from anthropogenic sources, conveyed from watersheds via river discharges, and by direct atmospheric deposition. Wastewater and manures supply about half the nitrogen used by the macroalgae, fertiliser and atmospheric deposition each furnish about a quarter of the nitrogen in macroalgae. The massive green tides affecting the Yellow Sea are likely to increase, with significant current and future environmental and human consequences. Addressing these changing trajectories will demand concerted investment in new basic and applied research as the basis for developing management policies.
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ArticleAn integrated Pan-European perspective on coastal Lagoons management through a mosaic-DPSIR approach(Nature Publishing Group, 2016-01-18) Dolbeth, Marina ; Stalnacke, Per ; Alves, Fstima L. ; Sousa, Lisa P. ; Gooch, Geoffrey D. ; Khokhlov, Valeriy ; Tuchkovenko, Yurii ; Lloret, Javier ; Bielecka, Małgorzata ; Rozynski, Grzegorz ; Soares, João A. ; Baggett, Susan ; Margonski, Piotr ; Chubarenko, Boris V. ; Lillebø, Ana I.A decision support framework for the management of lagoon ecosystems was tested using four European Lagoons: Ria de Aveiro (Portugal), Mar Menor (Spain), Tyligulskyi Liman (Ukraine) and Vistula Lagoon (Poland/Russia). Our aim was to formulate integrated management recommendations for European lagoons. To achieve this we followed a DPSIR (Drivers-Pressures-State Change-Impacts-Responses) approach, with focus on integrating aspects of human wellbeing, welfare and ecosystem sustainability. The most important drivers in each lagoon were identified, based on information gathered from the lagoons’ stakeholders, complemented by scientific knowledge on each lagoon as seen from a land-sea perspective. The DPSIR cycles for each driver were combined into a mosaic-DPSIR conceptual model to examine the interdependency between the multiple and interacting uses of the lagoon. This framework emphasizes the common links, but also the specificities of responses to drivers and the ecosystem services provided. The information collected was used to formulate recommendations for the sustainable management of lagoons within a Pan-European context. Several common management recommendations were proposed, but specificities were also identified. The study synthesizes the present conditions for the management of lagoons, thus analysing and examining the activities that might be developed in different scenarios, scenarios which facilitate ecosystem protection without compromising future generations.
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PreprintTransient coastal landscapes : rising sea level threatens salt marshes( 2018-05) Valiela, Ivan ; Lloret, Javier ; Bowyer, Tynan ; Miner, Simon ; Remsen, David P. ; Elmstrom, Elizabeth ; Cogswell, Charlotte ; Thieler, E. RobertSalt marshes are important coastal environments that provide key ecological services. As sea level rise has accelerated globally, concerns about the ability of salt marshes to survive submergence are increasing. Previous estimates of likely survival of salt marshes were based on ratios of sea level rise to marsh platform accretion. Here we took advantage of an unusual, long-term (1979-2015), spatially detailed comparison of changes in a representative New England salt marsh to provide an empirical estimate of habitat losses based on actual measurements. We show prominent changes in habitat mosaic within the marsh, consistent and coincident with increased submergence and coastal erosion. Model results suggest that at current rates of sea level rise, marsh platform accretion, habitat loss, and with the limitation of the widespread “coastal squeeze”, the entire ecosystem might disappear by the beginning of the next century, a fate that might be likely for many salt marshes elsewhere.
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ArticleLong‐term nutrient addition increases respiration and nitrous oxide emissions in a New England salt marsh(John Wiley & Sons, 2018-04-20) Martin, Rose M. ; Wigand, Cathleen ; Elmstrom, Elizabeth ; Lloret, Javier ; Valiela, IvanSalt marshes may act either as greenhouse gas (GHG) sources or sinks depending on hydrological conditions, vegetation communities, and nutrient availability. In recent decades, eutrophication has emerged as a major driver of change in salt marsh ecosystems. An ongoing fertilization experiment at the Great Sippewissett Marsh (Cape Cod, USA) allows for observation of the results of over four decades of nutrient addition. Here, nutrient enrichment stimulated changes to vegetation communities that, over time, have resulted in increased elevation of the marsh platform. In this study, we measured fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) in dominant vegetation zones along elevation gradients of chronically fertilized (1,572 kg N ha−1 year−1) and unfertilized (12 kg N ha−1 year−1) experimental plots at Great Sippewissett Marsh. Flux measurements were performed using darkened chambers to focus on community respiration and excluded photosynthetic CO2 uptake. We hypothesized that N‐replete conditions in fertilized plots would result in larger N2O emissions relative to control plots and that higher elevations caused by nutrient enrichment would support increased CO2 and N2O and decreased CH4 emissions due to the potential for more oxygen diffusion into sediment. Patterns of GHG emission supported our hypotheses. Fertilized plots were substantially larger sources of N2O and had higher community respiration rates relative to control plots, due to large emissions of these GHGs at higher elevations. While CH4 emissions displayed a negative relationship with elevation, they were generally small across elevation gradients and nutrient enrichment treatments. Our results demonstrate that at decadal scales, vegetation community shifts and associated elevation changes driven by chronic eutrophication affect GHG emission from salt marshes. Results demonstrate the necessity of long‐term fertilization experiments to understand impacts of eutrophication on ecosystem function and have implications for how chronic eutrophication may impact the role that salt marshes play in sequestering C and N.
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ArticleMicrobial associations with macrobiota in coastal ecosystems : patterns and implications for nitrogen cycling(John Wiley & Sons, 2016-05-02) Moulton, Orissa M. ; Altabet, Mark A. ; Beman, J. Michael ; Deegan, Linda A. ; Lloret, Javier ; Lyons, Meaghan K. ; Nelson, James A. ; Pfister, CatherineIn addition to their important effects on nitrogen (N) cycling via excretion and assimilation (by macrofauna and macroflora, respectively), many macrobiota also host or facilitate microbial taxa responsible for N transformations. Interest in this topic is expanding, especially as it applies to coastal marine systems where N is a limiting nutrient. Our understanding of the diversity of microbes associated with coastal marine macrofauna (invertebrate and vertebrate animals) and macrophytes (seaweeds and marine plants) is improving, and recent studies indicate that the collection of microbes living in direct association with macrobiota (the microbiome) may directly contribute to N cycling. Here, we review the roles that macrobiota play in coastal N cycling, review current knowledge of macrobial–microbial associations in terms of N processing, and suggest implications for coastal ecosystem function as animals are harvested and as foundational habitat is lost or degraded. Given the biodiversity of microbial associates of macrobiota, we advocate for more research into the functional consequences of these associations for the coastal N cycle.
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ArticleIdentifying and assessing effectiveness of alternative low-effort nitrogen footprint reductions in small research institutions(IOP Publishing, 2021-02-25) Messenger, Sarah ; Lloret, Javier ; Galloway, James ; Giblin, Anne E.Concern over the ecological damage of excess nitrogen has brought increased attention to the role of research institutions and universities in contributing to this problem. Institutions often utilize the concept of the ecological 'footprint' to quantify and track nitrogen emissions resulting from their activities and guide plans and commitments to reduce emissions. Often, large-scale changes and commitments to reduce nitrogen footprints are not feasible at small institutions due to monetary and manpower constraints. We partnered with managers in the dining and facilities departments at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), a small research institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, to develop five low-effort strategies to address nitrogen emissions at the institution using only resources currently available within those departments. Each proposed strategy achieved emissions reductions in their sector and in the overall nitrogen footprint of the MBL. If all modelled strategies are applied simultaneously, the MBL can achieve a 7.7% decrease in its nitrogen footprint. Managers at MBL considered strategies that required no monetary input most feasible. The intersection of carbon and nitrogen emissions also means the modelled strategies had the co-benefit of reducing the MBL's carbon footprint, strengthening the argument for applying these strategies. This paper may serve as a model for similar institutions looking to reduce the ecological impact of their activities.
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ArticleAn example of accelerated changes in current and future ecosystem trajectories: unexpected rapid transitions in salt marsh vegetation forced by sea level rise(Elsevier, 2024-01-13) Valiela, Ivan ; Lloret, Javier ; Chenoweth, Kelsey ; Wang, YuyangAccelerated sea level rise has forced greater changes in the vegetation of Great Sippewissett Marsh during the recent few years than were recorded in the previous half century. Even with conservative estimates of sea level rise, accretion in the salt marsh platform would be insufficient to match submergence, but in addition, a new set of cascading changes seem to be accelerating the transformation of the Great Sippewissett Marsh vegetation mosaic, including conversion of cover by short to taller Spartina alterniflora, leading to lowering below-ground biomass and weakening of sediment columns, while the greater above-ground biomass increases wrack that strands and smothers high marsh vegetation. In addition, a salt-tolerant variant of Phragmites australis has begun to aggressively invade upper elevations of Great Sippewissett Marsh, replacing high marsh species cover, as well as dominating adjoining low-lying areas that might have allowed salt marsh landward migration as sea level effects increase. In many parts of Great Sippewissett Marsh, area of high marsh is steadily diminishing, taller S. alterniflora has extended upwards in areas previously supporting high marsh species, but its landward progress is now impeded by competition and shading by the phalanx of P. australis that has extended down-slope. The vegetation gradient in Great Sippewissett Marsh—and other salt marshes—is in rapid transition, and its decadal future seems in doubt.