Moeller Holly V.

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Moeller

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Holly V.

ORCID

0000-0002-9335-0039

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Hierarchical neighbor effects on mycorrhizal community structure and function

(John Wiley & Sons, 2016-07-05) Moeller, Holly ; Dickie, Ian A. ; Peltzer, Duane ; Fukami, Tadashi

Theory predicts that neighboring communities can shape one another's composition and function, for example, through the exchange of member species. However, empirical tests of the directionality and strength of these effects are rare. We determined the effects of neighboring communities on one another through experimental manipulation of a plant-fungal model system. We first established distinct ectomycorrhizal fungal communities on Douglas-fir seedlings that were initially grown in three soil environments. We then transplanted seedlings and mycorrhizal communities in a fully factorial experiment designed to quantify the direction and strength of neighbor effects by focusing on changes in fungal community species composition and implications for seedling growth (a proxy for community function). We found that neighbor effects on the composition and function of adjacent communities follow a dominance hierarchy. Specifically, mycorrhizal communities established from soils collected in Douglas-fir plantations were both the least sensitive to neighbor effects, and exerted the strongest influence on their neighbors by driving convergence in neighbor community composition and increasing neighbor seedling vigor. These results demonstrate that asymmetric neighbor effects mediated by ecological history can determine both community composition and function.
Habitat damage, marine reserves, and the value of spatial management

(Ecological Society of America, 2013-07) Moeller, Holly V. ; Neubert, Michael G.

The biological benefits of marine reserves have garnered favor in the conservation community, but “no-take” reserve implementation is complicated by the economic interests of fishery stakeholders. There are now a number of studies examining the conditions under which marine reserves can provide both economic and ecological benefits. A potentially important reality of fishing that these studies overlook is that fishing can damage the habitat of the target stock. Here, we construct an equilibrium bioeconomic model that incorporates this habitat damage and show that the designation of marine reserves, coupled with the implementation of a tax on fishing effort, becomes both biologically and economically favorable as habitat sensitivity increases. We also study the effects of varied degrees of spatial control on fisheries management. Together, our results provide further evidence for the potential monetary and biological value of spatial management, and the possibility of a mutually beneficial resolution to the fisherman–conservationist marine reserve designation dilemma.
Quantification of photosynthetic capacity of cells using a laser induction of chlorophyll autofluorescence

(Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). Contact: bco-dmo-data@whoi.edu, 2021-06-30) Moeller, Holly

This dataset includes a quantification of photosynthetic capacity of cells using a laser induction of chlorophyll autofluorescence. For a complete list of measurements, refer to the full dataset description in the supplemental file 'Dataset_description.pdf'. The most current version of this dataset is available at: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/853945
Carbon fluxes and pelagic ecosystem dynamics near two western Antarctic Peninsula Adélie penguin colonies : an inverse model approach

(Inter-Research, 2013-10-31) Sailley, Sevrine F. ; Ducklow, Hugh W. ; Moeller, Holly V. ; Fraser, William R. ; Schofield, Oscar M. E. ; Steinberg, Deborah K. ; Garzio, Lori M. ; Doney, Scott C.

An inverse food-web model for the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) pelagic food web was constrained with data from Palmer Long Term Ecological Research (PAL-LTER) project annual austral summer sampling cruises. Model solutions were generated for 2 regions with Adélie penguin Pygoscelis adeliae colonies presenting different population trends (a northern and a southern colony) for a 12 yr period (1995-2006). Counter to the standard paradigm, comparisons of carbon flow through bacteria, microzooplankton, and krill showed that the diatom-krill-top predator food chain is not the dominant pathway for organic carbon exchanges. The food web is more complex, including significant contributions by microzooplankton and the microbial loop. Using both inverse model results and network indices, it appears that in the northern WAP the food web is dominated by the microbial food web, with a temporal trend toward its increasing importance. The dominant pathway for the southern WAP food web varies from year to year, with no detectable temporal trend toward dominance of microzooplankton versus krill. In addition, sensitivity analyses indicated that the northern colony of Adélie penguins, whose population size has been declining over the past 35 yr, appears to have sufficient krill during summer to sustain its basic metabolic needs and rear chicks, suggesting the importance of other processes in regulating the Adélie population decline.
Economically optimal marine reserves without spatial heterogeneity in a simple two-patch model

( 2014-07) Moeller, Holly V. ; Neubert, Michael G.

Bioeconomic analyses of spatial fishery models have established that marine reserves can be economically optimal (i.e., maximize sustainable profit) when there is some type of spatial heterogeneity in the system. Analyses of spatially continuous models and models with more than two discrete patches have also demonstrated that marine reserves can be economically optimal even when the system is spatially homogeneous. In this note we analyze a spatially homogeneous two-patch model and show that marine reserves can be economically optimal in this case as well. The model we study includes the possibility that fishing can damage habitat. In this model, marine reserves are necessary to maximize sustainable profit when dispersal between the patches is sufficiently high and habitat is especially vulnerable to damage.
Acquired phototrophy stabilizes coexistence and shapes intrinsic dynamics of an intraguild predator and its prey

( 2015-12-10) Moeller, Holly ; Peltomaa, Elina ; Johnson, Matthew D. ; Neubert, Michael G.

In marine ecosystems, acquired phototrophs|organisms that obtain their photo- synthetic ability by hosting endosymbionts or stealing plastids from their prey|are omnipresent. Such taxa function as intraguild predators yet depend on their prey to periodically obtain chloroplasts. We present new theory for the effects of acquired phototrophy on community dynamics by analyzing a mathematical model of this predator-prey interaction and experimentally verifying its predictions with a lab- oratory model system. We show that acquired phototrophy stabilizes coexistence, but that the nature of this coexistence exhibits a `paradox of enrichment:' as light increases, the coexistence between the acquired phototroph and its prey transitions from a stable equilibrium to boom-bust cycles whose amplitude increases with light availability. In contrast, heterotrophs and mixotrophic acquired phototrophs (that obtain <30% of their carbon from photosynthesis) do not exhibit such cycles. This prediction matches eld observations, in which only strict (>95% of carbon from photosynthesis) acquired phototrophs form blooms.
Light-dependent grazing can drive formation and deepening of deep chlorophyll maxima

(Nature Research, 2019-04-24) Moeller, Holly V. ; Laufkötter, Charlotte ; Sweeney, Edward M. ; Johnson, Matthew D.

Deep Chlorophyll Maxima (DCMs) are subsurface peaks in chlorophyll-a concentration that may coincide with peaks in phytoplankton abundance and primary productivity. Work on the mechanisms underlying DCM formation has historically focused on phytoplankton physiology (e.g., photoacclimation) and behavior (e.g., taxis). While these mechanisms can drive DCM formation, they do not account for top-down controls such as predation by grazers. Here, we propose a new mechanism for DCM formation: Light-dependent grazing by microzooplankton reduces phytoplankton biomass near the surface but allows accumulation at depth. Using mathematical models informed by grazing studies, we demonstrate that light-dependent grazing is sufficient to drive DCM formation. Further, when acting in concert with other mechanisms, light-dependent grazing deepens the DCM, improving the fit of a global model with observational data. Our findings thus reveal another mechanism by which microzooplankton may regulate primary production, and impact our understanding of biogeochemical cycling at and above the DCM.
Intraguild predation enables coexistence of competing phytoplankton in a well-mixed water column

(Ecological Society of America, 2019-08-28) Moeller, Holly V. ; Neubert, Michael G. ; Johnson, Matthew D.

Resource competition theory predicts that when two species compete for a single, finite resource, the better competitor should exclude the other. However, in some cases, weaker competitors can persist through intraguild predation, that is, by eating their stronger competitor. Mixotrophs, species that meet their carbon demand by combining photosynthesis and phagotrophic heterotrophy, may function as intraguild predators when they consume the phototrophs with which they compete for light. Thus, theory predicts that mixotrophy may allow for coexistence of two species on a single limiting resource. We tested this prediction by developing a new mathematical model for a unicellular mixotroph and phytoplankter that compete for light, and comparing the model's predictions with a laboratory experimental system. We find that, like other intraguild predators, mixotrophs can persist when an ecosystem is sufficiently productive (i.e., the supply of the limiting resource, light, is relatively high), or when species interactions are strong (i.e., attack rates and conversion efficiencies are high). Both our mathematical and laboratory models show that, depending upon the environment and species traits, a variety of equilibrium outcomes, ranging from competitive exclusion to coexistence, are possible.
Cell abundance, forward scatter, chlorophyll, growth rate, and FvFm.0 measurements from reciprocal transplant assays

(Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). Contact: bco-dmo-data@whoi.edu, 2021-06-29) Moeller, Holly

This dataset includes cell abundance, forward scatter, chlorophyll, growth rate and FvFm.0 measurements from reciprocal transplant assays. For a complete list of measurements, refer to the full dataset description in the supplemental file 'Dataset_description.pdf'. The most current version of this dataset is available at: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/854010
Competition-function tradeoffs in ectomycorrhizal fungi

(PeerJ, 2016-07-27) Moeller, Holly ; Peay, Kabir

The extent to which ectomycorrhizal fungi mediate primary production, carbon storage, and nutrient remineralization in terrestrial ecosystems depends upon fungal community composition. However, the factors that govern community composition at the root system scale are not well understood. Here, we explore a potential tradeoff between ectomycorrhizal fungal competitive ability and enzymatic function. We grew Pinus muricata (Bishop Pine) seedlings in association with ectomycorrhizal fungi from three different genera in a fully factorial experimental design. We measured seedling growth responses, ectomycorrhizal abundance, and the root tip activity of five different extracellular enzymes involved in the mobilization of carbon and phosphorus. We found an inverse relationship between competitiveness, quantified based on relative colonization levels, and enzymatic activity. Specifically, Thelephora terrestris, the dominant fungus, had the lowest enzyme activity levels, while Suillus pungens, the least dominant fungus, had the highest. Our results identify a tradeoff between competition and function in ectomycorrhizal fungi, perhaps mediated by the competing energetic demands associated with competitive interactions and enzymatic production. These data suggest that mechanisms such as active partner maintenance by host trees may be important to maintaining “high-quality” ectomycorrhizal fungal partners in natural systems.
Cascading effects of prey identity on gene expression in a kleptoplastidic ciliate

(Wiley, 2022-08-17) Paight, Christopher ; Johnson, Matthew D. ; Lasek-Nesselquist, Erica ; Moeller, Holly V.

Kleptoplastidic, or chloroplast stealing, lineages transiently retain functional photosynthetic machinery from algal prey. This machinery, and its photosynthetic outputs, must be integrated into the host's metabolism, but the details of this integration are poorly understood. Here, we study this metabolic integration in the ciliate Mesodinium chamaeleon, a coastal marine species capable of retaining chloroplasts from at least six distinct genera of cryptophyte algae. To assess the effects of feeding history on ciliate physiology and gene expression, we acclimated M. chamaeleon to four different types of prey and contrasted well-fed and starved treatments. Consistent with previous physiological work on the ciliate, we found that starved ciliates had lower chlorophyll content, photosynthetic rates, and growth rates than their well-fed counterparts. However, ciliate gene expression mirrored prey phylogenetic relationships rather than physiological status, suggesting that, even as M. chamaeleon cells were starved of prey, their overarching regulatory systems remained tuned to the prey type to which they had been acclimated. Collectively, our results indicate a surprising degree of prey-specific host transcriptional adjustments, implying varied integration of prey metabolic potential into many aspects of ciliate physiology.
On the economic optimality of marine reserves when fishing damages habitat

(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2010-06) Moeller, Holly V.

In this thesis, I expand a spatially-explicit bioeconomic fishery model to include the negative effects of fishing effort on habitat quality. I consider two forms of effort driven habitat damage: First, fishing effort may directly increase individual mortality rates. Second, fishing effort may increase competition between individuals, thereby increasing density-dependent mortality rates. I then optimize effort distribution and fish stock density according to three management cases: (1) a sole owner, with jurisdiction over the entire fishery, who seeks to maximize profit by optimizing effort distribution; (2) a manager with limited control of effort and stock distributions, who seeks to maximize tax revenue by setting the length of a single, central reserve and a uniform tax per unit effort outside it; and (3) a manager with even more limited enforcement power, who can only set a tax per unit effort everywhere in the habitat space. I demonstrate that the economic efficiency of reserves depends upon model parameterization. In particular, reserves are most likely to increase profit (or tax revenue) when density-dependent fish mortality rates are affected. Interestingly, for large habitats that are sufficiently sensitive to density-dependent fish mortality effects, reserve networks (alternating fished and unfished areas of fixed periodicity) emerge. These results suggest that spatial forms of management which include marine reserves may enable significant economic gains over nonspatial management strategies, in addition to the well-established conservation benefits provided by closed areas.
Predator switching strength controls stability in diamond-shaped food web models

(Elsevier, 2023-05-25) Archibald, Kevin M. ; Sosik, Heidi M. ; Moeller, Holly V. ; Neubert, Michael G.

In food web models that include more than one prey type for a single predator, it is common for the predator’s functional response to include some form of switching—preferential consumption of more abundant prey types. Predator switching promotes coexistence among competing prey types and increases diversity in the prey community. Here, we show how the dynamics of a diamond-shaped food web model of a marine plankton community are sensitive to a parameter that sets the strength of predator switching. Stronger switching destabilizes the model’s coexistence equilibrium and leads to the appearance of limit cycles. Stronger switching also increases the evenness of the asymptotic prey community and promotes synchrony in the dynamics of disparate prey types. Given the dependence of model behavior on the strength of predator switching, it is important that modelers carefully consider the parameterization of functional responses that include switching.•Predators that exhibit switching promote coexistence between prey types.•However, strong switching may destabilize this coexistence and produce limit cycles.•In communities with many prey, evenness increases with the strength of switching.
Recommendations for advancing mixoplankton research through empirical-model integration

(Frontiers Media, 2024-06-05) Millette, Nicole C. ; Leles, Suzana G. ; Johnson, Matthew D. ; Maloney, Ashley E. ; Brownlee, Emily F. ; Cohen, Natalie R. ; Duhamel, Solange ; Poulton, Nicole J. ; Princiotta, Sarah D. ; Stamieszkin, Karen ; Wilken, Susanne ; Moeller, Holly V.

Protist plankton can be divided into three main groups: phytoplankton, zooplankton, and mixoplankton. In situ methods for studying phytoplankton and zooplankton are relatively straightforward since they generally target chlorophyll/photosynthesis or grazing activity, while the integration of both processes within a single cell makes mixoplankton inherently challenging to study. As a result, we understand less about mixoplankton physiology and their role in food webs, biogeochemical cycling, and ecosystems compared to phytoplankton and zooplankton. In this paper, we posit that by merging conventional techniques, such as microscopy and physiological data, with innovative methods like in situ single-cell sorting and omics datasets, in conjunction with a diverse array of modeling approaches ranging from single-cell modeling to comprehensive Earth system models, we can propel mixoplankton research into the forefront of aquatic ecology. We present eight crucial research questions pertaining to mixoplankton and mixotrophy, and briefly outline a combination of existing methods and models that can be used to address each question. Our intent is to encourage more interdisciplinary research on mixoplankton, thereby expanding the scope of data acquisition and knowledge accumulation for this understudied yet critical component of aquatic ecosystems.
Environment-dependent metabolic investments in the mixotrophic chrysophyte Ochromonas

(Phycological Society of America, 2023-12-23) Barbaglia, Gina S. ; Paight, Christopher ; Honig, Meredith ; Johnson, Matthew D. ; Marczak, Ryan ; Lepori-Bui, Michelle ; Moeller, Holly V.

Mixotrophic protists combine photosynthesis and phagotrophy to obtain energy and nutrients. Because mixotrophs can act as either primary producers or consumers, they have a complex role in marine food webs and biogeochemical cycles. Many mixotrophs are also phenotypically plastic and can adjust their metabolic investments in response to resource availability. Thus, a single species's ecological role may vary with environmental conditions. Here, we quantified how light and food availability impacted the growth rates, energy acquisition rates, and metabolic investment strategies of eight strains of the mixotrophic chrysophyte, Ochromonas. All eight Ochromonas strains photoacclimated by decreasing chlorophyll content as light intensity increased. Some strains were obligate phototrophs that required light for growth, while other strains showed stronger metabolic responses to prey availability. When prey availability was high, all eight strains exhibited accelerated growth rates and decreased their investments in both photosynthesis and phagotrophy. Photosynthesis and phagotrophy generally produced additive benefits: In low-prey environments, Ochromonas growth rates increased to maximum, light-saturated rates with increasing light but increased further with the addition of abundant bacterial prey. The additive benefits observed between photosynthesis and phagotrophy in Ochromonas suggest that the two metabolic modes provide nonsubstitutable resources, which may explain why a tradeoff between phagotrophic and phototrophic investments emerged in some but not all strains.

Moeller Holly V.

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