![]() For instance, press disturbances can influence community attributes such as relative species abundances beyond normal background variation, whereas pulse disturbances usually cause dramatic structural and functional community shifts 17. These disturbance characteristics largely determine the observed community responses, because they affect species reproduction and survival, as well as interactions between species 19. ![]() Such studies would not only help to explain the response of complex multitrophic communities 15 to anthropogenic disturbances, they are also indispensable for understanding synergistic and compensatory effects on the communities, which may cause ecological surprises and even irreversible outcomes 16.ĭisturbances are characterized by their intensity, frequency and extent, and are often classified as short-term and discrete (pulse disturbances) or long-term and continuous (press disturbances) events 17, 18. However, there is a lack of studies on the combined effects of disturbances and predators on prey communities 14. Trophic interactions also play a crucial role in community dynamics as predators shape prey communities by affecting the strength of species interactions 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. Similar content being viewed by othersĮcological disturbances affect interspecific interactions and, consequently, community dynamics 1, 2. Importantly, prey community composition differed significantly at different phases, emphasizing that endpoint measurements are insufficient for understanding the recovery of communities. Predator abundance was strongly affected by the type of disturbance imposed, causing temporary relief of predation pressure. The results highlight that bacterial abundance, diversity and community composition were more affected by predation than by disturbance type, resource loss or the interaction of these factors. ![]() ![]() We monitored the communities immediately before and after imposing the disturbance and four days after resuming the pre-disturbance dilution regime to infer resistance and recovery properties. increased dilution simulating density-independent mortality as press or pulse disturbances coupled with resource deprivation) on bacterial abundance, diversity and community structure in the absence or presence of a protist predator. Using model microbial communities, we experimentally tested the effects of imposed disturbances (i.e. Manipulating multiple factors (biotic and abiotic) in controlled settings and measuring multiple descriptors of multi-trophic communities could enlighten our understanding of the context dependency of ecological disturbances. Many biodiversity studies rely on endpoint measurements instead of following the dynamics that lead to those outcomes and testing ecological drivers individually, often considering only a single trophic level. Ecological disturbances are important drivers of biodiversity patterns.
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