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Local stressors mask the effects of warming in freshwater ecosystems
File(s)
OA Location
Author(s)
Morris, Olivia F
Loewen, Charlie JG
Woodward, Guy
Schäfer, Ralf B
Piggott, Jeremy J
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Climate warming is a ubiquitous stressor in freshwater ecosystems, yet its interactive effects with other stressors are poorly understood. We address this knowledge gap by testing the ability of three contrasting null models to predict the joint impacts of warming and a range of other aquatic stressors using a new database of 296 experimental combinations. Despite concerns that stressors will interact to cause synergisms, we found that net impacts were usually best explained by the effect of the stronger stressor alone (the dominance null model), especially if this stressor was a local disturbance associated with human land use. Prediction accuracy depended on stressor identity and how asymmetric stressors were in the magnitude of their effects. These findings suggest we can effectively predict the impacts of multiple stressors by focusing on the stronger stressor, as habitat alteration, nutrients and contamination often override the biological consequences of higher temperatures in freshwater ecosystems.
Date Issued
2022-11
Date Acceptance
2022-08-11
Citation
Ecology Letters, 2022, 25 (11), pp.2540-2551
URI
URL
DOI
ISSN
1461-023X
Publisher
Wiley
Start Page
2540
End Page
2551
Journal / Book Title
Ecology Letters
Volume
25
Issue
11
Copyright Statement
© 2022 The Authors. Ecology Letters published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Sponsor
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36161435
Grant Number
NE/M020843/1
NE/S000348/1
Subjects
antagonisms
aquatic ecology
dominance null model
global change
multiple stressors
stressor interactions
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Date Publish Online
2022-09-25