The riverine bioreactor: An integrative perspective on biological decomposition of organic matter across riverine habitats
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URI: https://hdl.handle.net/10481/100087Metadata
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Peralta-Maraver, Ignacio; Stubbington, Rachel; Arnon, Shai; Kratina, Pavel; Krause, Stefan; de Mello Cionek, Vivian; Nei, Kavaguichi Leite; Lemes da Silva, Aurea Luiza; Magela Thomaz, Sidinei; Posselt, Malte; Susan Milner, Victoria; Momblanch, Andrea; Moretti, Marcelo S.; Nóbrega, Rodolfo L.B.; Perkins, Daniel M.; Petrucio, Mauricio M.; Reche, Isabel; Saito, Victor; Sarmento, Hugo; Strange, Emily; Hideo Taniwaki, Ricardo; White, James; Zaia Alves, Gustavo Henrique; Robertson, Anne. L.Materia
Body mass-abundance scaling Biodegradation Latitude Metabolic theory Riverine ecosystems Regulating ecosystem service
Date
2021Sponsorship
his work was funded by a Researcher Links grant, ID: 10592, under the Newton-Brazil fund awarded to AR and MP. The grant is funded by the UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Estado de Santa Catarina (FAPESC) and delivered by the British Council. PK acknowledges funding from the Royal Society, Newton Advanced Fellowship (grant no. NAF/R2/180791).Abstract
Riverine ecosystems can be conceptualized as ‘bioreactors’ (the riverine bioreactor) which retain and decompose a wide range of organic substrates. The metabolic performance of the riverine bioreactor is linked to their com- munity structure, the efficiency of energy transfer along food chains, and complex interactions among biotic and abiotic environmental factors. However, our understanding of the mechanistic functioning and capacity of the riverine bioreactor remains limited.
We review the state of knowledge and outline major gaps in the understanding of biotic drivers of organic matter decomposition processes that occur in riverine ecosystems, across habitats, temporal dimensions, and latitudes influenced by climate change.
We propose a novel, integrative analytical perspective to assess and predict decomposition processes in riverine ecosystems. We then use this model to analyse data to demonstrate that the size-spectra of a community can be used to predict decomposition rates by analysing an illustrative dataset. This modelling methodology allows comparison of the riverine bioreactor's performance across habitats and at a global scale.
Our integrative analytical approach can be applied to advance understanding of the functioning and efficiency of the riverine bioreactor as hotspots of metabolic activity. Application of insights gained from such analyses could inform the development of strategies that promote the functioning of the riverine bioreactor across global ecosystems.