N and P often limit primary and secondary production in ecosystems, but they also can cause eutrophication and negatively influence sensitive species above a certain level or threshold point. Aquatic biodiversity can have negative threshold relationships with water-quality variables at large scales, but the specific mechanism(s) driving these threshold relationships are not well established. We...

Climate change is expected to affect resource-consumer interactions underlying stability in polar food webs. Polar benthic organisms have adapted to the marked seasonality characterising their habitats by concentrating foraging and reproductive activity in summer months, when inputs from sympagic and pelagic producers increase. While this enables the persistence of biodiverse food webs, the mec...

1 Resource competition theory incorporates the mechanisms that underlie consumer– resource interactions and the trade-offs that constrain these mechanisms. Contrary to assertions by Craine, the concept of R* as the measure of resource reduction and the predictor of resource competition has not changed since it was proposed more than two decades ago. 2 Resource reduction, as summarized in R*, is...

1 Resource competition theory incorporates the mechanisms that underlie consumer– resource interactions and the trade-offs that constrain these mechanisms. Contrary to assertions by Craine, the concept of R* as the measure of resource reduction and the predictor of resource competition has not changed since it was proposed more than two decades ago. 2 Resource reduction, as summarized in R*, is...

Soil nutrients are distributed in a non-uniform or 'patchy' manner. It is well established that the modular nature of root systems allows them to show both morphological and/or physiological plasticity upon encountering nutrient-rich patches. These plastic responses are widely believed to be foraging mechanisms by the plant to enhance nutrient resource capture. Although morphological plasticity...

The demand for dairy products is growing rapidly, especially in emerging markets. Dairy products are nutrient rich and, therefore, an important food group for ensuring nutrient security in the future. In many countries, dairy contributes significantly to nutrient intake. Meta-analyses have shown that consumption of dairy may reduce the risk of chronic diseases and thereby lower healthcare costs...

Aims: Many experiments have shown a positive effect of species richness on productivity in grassland plant communities. However, it is poorly understood how environmental conditions affect this relationship. We aimed to test whether deep soil and limiting nutrient conditions increase the complementarity effect (CE) of species richness due to enhanced potential for resource partitioning. Methods...

The occurrence of cyanobacteria and microcystin is highly dynamic in natural environments and poses one of the biggest challenges to water resource management. While a number of drivers are known to be responsible for the occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms, the drivers of microcystin production are not adequately known. This study aims to quantify the effects of the changes in the structures o...