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dc.contributor.authorHadwen, Wade L
dc.contributor.authorFellows, Christine S
dc.contributor.authorWesthorpe, Douglas P
dc.contributor.authorRees, Gavin N
dc.contributor.authorMitrovic, Simon M
dc.contributor.authorTaylor, Brett
dc.contributor.authorBaldwin, Darren S
dc.contributor.authorSilvester, Ewen
dc.contributor.authorCroome, Roger
dc.date.accessioned2017-05-03T13:16:34Z
dc.date.available2017-05-03T13:16:34Z
dc.date.issued2010
dc.date.modified2011-04-08T04:46:39Z
dc.identifier.issn1535-1459
dc.identifier.doi10.1002/rra.1321
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/38042
dc.description.abstractUnderstanding longitudinal trends in the processing of carbon in rivers represents a much conceptualised, but infrequently tested, issue in aquatic ecology. In this study, we conducted concurrent longitudinal examinations of three very different rivers in eastern Australia to determine whether general principles in river functioning exist across broad geographic and hydrologic scales. Specifically, we examined trends in ambient basic water chemistry, nutrient concentrations, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), extracellular enzymes and food web structure and functioning and conducted bioassays to examine the degree to which DOC and nutrients limit heterotrophic bacterial respiration. These parameters revealed striking similarities across all sites. For metazoan communities, stable isotope analysis showed that algal carbon was the dominant basal resource utilised by consumers in all three rivers, suggesting that in-stream primary producers strongly underpin trophic pathways regardless of the position within a catchment or catchment condition. Analyses of extracellular enzymes revealed that microbial communities are actively utilising DOC at all sites. In fact, heterotrophic microbial respiration was strongly limited by DOC at all sites, with nutrient additions resulting in only relatively minor increases in respiration. Ultimately, this study demonstrates that DOC and algal carbon are critically important drivers of ecosystem processes in Australian riverine ecosystems. Furthermore, across all of our sites and rivers, ambient nutrient concentrations did not influence carbon processing. The consistent longitudinal trends in river function identified in this study provide useful insights for catchment managers and modellers with respect to identifiying key principles that underpin ecosystem functioning in Australian rivers.
dc.description.peerreviewedYes
dc.description.publicationstatusYes
dc.format.extent537306 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherJohn Wiley & Sons
dc.publisher.placeUnited Kingdom
dc.relation.ispartofstudentpublicationN
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom1129
dc.relation.ispartofpageto1152
dc.relation.ispartofissue9
dc.relation.ispartofjournalRiver Research and Applications
dc.relation.ispartofvolume26
dc.rights.retentionY
dc.subject.fieldofresearchEcosystem function
dc.subject.fieldofresearchEcology
dc.subject.fieldofresearchEnvironmental engineering
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode410203
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode3103
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode4011
dc.titleLongitudinal trends in river functioning: Patterns of nutrient and carbon processing in three Australian rivers
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articles
dc.type.codeC - Journal Articles
gro.facultyGriffith Sciences, Griffith School of Environment
gro.rights.copyright© 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Longitudinal trends in river functioning: Patterns of nutrient and carbon processing in three Australian rivers, River Research and Applications, Volume 26, Issue 9, pages 1129–1152, November 2010, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/rra.1321
gro.date.issued2010
gro.hasfulltextFull Text
gro.griffith.authorHadwen, Wade L.


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