Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Multiple Stressors Simplify Freshwater Food Webs

Zhang, Peiyu ; Zhang, Huan LU ; Wang, Shaopeng ; Woodward, Guy ; O'Gorman, Eoin J. ; Jackson, Michelle C. ; Hansson, Lars Anders LU orcid ; Hilt, Sabine ; Frenken, Thijs and Wang, Huan , et al. (2025) In Global Change Biology 31(3).
Abstract

Globally, freshwater ecosystems are threatened by multiple stressors, yet our knowledge of how they interact to affect food web structure remains scant. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a large-scale mesocosm experiment to quantify the single and combined effects of three common anthropogenic stressors: warming, increased nutrient loading, and insecticide pollution, on the network structure of shallow lake food webs. We identified both antagonistic and synergistic interactive effects depending on whether the stressors affected negative or positive feedback loops, respectively. Overall, multiple stressors simplified the food web, elongated energy transfer pathways, and shifted biomass distribution from benthic to more pelagic... (More)

Globally, freshwater ecosystems are threatened by multiple stressors, yet our knowledge of how they interact to affect food web structure remains scant. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a large-scale mesocosm experiment to quantify the single and combined effects of three common anthropogenic stressors: warming, increased nutrient loading, and insecticide pollution, on the network structure of shallow lake food webs. We identified both antagonistic and synergistic interactive effects depending on whether the stressors affected negative or positive feedback loops, respectively. Overall, multiple stressors simplified the food web, elongated energy transfer pathways, and shifted biomass distribution from benthic to more pelagic pathways. This increased the risk of a regime shift from a clear-water state dominated by submerged macrophytes to a turbid state dominated by phytoplankton. Our novel results highlight how multiple anthropogenic stressors can interactively disrupt food webs, with implications for understanding and managing aquatic ecosystems in a changing world.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and , et al. (More)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and (Less)
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
anthropogenic stressors, climate change, food webs, global environmental change, interactive effects, regime shift, shallow lakes
in
Global Change Biology
volume
31
issue
3
article number
e70114
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:86000089533
  • pmid:40040532
ISSN
1354-1013
DOI
10.1111/gcb.70114
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
84c1e7e6-3440-481b-b406-d86c8fcd4d5f
date added to LUP
2025-06-19 11:22:04
date last changed
2025-07-17 14:27:01
@article{84c1e7e6-3440-481b-b406-d86c8fcd4d5f,
  abstract     = {{<p>Globally, freshwater ecosystems are threatened by multiple stressors, yet our knowledge of how they interact to affect food web structure remains scant. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a large-scale mesocosm experiment to quantify the single and combined effects of three common anthropogenic stressors: warming, increased nutrient loading, and insecticide pollution, on the network structure of shallow lake food webs. We identified both antagonistic and synergistic interactive effects depending on whether the stressors affected negative or positive feedback loops, respectively. Overall, multiple stressors simplified the food web, elongated energy transfer pathways, and shifted biomass distribution from benthic to more pelagic pathways. This increased the risk of a regime shift from a clear-water state dominated by submerged macrophytes to a turbid state dominated by phytoplankton. Our novel results highlight how multiple anthropogenic stressors can interactively disrupt food webs, with implications for understanding and managing aquatic ecosystems in a changing world.</p>}},
  author       = {{Zhang, Peiyu and Zhang, Huan and Wang, Shaopeng and Woodward, Guy and O'Gorman, Eoin J. and Jackson, Michelle C. and Hansson, Lars Anders and Hilt, Sabine and Frenken, Thijs and Wang, Huan and Zhou, Libin and Wang, Tao and Zhang, Min and Xu, Jun}},
  issn         = {{1354-1013}},
  keywords     = {{anthropogenic stressors; climate change; food webs; global environmental change; interactive effects; regime shift; shallow lakes}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Global Change Biology}},
  title        = {{Multiple Stressors Simplify Freshwater Food Webs}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70114}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/gcb.70114}},
  volume       = {{31}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}