It is widely accepted that the major factor affecting the evolutionary optimization of animal life histories is energy balance, therefore studies focus on the energy costs and benefits of adaptations, the efficiency of energy acquisition and investment, and limits to energy budgets. However, at the very least in heterotrophs, equally important seems to be the problem of maintaining stoichiometric balance.
There are two approaches in eco-evo studies that consider the matter balance as complementary to the energy balance: ecological stoichiometry and nutritional geometry. However, in my opinion, such studies are limited and after 30 years after Tilman's and Reiners' works (below), still "energocentric" point of view dominates in ecology and evolution, that carelessly underrates the need to balance the diet also in terms of the matter (including the Law of Conservation of Mass).
This is only my point of view, possibly the wrong one. I would like to ask all of you: what is your opinion?
My question was introduced as briefly as possible, don't hesitate to dig deeper and extend it!
Below I present four important studies related to the topic, just to start with.
Kind regards,
Michał Filipiak
http://press.princeton.edu/titles/2058.html
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/284467?journalCode=an
http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/content/46/9/674.full.pdf+html
http://www.intechopen.com/books/stoichiometry-and-research-the-importance-of-quantity-in-biomedicine/ecological-stoichiometry-the-elements-at-the-heart-of-ecological-interactions
http://press.princeton.edu/titles/2058.html
Article Organism Size, Life History, and N:P Stoichiometry
Article Complementary Models for Ecosystems
Chapter Biological Stoichiometry: The Elements at the Heart of Biolo...
Dear Michal,
Thanks that you are raising so interesting questions of functioning principles of ecosystems. I think that not only me are enough good in energy flow or budget calculations. But I agree that two main principles of ecosystem functioning are - representativity of fragments and integrity of components (fragments). Energy budget is the thing of the very high importance but not enough for better understanding of evolution of ecosystems. So, we are in the level like it was for years ago, when structural approach was pushed from priority of every ecosystem investigation into "functionality" level. in 90ths I elaborated abundant-energy approach and even published some small article that appeared enough famous in post-soviets -
KOVALCHUK ANDREY. On the possibility of using abundance-energy approach in distinguishing of taxocoenoses of benthic ciliates).(In Russian). (RG).
but this time I saw some even more interesting peculiarities, as trophical structure has diversity in informational sense!!!
So, I made enough precise investigation of planktonic ciliate community of the winter pond in Kiev, that is like a model of more complicated community as presented organisms of different trophic levels (ciliates species are of minimum three trophical levels) and tried to use some traditional informational-structural indexes for trophic relations:
Community Structure in Cryophilic Infusoria (1998)
where I tried another approach. How dependent sub-community of enough simple structure can develop to "understanding" of such informational technologies?
What do you think?
Andrey
Dear Andrey,
thank you for your answer.
In relation to your question: I think that mathematical modelling approach would be useful here and then you may use your natural system to test the hypotheses that appear after analyzing your mathematical model. Below you have some papers that may inspire you.
Best!
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v530/n7590/full/nature16948.html
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303762068_Particularity_of_Universal_resilience_patterns_in_complex_networks
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255729211_Lotka_re-loaded_Modeling_trophic_interactions_under_stoichiometric_constraints
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228326239_Integrating_elements_and_energy_through_the_metabolic_dependencies_of_gross_growth_efficiency_and_the_threshold_elemental_ratio
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v530/n7590/full/nature16948.html
Article Integrating elements and energy through the metabolic depend...
Article Lotka re-loaded: Modeling trophic interactions under stoichi...
Article Particularity of “Universal resilience patterns in complex networks”
Thanks Michał.
So, for productional biology can mind conclusion that “stoichiometric homeostasis” can be the reason of productivity limitation in some cases. The question is: how frequently in natural ecosystems of different type? Now I'm sure that stoichiometric disbalance is the main reason of atypical feeding...
Andrey
Ha! I like this question! Thank you!
As Michael Kaspari said:
"Imagine how ecosystems would work if each organism had all the N, P, ... Cu, Zn it needed.
Now imagine they don't."
Very briefly: for herbivores and detritivores such a limitaion should always occur. Irrespective of the digestibility, elemental composition of plant matter differ to the high degree from that of animal matter. Thus even assuming 100% assimilation of elements, the development of such organisms would be constrained by huge mass of matter that must be consumed to obtain needed non-carbon elements. Another case are predators, however it seems that even predators forage for specific nutrients.
I recommend you recent brilliant paper of Kaspari and Powers. It expands the topic and it is very enjoyable:
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/687576
Kind regards!
Michał
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/687576
I would agree that energy has had a disproportionate focus despite a lot of work suggesting it is only one piece of the puzzle--energy and elements are ultimately linked. I do think there has been more recent attempts to link classical patterns based on energetics with nutrients using stoichiometric concepts. Brown and other's Metabolic theory of Ecology has a reference to stoichiometry and the possible role of nutrients to modify metabolic patterns. Also, there was an interesting paper by Ott and others linking stoichiometry to the classical body size-abundance scaling patterns which are ultimately based on energy/metabolism. However, there seems to be a lot of work still to be done along these lines to integrate theories of energetics/metabolism and elements. Doi's work and the (in my opinion, underutilized) TER model seems to be a good step in this direction at the organism level (though that we don't know how it responds to environment shows a real blindspot, e.g. Malzahn et al 2016). A lot of questions as to how/when/if energy and elements interact to influence ecological and evolutionary patterns across scales and I don't think the role of stoichiometry in life history evolution has been widely studied though Elser 2000 does come to mind.
Hi,
The question is how to integrate the stoichiometric concepts into the field data recalculations calculation ? Now field hydrobiologist can use coefficients of tempreture dependend functional indices like respiration or production, and amadements on oxygen concentrtation. But how to calculate disbalance or lack???
Andrey
Dear Andrey,
considering calculation of stoichiometric disbalance, I have a nice paper in press. It will appear soon.
Best!
Michał
I found a nice article related to the issue:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305310275_Nutrition_shapes_life-history_evolution_across_species
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/283/1834/20152764
Article Nutrition shapes life-history evolution across species
Dear All,
here you have the paper proposing method of calculation of stoichiometric disbalance.
Kind regards,
MF
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/phen.12168/full
Article Nutritional dynamics during the development of xylophagous b...
hi
Article An Update on the Global Stressors and Constraints Affecting ...
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