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INTERACTION BETWEEN PHYSIOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL HETEROGENEITY DETERMINES DISCREPANCY IN STREAM METABOLISM ACROSS SPATIAL SCALES

Understanding the scale dependence of patterns is a central problem in ecology. We investigated the mismatch between stream metabolism at reach and habitat scales in six biomes. At the reach scale, we estimated GPP and ER by modeling the diel changes in dissolved oxygen concentration. At the habitat scale, we incubated representative substrates in recirculating chambers, and applied the same dynamic model to estimate GPP and ER. The dynamic model accounts for the temperature and light dependence of GPP and ER to allow for standardization of metabolism to the same environmental conditions. We found that the reach-to-habitat ratio of GPP and ER, standardized to the same light and temperature conditions, decreased as the variance of habitat-scale metabolism within a reach increased. By applying scale transition theory, we showed that the heterogeneity of habitat-scale metabolism within a reach, coupled with negative correlations between light and GPP per light, and between ER and temperature sensitivity, could explain the discrepancy across scales. Our results suggest that accounting for nonlinearity and spatial heterogeneity could improve our ability to translate ecological patterns across scales.

Chao Song (Primary Presenter/Author), Taizhou University, songchaonk@163.com ;


Walter Dodds ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Kansas State University, wkdodds@ksu.edu;


Janine Rüegg ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Lausanne, janine.ruegg@unil.ch;


Alba Argerich ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Missouri, alba.argerich@oregonstate.edu;


Christina Baker ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Alaska Fairbanks, clbaker5@alaska.edu;


William Breck Bowden ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Vermont, breck.bowden@uvm.edu;


Michael Douglas ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Western Australia & Charles Darwin University, michael.douglas@uwa.edu.au;


Kaitlin Farrell ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Georgia, kfarrel@uga.edu;


Michael B. Flinn ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Watershed Studies Institute, Dept. of Biological Sciences, Murray State University, mflinn@murraystate.edu;


Erica Garcia ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Charles Darwin University, erica.garcia@cdu.edu.au;


Keith Gido ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Kansas State University, kgido@ksu.edu;


Tamara Harms ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of California Riverside, tharms@ucr.edu;


Ashley Helton ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Connecticut, ashley.helton@uconn.edu;


Shufang Jia ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Kansas State University, shufangj@ksu.edu;


Jeremy Jones ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Univeristy of Alaska Fairbanks, jbjonesjr@alaska.edu;


Lauren Koenig ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of New Hampshire, lauren.koenig@unh.edu;


John S. Kominoski ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Florida International University, jkominoski@gmail.com;


William H McDowell ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of New Hampshire, bill.mcdowell@unh.edu;


Damien McMaster ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Charles Darwin University, Damien.McMaster@cdu.edu.au;


Samuel P. Parker ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Vermont, samuel.parker@uvm.edu;


Amy D. Rosemond ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Georgia, rosemond@uga.edu;


Ken Sheehan ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of New Hampshire, ken.r.sheehan@gmail.com;


Matt Trentman ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, matt.trentman@flbs.umt.edu;


Matt Whiles ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Florida, mwhiles@ufl.edu;


Wilfred M. Wollheim ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of New Hampshire, wil.wollheim@unh.edu;


Ford Ballantyne ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Georgia, fba4@uga.edu;