Fernando Chaguaceda

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences | SLU · Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment

• Aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems differ fundamentally in the abundance of long‐chained polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n‐3), which are produced by aquatic algae, but only in low quantities by terrestrial plants. Aquatic insects, such as Chironomidae (non‐biting midges) feed on algae during their larv...

Fatty acids (FAs) are key nutrients for fitness which take part in multiple physiological processes over the ontogeny of organisms. Yet, we lack evidence on how FA nutrition mediates life-history trade-offs and ontogenetic niche shifts in natural populations. In a field study, we analyzed ontogenetic changes in the FAs of Eurasian perch (Perca fluv...

According to apparent competition theory, sharing a predator should cause indirect interactions among prey that can affect the structure and the dynamics of natural communities. Though shifts in prey dominance and predator resource use along environmental gradients are rather common, empirical evidence on the role of indirect prey–prey interactions...

The physiological dependence of animals on dietary intake of vitamins, amino acids, and fatty acids is ubiquitous. Sharp differences in the availability of these vital dietary biomolecules among different resources mean that consumers must adopt a range of strategies to meet their physiological needs.We review the emerging work on omega-3 long-chai...

Northern lakes are facing rapid environmental alterations—including warming, browning, and/or changes in nutrient concentrations—driven by climate change. These environmental changes can have profound impacts on the synthesis and trophic transfer of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), which are important biochemical molecules for consumer growth an...

Body size is a key functional trait that affects many physiological and ecological processes. Among ectotherms, body size patterns are strongly influenced by temperature variation (temperature-size rule). Consequently, climate change is likely to alter body size patterns affecting ecosystem function, particularly in size-structured aquatic communit...

Body size is a key ecological trait that plays a significant role in determining the functioning of size-structured freshwater communities (e.g., predator-prey interactions, energy transfer). Furthermore, body size change has been posited as a universal response to global warming. Despite previous research efforts, most studies on zooplankton body...

Permanent ponds are valuable freshwater systems and biodiversity hotspots. They provide diverse ecosystem services (ES), including water quality improvement and supply, food provisioning and biodiversity support. This is despite being under significant pressure from multiple anthropogenic stressors and the impacts of ongoing global change. However,...

ARCTIC-BIODIVER is a multidisciplinary project among collaborative research groups of Europe and North America. It aims to facilitate baseline information on freshwater biodiversity as well as development of biodiversity scenarios at national and circumpolar scales. In a multi-site space-for-time field study in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions we inve...

Permanent ponds represent important habitats for aquatic biodiversity and provide vital ecosystem services as key elements for blue landscape connectivity. Although mostly neglected in management programmes, protection schemes and biodiversity studies in general, ponds constitute habitats with high α- and spatial β-diversity, providing unique habit...

Ponds, whilst being mostly neglected in management and protection plans, can constitute habitats with high α- and β-diversity, including many rare and endemic species. In heterogeneous landscapes, ponds can also contribute to habitat connectivity and enhance γ-diversity whilst delivering many ecosystem services. Semi-aquatic insects are one of the...

Whilst being small and shallow, permanent ponds provide valuable habitats for a multitude of organisms as well as provide habitats for animals like aquatic insects and others, including many rare species. These ponds, which were often neglected in limnological studies, were the core of our joint project, the 3rd freshwater project - EUROPONDS in or...

ARCTIC-BIODIVER is a large and multidisciplinary collaboration among research groups of Europe and North America that aims to facilitate development of biodiversity scenarios at national and circumpolar scales. In this poster, we present the extent and geographic distribution of a dataset of >100 lakes and streams covering broad latitudinal and eco...

Within the EUROPONDS project we looked into the contribution of aquatic invertebrates to terrestrial ecosystems, which are globally declining, in various countries all over Europe. Our study encompassed a restored quarry in Alpedrete, Madrid, Spain, a landscape destined for livestock activities. We hypothesized that the emergence during autumn and...

• Stable isotopes represent a unique approach to provide insights into the ecology of organisms. δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N have specifically been used to obtain information on the trophic ecology and food-web interactions. Trophic discrimination factors (TDF, Δ¹³C and Δ¹⁵N) describe the isotopic fractionation occurring from diet to consumer tissue, and these f...

Climate change is one of the most important threats to aquatic biodiversity worldwide, but especially in Arctic freshwaters, where it is expected to cause changes in mean water temperatures, catchment properties and water quality. Climate-driven changes in inputs of nutrients and organic matter from the catchment are expected to affect community c...

Assessments of diversity in Arctic freshwaters generally focus on structural diversity, i.e., the number and composition of taxa at local or regional scales. However, changes in community structure may not result in alterations to ecosystem function if there is strong niche overlap among taxa, leading to functional redundancy. In Arctic freshwaters...

1. Stable isotopes represent a unique approach to provide insights into the ecology of organisms. δ13C and δ15N have specifically be used to obtain information on the trophic ecology and food web interactions. Trophic discrimination factors (TDF, Δ13C and Δ15N) describe the isotopic fractionation occurring from diet to consumer tissue and these fac...

Fatty acids are widely used to study trophic interactions in food web assemblages. Generally, it is assumed that there is a very small modification of fatty acids from one trophic step to another, making them suitable as trophic biomarkers. However, recent literature provides evidence that many fishes possess genes encoding enzymes with a role in b...

1. Stable isotopes represent a unique approach to provide insights into the ecology of organisms. δ13C and δ15N have specifically be used to obtain information on the trophic ecology and food web interactions. The trophic discrimination factor (TDF, Δ13C and Δ15N) describes the isotopic fractionation occurring from diet to consumer tissue and this...

This poster was a contribution by Juan Rubio-Ríos and Encarnación Fenoy from EUROPONDS project to the online Symposium about "Researches in Experimental Sciences" ("IX Simposio de Investigación en Ciencias Experimentales") from University of Almería in Spain.

Eutrophication of fresh waters results in increased CO2 uptake by primary production, but at the same time increased emissions of CH4 to the atmosphere. Given the contrasting effects of CO2 uptake and CH4 release, the net effect of eutrophication on the CO2‐equivalent balance of fresh waters is not clear. We measured carbon fluxes (CO2 and CH4 diff...

In addition to a rise in mean air and water temperatures, more frequent and intense extreme climate events (such as heat waves) have been recorded around the globe during the past decades. These environmental changes are projected to intensify further in the future, and we still know little about how they will affect ecological processes driving ha...

Many surface waters across the boreal region are browning due to increased concentrations of colored allochthonous dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Browning may stimulate heterotrophic metabolism, may have a shading effect constraining primary production, and may acidify the water leading to decreased pH with a subsequent shift in the carbonate syst...

In addition to an increase in mean temperature extreme climatic events, such as heat waves, are predicted to increase in frequency and intensity with climate change, which are likely to affect organism interactions, seasonal succession and resting stage recruitment patterns in terrestrial as well as in aquatic ecosystems. For example, freshwater zo...