User talk:Jweich22/sandbox

Elser's research focuses on ecological stoichiometry, how the balance of chemical elements and affects ecological systems. Most of his research was conducted in the experimental lakes region in Canada. In 1992, Elser, Robert Sterner and Dag Hessen demonstrate that changes in Nitrogen to Phosphorous ratio (N:P) can lead to changes the limiting nutrient of an ecosystem, depending on N:P found within the body content of the species in the system [1]. Elser argues that species such as Daphnia can disable nitrogen fixation, shifting the limiting nutrient from nitrogen to phosphorus within ecosystems because of their low N:P (14:1) compared to other aquatic species [2]. Elser found a homeostatic relationship between species composition and water composition, in his paper entitled “Pelagic C:N:P Stoichiometry in a Eutrophied Lake: Responses to a Whole-Lake Food-Web Manipulation” suggesting that trophic cascades can occur changes species composition or water composition occur [3]. Other contributions include global analyses of the nutrient limitation of primary producers[4], the stoichiometry of nutrient recycling[5], and the effect of light on nutrient content of the water column [6]. Elser's work culminated in the creation of the Growth Rate Hypothesis: the linkage between the phosphorus and RNA content of organisms and their growth rate[7]. The concept of ecological stoichiometry is summarized in the 2002 book "Ecological Stoichiometry"[8], co-authored by Elser and Sterner. Elser also organized Woodstoich, a series of four workshops on ecological stoichiometry for early career researchers[9]. As Director of the Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance[10], Elser and his colleagues recapturing wasted nutrients and reusing them for agriculture[11]. In 2015, Elser found that pumice (a porous rock that forms from glass lava) acts as a phosphorus flux for lakes, creating novel environments for microbes, suggesting floating pumice could have been favorable for early life forms on earth [12].

[1] Sterner, Robert W., et al. “Stoichiometric Relationships among Producers, Consumers and Nutrient Cycling in Pelagic Ecosystems.” Biogeochemistry, vol. 17, no. 1, 1992, pp. 49–67. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1468742. Accessed 28 Apr. 2020.

[2] Elser, James J., et al. “Nutrient Limitation Reduces Food Quality for Zooplankton: Daphnia Response to Seston Phosphorus Enrichment.” Ecology, vol. 82, no. 3, 2001, pp. 898–903. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2680208. Accessed 28 Apr. 2020=8o

[3] Elser, James J., et al. “Pelagic C:N:P Stoichiometry in a Eutrophied Lake: Responses to a Whole-Lake Food-Web Manipulation.” Ecosystems, vol. 3, no. 3, 2000, pp. 293–307. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3658619. Accessed 28 Apr. 2020.

[6] Urabe, J., Elser, J., Kyle, M., Yoshida, T., Sekino, T., & Kawabata, Z. (2002). Herbivorous animals can mitigate unfavourable ratios of energy and material supplies by enhancing nutrient recycling. Ecology Letters, 5, 177–185. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1461-0248.2002.00303.x

[11] "Leadership". Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance. Retrieved 22 December 2019.

[12]Elser, J. J., Navarro, M. B., Corman, J. R., Emick, H., Kellom, M., Laspoumaderes, C., Lee, Z. M., Poret-Peterson, A. T., Balseiro, E., & Modenutti, B. (2015). Community Structure and Biogeochemical Impacts of Microbial Life on Floating Pumice. Applied Environmental Microbiology 81:1542–1549.

Jweich22 (talk) 20:43, 28 April 2020 (UTC)