Benthic primary production and elemental content

Costello, Kulacki, McCarthy, Tiegs, and Cardinale. 2018. Ranking stressor impacts on periphyton structure and function with mesocosm experiments and environmental-change forecasts. PLOS One. doi: xxx

Contact information:
David Costello
Kent State University
dcostel3@kent.edu

Context: 
Biofilm primary production and elemental content at the end of the stressor exposure experiment (56 day duration). The periphyton colonized flume mesocosms (periphyton inoculum from Huron River, MI, USA) were either under control conditions or exposed to one of six stressors along a concentration gradient (elevated temperature, extinction, sediment, nitrogen, phosphorus, or salt). Rates of primary production were estimated using a 13-C isotope tracer.

Temporal coverage:
The experiment was initiated on October 24, 2011 and ended on December 20, 2011

Geographic coverage:
Experiment was completed in the Cardinale Lab experimental flume facility at the University of Michigan (Dana Building, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA). Stream water and algal inoculum for the streams was collected from the Huron River at the University of Michigan Nichols Arboretum in Ann Arbor, MI, USA (42°16′59.32″ N, 83°43′27.89″ W).

Data codes:
Temp - treatments with elevated temperature
Ext - treatments with altered algal inoculum to simulate extinction. Inoculum in control streams had 43 total taxa
Sed - treatments with elevated sedidment
Nitrogen - treatments with elevated nitrogen
Phosphorus - treatments with elevated phosphorus
Cl - treatments with elevated salinity (NaCl)
Control - flumes with no stressors added
SRP - Soluble reactive phosphorus

Attributes:
Name			Definition			Type		Units
FLUME			Unique flume ID			Discrete
TREAT			Stressor treatment of flume	Discrete
TEMP			Stream temperature		Continuous	degrees C
EXT			Number of taxa lost		Count		
TSS			Total suspended solids		Continuous	mg/L
NIT			Nitrate concentration		Continuous	µg/L
PHOS			SRP concentration		Continuous	µg/L 
Cl			Chloride concentration		Continuous	mg/L
Pn			Photosynthetic rate		Continuous	µg C/cm^2/hr
Biomass			Periphyton biomass		Continuous	µg C/cm^2
Cmass			Biofilm carbon content		Continuous	mg C/g dry mass
Nmass			Biofilm nitrogen content	Continuous	mg N/g dry mass
Pmass			Biofilm phosphorus content	Continuous	mg P/g dry mass

