*Forum | Dead or alive: carbon as currency to integrate disease and ecosystem ecology theory
Dead or alive: carbon as currency to integrate disease and ecosystem ecology theory
Eric W. Seabloom, Angela Peace, Lale Asik, Rebecca A. Everett, Thijs Frenken, Angélica L. González, Alexander T. Strauss, Dedmer B. Van de Waal, Lauren A. White, Elizabeth T. Borer
Disease and ecosystem ecology are treated as separate disciplines, but we know they're intertwined—so how can we study them together? Think in terms of carbon, suggests this Forum paper.
Most studies of disease stop tracking organisms after they die, ignoring their ongoing role in the ecosystem. By shifting to units of carbon rather than individuals, we can keep track of dead hosts as well as living ones (not to mention partially infected hosts that shed dead tissue).
The authors present four models focusing on plant and phytoplankton pathogens to explore this coupling of disease and ecosystem perspectives. They show that disease spread is mediated by the decomposition rates of dead hosts, while pathogens influence carbon cycling between live and dead biomass. Their modeling also predicts that disease is more devastating to ecosystems with fast carbon turnover, like lakes and oceans, relative to slow-turnover ecosystems like boreal forests—just a few examples of insights gained by unifying the two fields of study.
Oikos Forum is a place where ecological ideas can be kicked around and examined from new angles. Forum papers bring together multiple fields, push boundaries, and offer new ways of interpreting existing data. They strive for conceptual unification and serve as a point of departure for future work rather than simply summarizing previous bodies of theory and data. Through the Forum we seek to challenge current thinking on ecological issues and provide a high level of synthesis in the field of ecology. Artwork and summaries by Abby McBride.
More News from Oikos
Oikos is a leading and long-standing journal in ecology, proudly owned by the Nordic Society Oikos. We publish empirical and theoretical research that spans across diverse taxa, systems, and disciplines, advancing our understanding of ecological mechanisms, processes, and patterns. Our journal fosters debate and speculation, encouraging innovative and provocative ideas that shape ecological thinking. Learn more about Oikos.
More News from NSO Journals
The Nordic Society Oikos publishes five international journals—Oikos, Ecography, Journal of Avian Biology, Wildlife Biology, and Nordic Journal of Botany—and supports the national ecological societies of the five Nordic countries. Learn more about the Nordic Society Oikos and the NSO Journals.