Academic Journal
Salt to conserve: a review on the ecology and preservation of hypersaline ecosystems
| العنوان: | Salt to conserve: a review on the ecology and preservation of hypersaline ecosystems |
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| المؤلفون: | Saccò, Mattia, White, Nicole E., Harrod, Chris, Salazar, Gonzalo, Aguilar, Pablo, Cubillos, Carolina F., Meredith, Karina, Baxter, Bonnie K., Oren, Aharon, Anufriieva, Elena, Shadrin, Nickolai, Marambio‐Alfaro, Yeri, Bravo‐Naranjo, Víctor, Allentoft, Morten E. |
| المصدر: | Biological Reviews ; volume 96, issue 6, page 2828-2850 ; ISSN 1464-7931 1469-185X |
| بيانات النشر: | Wiley |
| سنة النشر: | 2021 |
| المجموعة: | Wiley Online Library (Open Access Articles via Crossref) |
| الوصف: | When it comes to the investigation of key ecosystems in the world, we often omit salt from the ecological recipe. In fact, despite occupying almost half of the volume of inland waters and providing crucial services to humanity and nature, inland saline ecosystems are often overlooked in discussions regarding the preservation of global aquatic resources of our planet. As a result, our knowledge of the biological and geochemical dynamics shaping these environments remains incomplete and we are hesitant in framing effective protective strategies against the increasing natural and anthropogenic threats faced by such habitats. Hypersaline lakes, water bodies where the concentration of salt exceeds 35 g/l, occur mainly in arid and semiarid areas resulting from hydrological imbalances triggering the accumulation of salts over time. Often considered the ‘exotic siblings’ within the family of inland waters, these ecosystems host some of the most extremophile communities worldwide and provide essential habitats for waterbirds and many other organisms in already water‐stressed regions. These systems are often highlighted as natural laboratories, ideal for addressing central ecological questions due to their relatively low complexity and simple food web structures. However, recent studies on the biogeochemical mechanisms framing hypersaline communities have challenged this archetype, arguing that newly discovered highly diverse communities are characterised by specific trophic interactions shaped by high levels of specialisation. The main goal of this review is to explore our current understanding of the ecological dynamics of hypersaline ecosystems by addressing four main research questions: ( i ) why are hypersaline lakes unique from a biological and geochemical perspective; ( ii ) which biota inhabit these ecosystems and how have they adapted to the high salt conditions; ( iii ) how do we protect biodiversity from increasing natural and anthropogenic threats; and ( iv ) which scientific tools will help us ... |
| نوع الوثيقة: | article in journal/newspaper |
| اللغة: | English |
| DOI: | 10.1111/brv.12780 |
| الاتاحة: | https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12780 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/brv.12780 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/brv.12780 |
| Rights: | http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
| رقم الانضمام: | edsbas.44693EA8 |
| قاعدة البيانات: | BASE |
| DOI: | 10.1111/brv.12780 |
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