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Martínez-Curci NS, Fierro P, Navedo JG. Does experimental seaweed cultivation affect benthic communities and shorebirds? Applications for extensive aquaculture. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2023; 33:e2799. [PMID: 36504174 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Extensive seaweed aquaculture is a growing industry expected to expand globally due to its relatively low impact and benefits in the form of ecosystem services. However, seaweeds are ecosystem engineers that may alter coastal environments by creating complex habitats on previously bare mudflats. These changes may scale up to top-consumers, particularly migratory shorebirds, species of conservation concern that regulate trophic webs at these habitats. Understanding how habitats are transformed and how this affects different species is critical to direct ecological applications for commercial seaweed management. We experimentally assessed through a Before-After Control-Impact design the potential changes exerted by Gracilaria chilensis farming on bare mudflats on the abundance, biomass, and assemblage structure of benthic macroinvertebrates, and their scaled-up effects on shorebirds' habitat use and prey consumption. As predicted, experimental cultivation of G. chilensis significantly affects different components of biodiversity that scale-up from lower to upper trophic levels. The total biomass of benthic macroinvertebrates increased with seaweed cultivation and remained high for at least 2 months after harvest, boosted by an increase in the median size of polychaetes, particularly Nereids. Tactile-foraging shorebirds tracked these changes at the patch level increasing their abundance and spending more time foraging at seaweed cultivated plots. These results suggest that seaweed farming has the potential to impact shorebird populations by favoring tactile-foraging species which could lead to a competitive disadvantage to species that rely on visual cues. Therefore, the establishment of new seaweed farms in bare mudflats at key sites for shorebirds must be planned warranting habitat heterogeneity (i.e., cultivated and non-cultivated areas) at the landscape level and based on a previous experimental approach to account for local characteristics. Fostering properly designed extensive seaweed farming over other aquaculture industries with greater negative environmental impacts would provide benefits for human well-being and for ecosystem functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia S Martínez-Curci
- Coastal Solutions Fellows Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
- Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Vadivia, Chile
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Pablo Fierro
- Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Vadivia, Chile
| | - Juan G Navedo
- Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Vadivia, Chile
- Estación Experimental Quempillén, Universidad Austral de Chile, Ancud, Chile
- Millennium Institute Biodiversity of Antarctic and Subantarctic Ecosystems (BASE), Santiago, Chile
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Byers JE. Using ecosystem engineers to enhance multiple ecosystem processes. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- James E. Byers
- Odum School of Ecology University of Georgia Athens Georgia USA
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3
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Krueger-Hadfield SA, Byers JE, Bonthond G, Terada R, Weinberger F, Sotka EE. Intraspecific diversity and genetic structure in the widespread macroalga Agarophyton vermiculophyllum. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2021; 57:1403-1410. [PMID: 34218439 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.13195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Revised: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Single-gene markers, such as the mitochondrial cox1, microsatellites, and single-nucleotide polymorphisms are powerful methods to describe diversity within and among taxonomic groups and characterize phylogeographic patterns. Large repositories of publicly-available, molecular data can be combined to generate and evaluate evolutionary hypotheses for many species, including algae. In the case of biological invasions, the combination of different molecular markers has enabled the description of the geographic distribution of invasive lineages. Here, we review the phylogeography of the widespread invasive red macroalga Agarophyton vermiculophyllum (synonym Gracilaria vermiculophylla). The cox1 barcoding provided the first description of the invasion history and hinted at a strong genetic bottleneck during the invasion. Yet, more recent microsatellite and SNP genotyping has not found evidence for bottlenecks and instead suggested that genetically diverse inocula arose from a highly diverse source population, multiple invasions, or some mix of these processes. The bottleneck evident from cox1 barcoding likely reflects the dominance of one mitochondrial lineage, and one haplotype in particular, in the northern source populations in Japan. Recent cox1 sequencing of A. vermiculophyllum has illuminated the complexity of phylogeographic structure in its native range of the northwest Pacific Ocean. For example, the western coast of Honshu in the Sea of Japan displays spatial patterns of haplotypic diversity with multiple lineages found together at the same geographic site. By consolidating the genetic data of this species, we clarify the phylogenetic relationships of a well-studied macroalga introduced to virtually every temperate estuary of the Northern Hemisphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacy A Krueger-Hadfield
- Department of Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1300 University Blvd, Birmingham, Alabama, 35294, USA
| | - James E Byers
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, 140 E. Green St., Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA
| | - Guido Bonthond
- GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, Kiel, 24105, Germany
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine environment (ICBM), Carl-von-Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Schleusenstrasse 1, Wilhelmshaven, 26382, Germany
| | - Ryuta Terada
- United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Kagoshima University, Korimoto 1-21-24, Kagoshima City, 890-0065, Japan
| | - Florian Weinberger
- GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, Kiel, 24105, Germany
| | - Erik E Sotka
- Department of Biology and Grice Marine Lab, College of Charleston, 205 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, South Carolina, 29412, USA
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Besterman AF, Pace ML. Mudflat geomorphology determines invasive macroalgal effect on invertebrate prey and shorebird predators. Ecology 2021; 102:e03540. [PMID: 34582563 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2021] [Revised: 08/29/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Impacts of invasive species are often context specific due to varying ecological interactions. Physical structure of environments hosting invaders is also potentially important but has received limited attention. An invasive macroalga, Agarophyton vermiculophyllum, has spread across the northern hemisphere with mixed positive, neutral and negative effects on resident species. Agarophyton colonizes mudflats that vary in topography due to interactions of sediments with hydrodynamic forces. We tested the hypothesis that mudflat geomorphology moderates the effect of Agarophyton on shorebirds and invertebrates. We surveyed 30 mudflats in the Virginia Coast Reserve quantifying elevation and topography. Invertebrate and bird abundances were also quantified. Mudflat geomorphology ranged from smooth to hummocky and was correlated with invertebrate and shorebird abundance and interactions based on piecewise structural equation models. After accounting for geomorphology, Agarophyton had little effect on invertebrate abundance. Shorebird numbers were differentially influenced by mudflat topography, with positive correlations to invertebrates (worms) on smooth mudflats, and to macroalgae on hummocky mudflats. These differences are likely to be due to sediment properties in interaction with structural changes induced by Agarophyton mats that affect prey accessibility for birds. Even on apparently simple mudflats, geomorphic structure emerged as important, modifying invasive species impacts and differentially influencing consumers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice F Besterman
- Department of Environmental Science, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Michael L Pace
- Department of Environmental Science, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
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Wang D, Nkurunziza V, Barber NA, Zhu H, Wang J. Introduced ecological engineers drive behavioral changes of grasshoppers, consequently linking to its abundance in two grassland plant communities. Oecologia 2021; 195:1007-1018. [PMID: 33625579 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-04880-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Introduced ecosystem engineers are expected to have extensive ecological impacts on a broad range of resident biota by altering the physical-chemical structure of ecosystems. Livestock that are potentially important introduced ecosystem engineers in grassland systems could create and/or modify habitats for native plant-dwelling insects. Yet, there is little knowledge of how insects respond to engineering effects of introduced livestock. To bridge this gap, we tested how domestic sheep affects the behavior and abundance of a native grasshopper Euchorthippus unicolor at both low (11.8 ± 0.4 plant species per plot) and high (19.8 ± 0.5 plant species per plot) diversity sites. Results found grasshoppers shifted their resting and feeding locations from the upper to the intermediate or low layers of vegetation, and fed on more plants species following livestock engineering effects. In the low plant diversity habitats, grazing caused grasshoppers to increase switching frequency, spend more time searching for host plants, and reduce time spent feeding, but had opposite effects on all the three behaviors in the high-diversity habitats. Moreover, grazing engineering effects on behavioral changes of grasshoppers were potentially related to their abundance. Overall, this study highlights native insect species' behavior and abundance in responses to introduced ecological engineers, and suggests that ecosystem engineers of non-native species have strong and important impacts extending beyond their often most obvious and frequently documented direct ecological effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deli Wang
- Institute of Grassland Science/School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun, 130024, Jilin, China
| | - Venuste Nkurunziza
- Institute of Grassland Science/School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun, 130024, Jilin, China
| | - Nicholas A Barber
- Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA
| | - Hui Zhu
- Institute of Grassland Science/School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun, 130024, Jilin, China. .,School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, Jilin, China.
| | - Jingting Wang
- Institute of Grassland Science/School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun, 130024, Jilin, China
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Disentangling abiotic and biotic mechanisms behind the formation of heterospecific Nearctic-Neotropical shorebird flocks. Evol Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-020-10079-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
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Bermejo R, MacMonagail M, Heesch S, Mendes A, Edwards M, Fenton O, Knöller K, Daly E, Morrison L. The arrival of a red invasive seaweed to a nutrient over-enriched estuary increases the spatial extent of macroalgal blooms. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2020; 158:104944. [PMID: 32250838 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.104944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Revised: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 03/07/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The red seaweed Agarophyton vermiculophyllum is an invasive species native to the north-west Pacific, which has proliferated in temperate estuaries of Europe, North America and Africa. Combining molecular identification tools, historical satellite imagery and one-year seasonal monitoring of biomass and environmental conditions, the presence of A. vermiculophyllum was confirmed, and the invasion was assessed and reconstructed. The analysis of satellite imagery identified the first bloom in 2014 and revealed that A. vermiculophyllum is capable of thriving in areas, where native bloom-forming species cannot, increasing the size of blooms (ca. 10%). The high biomass found during the peak bloom (>2 kg m-2) and the observation of anoxic events indicated deleterious effects. The monitoring of environmental conditions and biomass variability suggests an essential role of light, temperature and phosphorous in bloom development. The introduction of this species could be considered a threat for local biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in a global change context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo Bermejo
- Earth and Ocean Sciences, School of Natural Sciences and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway, H91 TK33, Ireland.
| | - Michéal MacMonagail
- Earth and Ocean Sciences, School of Natural Sciences and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway, H91 TK33, Ireland
| | - Svenja Heesch
- UMR 8227- Integrative Biology of Marine Models, CNRS, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Roscoff, France; Institute for Biological Sciences, University of Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Straße 3, D-18059, Rostock, Germany
| | - Ana Mendes
- Earth and Ocean Sciences, School of Natural Sciences and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway, H91 TK33, Ireland
| | - Maeve Edwards
- Zoology Department, School of Natural Sciences and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway, H91 TK33, Ireland
| | - Owen Fenton
- Teagasc, Johnstown Castle, Co, Wexford, Ireland
| | - Kay Knöller
- Department of Catchment Hydrology, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ Theodor-Lieser-Straße 4, D-06120 Halle, Germany
| | - Eve Daly
- Earth and Ocean Sciences, School of Natural Sciences and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway, H91 TK33, Ireland
| | - Liam Morrison
- Earth and Ocean Sciences, School of Natural Sciences and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway, H91 TK33, Ireland.
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Fonseca J, Navedo JG. Shorebird predation on benthic invertebrates after shrimp-pond harvesting: Implications for semi-intensive aquaculture management. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2020; 262:110290. [PMID: 32090889 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2019] [Revised: 02/15/2020] [Accepted: 02/15/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
How to improve habitat quality for wildlife is of particular importance in areas dedicated to food production, due to increasing pressures of global demands associated to human population growth. Semi-intensive aquaculture ponds can provide a potentially important foraging habitat for migratory shorebirds throughout the non-breeding season. Therefore, understanding the availability of benthic invertebrates in aquaculture ponds will help to identify proper management decisions for shorebird conservation. We used an exclosure experiment during the first three days after shrimp harvesting at semi-intensive aquaculture ponds in north-west Mexico to assess shorebird predation on benthic invertebrates. We found that shorebird predation did not deplete total benthic invertebrate density (particularly polychaete worms), but significantly affected the prey size distributions and biomass in the ponds during a short-time window of just three days. Shorebirds removed 0.6 g ash-free dry weight m-2, equivalent to 43% of the initial biomass and showed high selectivity for polychaetes larger than >40 mm as prey, potentially explaining the absence of large polychaetes at the end of the experiment. This depletion was the likely cause of the daily decrease observed in overall density of foraging shorebirds at recently harvested ponds. These results can serve to identify management actions that allow an extended use of semi-intensive aquaculture ponds as foraging sites for migratory shorebirds during the non-breeding season, with potential applications to develop standards for a friendlier aquaculture management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juanita Fonseca
- Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Paseo Claussen s/n Colonia Los Pinos, Mazatlán, Sinaloa 82000, Mexico.
| | - Juan G Navedo
- Bird Ecology Lab, Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Campus Isla Teja, 5090000, Valdivia, Chile; Estación Experimental Quempillén, Chiloé, Universidad Austral de Chile, Ancud, Chile
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Besterman AF, Karpanty SM, Pace ML. Impact of exotic macroalga on shorebirds varies with foraging specialization and spatial scale. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0231337. [PMID: 32275732 PMCID: PMC7147735 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2019] [Accepted: 03/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Exotic species may increase or decrease native biodiversity. However, effects of exotic species are often mixed; and indirect pathways and compensatory changes can mask effects. Context-specific assessments of the indirect impacts of exotic species are also needed across multiple spatial scales. Agarophyton vermiculophyllum (previously Gracilaria vermiculophylla), an exotic, invasive macroalga, has established throughout the western hemisphere with reported positive or neutral impacts on biodiversity. Shorebirds are an important group for conservation in areas invaded by A. vermiculophyllum. We assess the impacts of this invader on shorebirds by measuring behavior and habitat selection at spatial scales ranging from algal patches to the entire study region. Birds were considered either flexible-foragers that used diverse foraging techniques, or specialized-foragers that employed fewer, more specialized foraging techniques. Responses were scale dependent, with patterns varying between spatial scales, and between behavior and habitat selection. However, a general pattern of habitat selection emerged wherein flexible-foraging shorebirds preferred A. vermiculophyllum habitat, and for specialized-foragers, habitat selection of A. vermiculophyllum was mixed. Meanwhile, flexible-foraging birds tended to neutrally use or avoid uninvaded habitat, and specialized-foraging birds mostly preferred uninvaded habitat. Shorebird behavioral response was less clear; with flexible-foragers spending less time on bare sediment than expected, the only significant response. Shorebird response to A. vermiculophyllum differed by foraging mode; likely because flexible, opportunistic species more readily use invaded habitat. Increases in A. vermiculophyllum could result in functional homogenization if the bare habitat preferred by specialized-foragers is reduced too greatly. We hypothesize the effect of scale is driven by differences among tidal flats. Thus, tidal flat properties such as sediment grain size and microtopography would determine whether foraging from A. vermiculophyllum was optimal for a shorebird. Specialization and spatial scale are important when assessing the biodiversity conservation impacts of invasive A. vermiculophyllum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice F. Besterman
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America
- * E-mail: ,
| | - Sarah M. Karpanty
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Michael L. Pace
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America
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Promoting invasive species to enhance multifunctionality in a native ecosystem still requires strong(er) scrutiny. Biol Invasions 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-018-1851-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Sotka EE, Byers JE. Not so fast: promoting invasive species to enhance multifunctionality in a native ecosystem requires strong(er) scrutiny. Biol Invasions 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-018-1822-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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