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Forde AJ, Feller IC, Parker JD, Gruner DS. Insectivorous birds reduce herbivory but do not increase mangrove growth across productivity zones. Ecology 2022; 103:e3768. [PMID: 35608609 PMCID: PMC9786852 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Top-down effects of predators and bottom-up effects of resources are important drivers of community structure and function in a wide array of ecosystems. Fertilization experiments impose variation in resource availability that can mediate the strength of predator impacts, but the prevalence of such interactions across natural productivity gradients is less clear. We studied the joint impacts of top-down and bottom-up factors in a tropical mangrove forest system, leveraging fine-grained patchiness in resource availability and primary productivity on coastal cays of Belize. We excluded birds from canopies of red mangrove (Rhizophoraceae: Rhizophora mangle) for 13 months in zones of phosphorus-limited, stunted dwarf mangroves, and in adjacent zones of vigorous mangroves that receive detrital subsidies. Birds decreased total arthropod densities by 62%, herbivore densities more than fivefold, and reduced rates of leaf and bud herbivory by 45% and 52%, respectively. Despite similar arthropod densities across both zones of productivity, leaf and bud damage were 2.0 and 4.3 times greater in productive stands. Detrital subsidies strongly impacted a suite of plant traits in productive stands, potentially making leaves more nutritious and vulnerable to damage. Despite consistently strong impacts on herbivory, we did not detect top-down forcing that impacted mangrove growth, which was similar with and without birds. Our results indicated that both top-down and bottom-up forces drive arthropod community dynamics, but attenuation at the plant-herbivore interface weakens top-down control by avian insectivores.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ilka C. Feller
- Smithsonian Environmental Research CenterEdgewaterMarylandUSA
| | - John D. Parker
- Smithsonian Environmental Research CenterEdgewaterMarylandUSA
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Davidson TM, Smith CM, Torchin ME. Introduced mangroves escape damage from marine and terrestrial enemies. Ecology 2021; 103:e3604. [PMID: 34897657 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The enemy release hypothesis (ERH) posits that introduced species often leave their enemies behind when introduced to a new range. This release from enemies may allow introduced species to achieve higher growth and reproduction and may explain why some invaders flourish in new locations. Red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle) were introduced to Hawai'i from Florida over a century ago. Because Hawai'i has no native mangroves, the arrival of R. mangle fundamentally changed the structure and function of estuarine shorelines. While numerous enemies affect red mangroves in their native range (tropical America), in Hawai'i, mangroves apparently experience little herbivory, which may explain why introduced mangroves are so productive, fecund, and continue to spread. In this study, we compared the effects of enemies in native and introduced populations of brackish red mangroves (R. mangle) in 8-10 sites in the native range (Florida, Belize, and Panamá) and introduced range of mangroves (Hawai'i). At each site, we measured the: i) occurrence of enemies using timed visual surveys, ii) occurrence of damage to different mangrove structures (leaves, apical buds, dead twigs, roots, propagules, and seedlings), and iii) rate of propagule herbivory using tethering experiments. Consistent with the ERH, we found orders of magnitude less damage and fewer enemies in introduced than native mangrove sites. While introduced mangroves harbored few enemies and minimal damage, native mangroves were affected by numerous enemies, including leaf-eating crabs, specialist bud moths, wood-boring insects and isopods, and propagule predators. These patterns were consistent across all plant structures (roots to leaves), among marine and terrestrial enemies, and across functional groups (browsers, borers, pathogens, etc.), which demonstrates enemy escape occurs consistently among different functional groups and via trophic (e.g., herbivores) and non-trophic (e.g., root borers) interactions. Our study is among the first biogeographical enemy release studies to take a comprehensive approach to quantifying the occurrence of damage from a broad suite of marine and terrestrial taxa across an array of wetland plant structures. Understanding how natural enemies alter this key foundation species will become increasingly relevant globally as mangroves continue to invade new regions through intentional plantings or range expansion driven by climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy M Davidson
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Sacramento, California, USA.,School of Life Sciences, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawai'i (USA).,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon, Republic of Panamá
| | - Celia M Smith
- School of Life Sciences, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawai'i (USA)
| | - Mark E Torchin
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon, Republic of Panamá
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Griffen BD, Riley ME, Cannizzo ZJ, Feller IC. Indirect effects of ecosystem engineering combine with consumer behaviour to determine the spatial distribution of herbivory. J Anim Ecol 2017; 86:1425-1433. [PMID: 28692168 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2016] [Accepted: 06/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Ecosystem engineers alter environments by creating, modifying or destroying habitats. The indirect impacts of ecosystem engineering on trophic interactions should depend on the combination of the spatial distribution of engineered structures and the foraging behaviour of consumers that use these structures as refuges. In this study, we assessed the indirect effects of ecosystem engineering by a wood-boring beetle in a neotropical mangrove forest system. We identified herbivory patterns in a dwarf mangrove forest on the archipelago of Twin Cays, Belize. Past wood-boring activity impacted more than one-third of trees through the creation of tree holes that are now used, presumably as predation or thermal refuge, by the herbivorous mangrove tree crab Aratus pisonii. The presence of these refuges had a significant impact on plant-animal interactions; herbivory was more than fivefold higher on trees influenced by tree holes relative to those that were completely isolated from these refuges. Additionally, herbivory decreased exponentially with increasing distance from tree holes. We use individual-based simulation modelling to demonstrate that the creation of these herbivory patterns depends on a combination of the use of engineered tree holes for refuge by tree crabs, and the use of two behaviour patterns in this species-site fidelity to a "home tree," and more frequent foraging near their home tree. We demonstrate that understanding the spatial distribution of herbivory in this system depends on combining both the use of ecosystem engineering structures with individual behavioural patterns of herbivores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blaine D Griffen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.,School of the Earth, Ocean, and Environment, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Megan E Riley
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Zachary J Cannizzo
- School of the Earth, Ocean, and Environment, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Ilka C Feller
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Smithsonian Institution, Edgewater, MD, USA
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Abstract
Plant-herbivore interactions shape community dynamics across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats. From amphipods to elephants and from algae to trees, plant-herbivore relationships are the crucial link generating animal biomass (and human societies) from mere sunlight. These interactions are, thus, pivotal to understanding the ecology and evolution of virtually any ecosystem. Here, we briefly highlight recent advances in four areas of plant-herbivore interactions: (1) plant defense theory, (2) herbivore diversity and ecosystem function, (3) predation risk aversion and herbivory, and (4) how a changing climate impacts plant-herbivore interactions. Recent advances in plant defense theory, for example, highlight how plant life history and defense traits affect and are affected by multiple drivers, including enemy pressure, resource availability, and the local plant neighborhood, resulting in trait-mediated feedback loops linking trophic interactions with ecosystem nutrient dynamics. Similarly, although the positive effect of consumer diversity on ecosystem function has long been recognized, recent advances using DNA barcoding to elucidate diet, and Global Positioning System/remote sensing to determine habitat selection and impact, have shown that herbivore communities are probably even more functionally diverse than currently realized. Moreover, although most diversity-function studies continue to emphasize plant diversity, herbivore diversity may have even stronger impacts on ecosystem multifunctionality. Recent studies also highlight the role of risk in plant-herbivore interactions, and risk-driven trophic cascades have emerged as landscape-scale patterns in a variety of ecosystems. Perhaps not surprisingly, many plant-herbivore interactions are currently being altered by climate change, which affects plant growth rates and resource allocation, expression of chemical defenses, plant phenology, and herbivore metabolism and behavior. Finally, we conclude by noting that although the field is advancing rapidly, the world is changing even more rapidly, challenging our ability to manage these pivotal links in the food chain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deron E. Burkepile
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
- Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - John D. Parker
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, USA
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Boehm FR, Sandrini-Neto L, Moens T, da Cunha Lana P. Sewage input reduces the consumption of Rhizophora mangle propagules by crabs in a subtropical mangrove system. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2016; 122:23-32. [PMID: 27742447 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2016.09.003] [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: 05/11/2016] [Revised: 09/09/2016] [Accepted: 09/17/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Mangrove forests are highly productive and play a major role in global carbon cycling. Their carbon accumulation can be influenced through the consumption of nutrient-poor leaves and propagules by herbivore crabs. Anthropogenic nutrient input from sewage contamination is widespread in these often naturally nutrient-limited ecosystems. We hypothesised that sewage-mediated nutrient input to mangrove stands of Paranaguá Bay (southern Brazil), would alter the nutrient sources available for crabs, e.g. through microphytobenthos increase, and that this would reflect in their feeding behaviour. We predicted that propagules of Rhizophora mangle in contaminated stands would experience lower grazing pressure from their two main local consumers (Ucides cordatus and Goniopsis cruentata). We compared herbivory rates on R. mangle propagules in sewage contaminated and uncontaminated mangrove stands. We found that herbivory rates were significantly lower in contaminated than uncontaminated forests, but this pattern could not be clearly attributed to increased nutrient availability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederike Ricarda Boehm
- Laboratory of Benthic Ecology, Centre for Marine Studies (CEM), Universidade Federal do Paraná, Av. Beira Mar s/n 83255-976, PO Box 61, Pontal do Paraná, Paraná, Brazil; Ghent University, Biology Department, Marine Biol Lab, Krijgslaan 281-S8, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Leonardo Sandrini-Neto
- Laboratory of Benthic Ecology, Centre for Marine Studies (CEM), Universidade Federal do Paraná, Av. Beira Mar s/n 83255-976, PO Box 61, Pontal do Paraná, Paraná, Brazil
| | - Tom Moens
- Ghent University, Biology Department, Marine Biol Lab, Krijgslaan 281-S8, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Paulo da Cunha Lana
- Laboratory of Benthic Ecology, Centre for Marine Studies (CEM), Universidade Federal do Paraná, Av. Beira Mar s/n 83255-976, PO Box 61, Pontal do Paraná, Paraná, Brazil
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Cannizzo ZJ, Griffen BD. Changes in spatial behaviour patterns by mangrove tree crabs following climate-induced range shift into novel habitat. Anim Behav 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.08.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Feller IC, Dangremond EM, Devlin DJ, Lovelock CE, Proffitt CE, Rodriguez W. Nutrient enrichment intensifies hurricane impact in scrub mangrove ecosystems in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida, USA. Ecology 2015; 96:2960-72. [DOI: 10.1890/14-1853.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Carbon Budgets for Caribbean Mangrove Forests of Varying Structure and with Phosphorus Enrichment. FORESTS 2015. [DOI: 10.3390/f6103528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Scharler UM, Ulanowicz RE, Fogel ML, Wooller MJ, Jacobson-Meyers ME, Lovelock CE, Feller IC, Frischer M, Lee R, McKee K, Romero IC, Schmit JP, Shearer C. Variable nutrient stoichiometry (carbon:nitrogen:phosphorus) across trophic levels determines community and ecosystem properties in an oligotrophic mangrove system. Oecologia 2015; 179:863-76. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-015-3379-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2014] [Accepted: 06/16/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Mammalian herbivores in Australia transport nutrients from terrestrial to marine ecosystems via mangroves. JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2014. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467414000054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Abstract:Nutrient subsidies from one ecosystem to another serve a critical link among ecosystems. The transfer of materials across the terrestrial-to-marine boundary is considered to be driven by hydrological connectivity, but animal movement can provide another pathway for nutrient transfers. In two separate studies we assessed the role mammals (bats and kangaroos) play in alleviating nutrient limitation in mangrove forests in Australia. At Lizard Island, we measured tree growth and foliar elemental and isotopic composition of trees growing within and outside a large flying fox roost. In Western Australia, we measured foliar elemental and isotopic composition of trees within two forests frequented by kangaroos that feed in spinifex grasslands and shelter in the shade of the mangroves. We compared those with mangroves from adjacent forests that are not frequented by kangaroos. We show that at both locations, the mangrove forest receives terrestrial nutrient subsidies through animal movement. At Lizard Island dominant mangrove species were significantly enriched in nitrogen within the bat roost, as evidenced by higher foliar N concentrations (by up to 150%), N:P and N:C ratios in trees within the roost compared with trees outside the roost. The isotopic signature of foliar N was significantly enriched in 15N by 1–3‰ within the roost, further suggesting that the source of the N enrichment was the bat roost. Growth rates of mangroves within the roost were nearly six times higher than trees outside the roost. In the arid coast of Western Australia, we show elevated foliar 15N abundance of up to 3‰ in mangroves where kangaroos shelter relative to trees where they do not. Thus, this study presents two examples for mammalian herbivore mediated localized transport of nutrients from terrestrial to marine ecosystems, consequently affecting mangrove tree growth, productivity and forest structure.
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Latitudinal Patterns of Herbivory in Mangrove Forests: Consequences of Nutrient Over-Enrichment. Ecosystems 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-013-9678-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Erickson AA, Bell SS, Dawes CJ. Associational resistance protects mangrove leaves from crab herbivory. ACTA OECOLOGICA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actao.2012.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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13
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The impact of a locust plague on mangroves of the arid Western Australia coast. JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2012. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467412000041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Mangroves generally grow in nutrient-poor environments and maintain high levels of productivity through unique adaptations for nutrient conservation (Reef et al. 2010). One such adaptation in mangroves is highly efficient resorption of limiting nutrients from senescing leaves prior to abscission (Feller et al. 2003). Thus processes that lead to loss of foliage prior to senescence and nutrient resorption (e.g. storms and herbivory) can be detrimental to tree growth and productivity (Bryant et al. 1983, May & Killingbeck 1992). Furthermore, decomposition of fallen leaves by soil microbial communities (Alongi 1994, Holguin et al. 2001) and crabs (Nagelkerken et al. 2008) is another important process contributing to the recycling of nutrients that are in short supply. Therefore, processes that lead to a substantial reduction in litterfall can have a strong negative effect on nutrient cycling and forest productivity. Mangroves have long been recognized as an important source of organic carbon (both particulate and dissolved) for the surrounding tropical coastal ecosystems (Bouillon et al. 2008, Kristensen et al. 2008). Thus, processes affecting litterfall in mangroves can affect the surrounding marine food webs.
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Abstract
Mangrove forests dominate the world's tropical and subtropical coastlines. Similar to other plant communities, nutrient availability is one of the major factors influencing mangrove forest structure and productivity. Many mangrove soils have extremely low nutrient availability, although nutrient availability can vary greatly among and within mangrove forests. Nutrient-conserving processes in mangroves are well developed and include evergreeness, resorption of nutrients prior to leaf fall, the immobilization of nutrients in leaf litter during decomposition, high root/shoot ratios and the repeated use of old root channels. Both nitrogen-use efficiency and nutrient resorption efficiencies in mangroves are amongst the highest recorded for angiosperms. A complex range of interacting abiotic and biotic factors controls the availability of nutrients to mangrove trees, and mangroves are characteristically plastic in their ability to opportunistically utilize nutrients when these become available. Nitrogen and phosphorus have been implicated as the nutrients most likely to limit growth in mangroves. Ammonium is the primary form of nitrogen in mangrove soils, in part as a result of anoxic soil conditions, and tree growth is supported mainly by ammonium uptake. Nutrient enrichment is a major threat to marine ecosystems. Although mangroves have been proposed to protect the marine environment from land-derived nutrient pollution, nutrient enrichment can have negative consequences for mangrove forests and their capacity for retention of nutrients may be limited.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Reef
- The Centre for Marine Studies, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
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Feller IC, Lovelock CE, Berger U, McKee KL, Joye SB, Ball MC. Biocomplexity in mangrove ecosystems. ANNUAL REVIEW OF MARINE SCIENCE 2010; 2:395-417. [PMID: 21141670 DOI: 10.1146/annurev.marine.010908.163809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 136] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Mangroves are an ecological assemblage of trees and shrubs adapted to grow in intertidal environments along tropical coasts. Despite repeated demonstration of their economic and societal value, more than 50% of the world's mangroves have been destroyed, 35% in the past two decades to aquaculture and coastal development, altered hydrology, sea-level rise, and nutrient overenrichment. Variations in the structure and function of mangrove ecosystems have generally been described solely on the basis of a hierarchical classification of the physical characteristics of the intertidal environment, including climate, geomorphology, topography, and hydrology. Here, we use the concept of emergent properties at multiple levels within a hierarchical framework to review how the interplay between specialized adaptations and extreme trait plasticity that characterizes mangroves and intertidal environments gives rise to the biocomplexity that distinguishes mangrove ecosystems. The traits that allow mangroves to tolerate variable salinity, flooding, and nutrient availability influence ecosystem processes and ultimately the services they provide. We conclude that an integrated research strategy using emergent properties in empirical and theoretical studies provides a holistic approach for understanding and managing mangrove ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- I C Feller
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Smithsonian Institution, Edgewater, Maryland 21037, USA.
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