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Wang X, Lin C, Wang W, Zhang L. The non-negligible contribution of foundation species to artificial reef construction revealed by Ecopath models. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 366:121887. [PMID: 39025015 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121887] [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: 05/20/2024] [Revised: 07/12/2024] [Accepted: 07/13/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024]
Abstract
The seabed desertification has increasingly highlighted the importance of benthic habitat restoration. Strategically engineered artificial reefs emerges as pivotal in achieving restoration objectives. However, the significant influence of foundation species on biotic components and ecosystem attributes within diverse artificial reefs has been underrecognized. This study collated twenty Ecopath models of artificial reefs and their corresponding natural control ecosystems along the coasts of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea, China, categorizing them into five distinct system types predicated on the biomass and productivity of foundational species. Our results suggest that dimensionless indices, rather than actual system values, were posited to facilitate inter-comparative analysis. The comparative analysis revealed differences in biomass distribution, energy utilization, and trophic structure across the five ecosystem types. All the artificial reef systems collectively enhanced the utilization of primary production. Foundation species components formed the cornerstone of system functionality, significantly impacting ecosystem stability through modulation of energy flow dynamics. Distinct impacts were observed from shellfish and macroalgae; the former augmenting the detrital food chain, while the latter bolstering the grazing food chain. Consequently, the model-based integrated analysis enabled a robust comparison among various types of artificial reef ecosystems and confirmed that promoting the colonization of foundation species was a non-negligible factor in the design and deployment of artificial reefs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xu Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China; Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, 266237, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Chenggang Lin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China; Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, 266237, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Weizhong Wang
- Shandong Blue Ocean Technology Co., Ltd, Yantai, 261413, China
| | - Libin Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China; Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, 266237, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
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2
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Barry PJ, Silburn B, Bakir A, Russell J, Tidbury HJ. Seafloor macrolitter as a settling platform for non-native species: A case study from UK waters. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2024; 204:116499. [PMID: 38796991 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116499] [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: 03/15/2024] [Revised: 05/13/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Marine litter is increasingly recognised as a vector for the spread of non-native species (NNS). However, our understanding of its role in the propagation of NNS in UK waters remains limited. As part of the Clean Seas Environmental Monitoring Programme, we opportunistically analysed seafloor macrolitter items trawled from various locations around the coast of England and Wales and examined each for the presence of NNS. Of the 41 litter items analysed, we identified a total of 133 taxa, including two non-native and four cryptogenic species. This confirms that NNS are settling on seafloor macrolitter in UK waters and that these can be detected using morphological taxonomic analysis. Furthermore, we propose a methodology to classify litter based on size, rugosity and polymer/material type to explore whether there were detectable patterns governing community composition and litter characteristics. This exploratory investigation provides evidence to inform future risk assessments of NNS vectors and pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- P J Barry
- Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft NR33 0HT, United Kingdom.
| | - B Silburn
- Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft NR33 0HT, United Kingdom.
| | - A Bakir
- Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft NR33 0HT, United Kingdom.
| | - J Russell
- Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft NR33 0HT, United Kingdom.
| | - H J Tidbury
- Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Barrack Road, Weymouth DT4 8UB, United Kingdom.
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3
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Silliman BR, Hensel MJS, Gibert JP, Daleo P, Smith CS, Wieczynski DJ, Angelini C, Paxton AB, Adler AM, Zhang YS, Altieri AH, Palmer TM, Jones HP, Gittman RK, Griffin JN, O'Connor MI, van de Koppel J, Poulsen JR, Rietkerk M, He Q, Bertness MD, van der Heide T, Valdez SR. Harnessing ecological theory to enhance ecosystem restoration. Curr Biol 2024; 34:R418-R434. [PMID: 38714175 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2024]
Abstract
Ecosystem restoration can increase the health and resilience of nature and humanity. As a result, the international community is championing habitat restoration as a primary solution to address the dual climate and biodiversity crises. Yet most ecosystem restoration efforts to date have underperformed, failed, or been burdened by high costs that prevent upscaling. To become a primary, scalable conservation strategy, restoration efficiency and success must increase dramatically. Here, we outline how integrating ten foundational ecological theories that have not previously received much attention - from hierarchical facilitation to macroecology - into ecosystem restoration planning and management can markedly enhance restoration success. We propose a simple, systematic approach to determining which theories best align with restoration goals and are most likely to bolster their success. Armed with a century of advances in ecological theory, restoration practitioners will be better positioned to more cost-efficiently and effectively rebuild the world's ecosystems and support the resilience of our natural resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian R Silliman
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, 135 Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA.
| | - Marc J S Hensel
- Biological Sciences Department, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA; Nature Coast Biological Station, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Cedar Key, FL 32625, USA
| | - Jean P Gibert
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Pedro Daleo
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), FCEyN, UNMdP-CONICET, CC 1260 Correo Central, B7600WAG, Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Carter S Smith
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, 135 Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
| | | | - Christine Angelini
- Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Avery B Paxton
- National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 101 Pivers Island Road, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
| | - Alyssa M Adler
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, 135 Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
| | - Y Stacy Zhang
- Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Andrew H Altieri
- Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Todd M Palmer
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Holly P Jones
- Department of Biological Sciences and Institute for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability, and Energy, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, USA
| | - Rachel K Gittman
- Department of Biology and Coastal Studies Institute, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA
| | - John N Griffin
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, UK
| | - Mary I O'Connor
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6R 1W4, Canada
| | - Johan van de Koppel
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Yerseke, The Netherlands; Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - John R Poulsen
- The Nature Conservancy, 2424 Spruce Street, Boulder, CO 80302, USA; Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, PO Box 90328, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Max Rietkerk
- Department Environmental Sciences, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Qiang He
- Coastal Ecology Lab, MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Mark D Bertness
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, 90 Witman Street, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Tjisse van der Heide
- Department of Coastal Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Den Burg, The Netherlands; Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Stephanie R Valdez
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, 135 Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
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4
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Saldaña PH, Angelini C, Bertness MD, Altieri AH. Dead foundation species drive ecosystem dynamics. Trends Ecol Evol 2024; 39:294-305. [PMID: 37923644 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2023] [Revised: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Foundation species facilitate communities, modulate energy flow, and define ecosystems, but their ecological roles after death are frequently overlooked. Here, we reveal the widespread importance of their dead structures as unique, interacting components of ecosystems that are vulnerable to global change. Key metabolic activity, mobility, and morphology traits of foundation species either change or persist after death with important consequences for ecosystem functions, biodiversity, and subsidy dynamics. Dead foundation species frequently mediate ecosystem stability, resilience, and transitions, often through feedbacks, and harnessing their structural and trophic roles can improve restoration outcomes. Enhanced recognition of dead foundation species and their incorporation into habitat monitoring, ecological theory, and ecosystem forecasting can help solve the escalating conservation challenges of the Anthropocene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick H Saldaña
- Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
| | - Christine Angelini
- Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Mark D Bertness
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Andrew H Altieri
- Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
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5
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Ridenour WM, Lortie CJ, Callaway RM. A realized facilitation cascade mediated by biological soil crusts in a sagebrush steppe community. Sci Rep 2023; 13:4803. [PMID: 36959466 PMCID: PMC10036522 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31967-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Biological soil crusts can have strong effects on vascular plant communities which have been inferred from short-term germination and early establishment responses. However, biocrusts are often assumed to function as an "organizing principle" in communities because their effects can "cascade" to interactions among crust-associated plant species. We conducted surveys and experiments to explore these cascades and found that biocrusts were positively associated with large patches (> 10 m diameter) of a dominant shrub Artemisia tridentata. At the smaller scale of individual shrubs and the open matrices between shrubs, biocrusts were negatively associated with Artemisia. Juveniles of Artemisia were found only in biocrusts in intershrub spaces and never under shrubs or in soil without biocrusts. In two-year field experiments, biocrusts increased the growth of Festuca and the photosynthetic rates of Artemisia. Festuca planted under Artemisia were also at least twice as large as those planted in open sites without crusts or where Artemisia were removed. Thus, biocrusts can facilitate vascular plants over long time periods and can contribute to a "realized" cascade with nested negative and positive interactions for a range of species, but unusual among documented cascades in that it includes only autotrophs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wendy M Ridenour
- Department of Biology, University of Montana Western, Dillon, MT, 59725, USA.
| | - C J Lortie
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Ragan M Callaway
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 59812, USA
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Thomsen MS, Altieri AH, Angelini C, Bishop MJ, Bulleri F, Farhan R, Frühling VMM, Gribben PE, Harrison SB, He Q, Klinghardt M, Langeneck J, Lanham BS, Mondardini L, Mulders Y, Oleksyn S, Ramus AP, Schiel DR, Schneider T, Siciliano A, Silliman BR, Smale DA, South PM, Wernberg T, Zhang S, Zotz G. Heterogeneity within and among co-occurring foundation species increases biodiversity. Nat Commun 2022; 13:581. [PMID: 35102155 PMCID: PMC8803935 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28194-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Habitat heterogeneity is considered a primary causal driver underpinning patterns of diversity, yet the universal role of heterogeneity in structuring biodiversity is unclear due to a lack of coordinated experiments testing its effects across geographic scales and habitat types. Furthermore, key species interactions that can enhance heterogeneity, such as facilitation cascades of foundation species, have been largely overlooked in general biodiversity models. Here, we performed 22 geographically distributed experiments in different ecosystems and biogeographical regions to assess the extent to which variation in biodiversity is explained by three axes of habitat heterogeneity: the amount of habitat, its morphological complexity, and capacity to provide ecological resources (e.g. food) within and between co-occurring foundation species. We show that positive and additive effects across the three axes of heterogeneity are common, providing a compelling mechanistic insight into the universal importance of habitat heterogeneity in promoting biodiversity via cascades of facilitative interactions. Because many aspects of habitat heterogeneity can be controlled through restoration and management interventions, our findings are directly relevant to biodiversity conservation. Species interactions that can enhance habitat heterogeneity such as facilitation cascades of foundation species have been overlooked in biodiversity models. This study conducted 22 geographically distributed experiments in different ecosystems and biogeographical regions to assess the extent to which biodiversity is explained by three axes of habitat heterogeneity in facilitation cascades.
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Fractal Dimension as an Effective Feature for Characterizing Hard Marine Growth Roughness from Underwater Image Processing in Controlled and Uncontrolled Image Environments. JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/jmse9121344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Hard marine growth is an important process that affects the design and maintenance of floating offshore wind turbines. A key parameter of hard biofouling is roughness since it considerably changes the level of drag forces. Assessment of roughness from on-site inspection is required to improve updating of hydrodynamic forces. Image processing is rapidly developing as a cost effective and easy to implement tool for observing the evolution of biofouling and related hydrodynamic effects over time. Despite such popularity; there is a paucity in literature to address robust features and methods of image processing. There also remains a significant difference between synthetic images of hard biofouling and their idealized laboratory approximations in scaled wave basin testing against those observed in real sites. Consequently; there is a need for such a feature and imaging protocol to be linked to both applications to cater to the lifetime demands of performance of these structures against the hydrodynamic effects of marine growth. This paper proposes the fractal dimension as a robust feature and demonstrates it in the context of a stereoscopic imaging protocol; in terms of lighting and distance to the subject. This is tested for synthetic images; laboratory tests; and real site conditions. Performance robustness is characterized through receiver operating characteristics; while the comparison provides a basis with which a common measure and protocol can be used consistently for a wide range of conditions. The work can be used for design stage as well as for lifetime monitoring and decisions for marine structures, especially in the context of offshore wind turbines.
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8
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Yakovis E, Artemieva A. Effects of a trophic cascade on a multi-level facilitation cascade. J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:2462-2470. [PMID: 34143499 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13558] [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: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The role of cascades in natural communities has been extensively studied, but interactions between trophic and facilitation cascades are unexplored. In the White Sea (65°N) shallow subtidal, bivalve primary facilitators provide hard substrate for secondary facilitator barnacles, that, in turn, provide substrate for conspecifics, ascidians, red algae and multiple associated organisms, composing a multi-level facilitation cascade. Previous research revealed that predation by the whelk Boreotrophon clathratus accounts for ~7% of adult barnacle mortality. Low whelk abundance limits their effect, with barnacles living on conspecifics several times more vulnerable to predation than those living on primary substrate. Trophic cascades can selectively shield foundation species from consumers, and hence may affect the structure and length of facilitation cascades. We tested the hypothesis that low abundance of the whelks results from mesopredator predation on their juveniles. Depending on the magnitude of the effect, this would mean that a trophic cascade controls the abundance of barnacles on all substrates or only barnacles living on conspecifics. We also suggested that barnacles on primary substrates and conspecifics facilitate different dependent assemblages. We manipulated the presence of crab and shrimp mesopredators in field caging experiments to assess their effect on whelk recruitment. In a field survey, we compared the assemblages of sessile macrobenthic organisms associated with barnacles living on different substrates. Caging experiments evidenced that crab and shrimp mesopredators reduce whelk recruitment by 4.6 times. Field data showed that barnacles on primary substrate and on conspecifics promote different dependent assemblages including secondary facilitator ascidians. Although mesopredators do not shield barnacles from elimination, their absence would restrict them from living on conspecifics. Barnacles on conspecifics are functionally different from barnacles on primary substrate, and can be considered a separate level of the facilitation cascade. Trophic cascades thus can generate community-wide effects on facilitation cascades by affecting their structure and possibly length.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eugeniy Yakovis
- Invertebrate Zoology Department, St.-Petersburg State University, Petersburg, Russia
| | - Anna Artemieva
- Invertebrate Zoology Department, St.-Petersburg State University, Petersburg, Russia
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Yakovis E, Artemieva A. Epibenthic predators control mobile macrofauna associated with a foundation species in a subarctic subtidal community. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:10499-10512. [PMID: 31624563 PMCID: PMC6787839 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2019] [Revised: 07/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Foundation species (FS) are strong facilitators providing habitat for numerous dependent organisms. The communities shaped by FS are commonly structured by interplay of facilitation and consumer control. Predators or grazers often indirectly determine community structure eliminating either FS or their principal competitors. Alternatively, they can prey on the dependent taxa directly, which is generally buffered by FS via forming complex habitats with numerous refuges. The latter case has been never investigated at high latitudes, where consumer control is widely considered weak. We manipulated the presence of common epibenthic crustacean predators to assess their effect on mobile macrofauna of the clusters developed by a FS (barnacle Balanus crenatus and its empty tests) in the White Sea shallow subtidal (65° N). While predation pressure on the FS itself here is low, the direct effects of a spider crab Hyas araneus and a shrimp Spirontocaris phippsii on the associated assemblages were unexpectedly strong. Removing the predators did not change species diversity, but tripled total abundance and altered multivariate community structure specifically increasing the numbers of amphipods, isopods (only affected by shrimp), and bivalves. Consumer control in the communities shaped by FS may not strictly follow the latitudinal predation gradient rule.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eugeniy Yakovis
- Invertebrate Zoology DepartmentSaint Petersburg State UniversitySaint PetersburgRussia
| | - Anna Artemieva
- Invertebrate Zoology DepartmentSaint Petersburg State UniversitySaint PetersburgRussia
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Communities and Attachment Networks Associated with Primary, Secondary and Alternative Foundation Species; A Case Study of Stressed and Disturbed Stands of Southern Bull Kelp. DIVERSITY-BASEL 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/d11040056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Southern bull kelps (Durvillaea spp., Fucales) are ‘primary’ foundation species that control community structures and ecosystem functions on temperate wave-exposed rocky reefs. However, these large foundation species are threatened by disturbances and stressors, including invasive species, sedimentation and heatwaves. It is unknown whether ‘alternative’ foundation species can replace lost southern bull kelps and its associated communities and networks. We compared community structure (by quantifying abundances of different species) and attachment-interaction networks (by quantifying which species were attached to other species) among plots dominated by Durvillaea spp. and plots where Durvillaea spp. were lost either through long-term repeated experimental removals or by recent stress from a marine heatwave. Long-term experimental removal plots were dominated by ‘alternative’ foundation species, the canopy-forming Cystophora spp. (Fucales), whereas the recent heatwave stressed plots were dominated by the invasive kelp Undaria pinnatifida (Laminariales). A network analysis of attachment interactions showed that communities differed among plots dominated by either Durvillaea spp., Cystophora spp. or U. pinnatifida, with different relationships between the primary, or alternative, foundation species and attached epiphytic ‘secondary’ foundation species. For example, native Cystophora spp. were more important as hosts for secondary foundation species compared to Durvillaea spp. and U. pinnatifida. Instead, Durvillaea spp. facilitated encrusting algae, which in turn provided habitat for gastropods. We conclude that (a) repeated disturbances and strong stressors can reveal ecological differences between primary and alternative foundation species, (b) analyses of abundances and attachment-networks are supplementary methods to identify linkages between primary, alternative and secondary foundation species, and (c) interspersed habitats dominated by different types of foundation species increase system-level biodiversity by supporting different species-abundance patterns and species-attachment networks.
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Mikhaylova TA, Aristov DA, Naumov AD, Malavenda SS, Savchenko ON, Bijagov KL. Diversity and structure of epibenthic communities of the red algae zone in the White Sea. Polar Biol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-019-02488-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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12
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Algal Epibionts as Co-Engineers in Mussel Beds: Effects on Abiotic Conditions and Mobile Interstitial Invertebrates. DIVERSITY 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/d11020017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Mussels and macroalgae have long been recognized as physical ecosystem engineers that modulate abiotic conditions and resources and affect the composition of rocky shore assemblages. Their spatial distributions in the intertidal zone frequently overlap, as many algal species thrive as epibionts on mussel beds. Nonetheless, their potential for combined engineering effects has not been addressed to date. Here we illustrate that Porphyra sp.—a desiccation-resistant macroalga that develops mostly epiphytically onto mussel beds—affects temperature, desiccation levels, and mobile interstitial invertebrates in mussel beds. Specifically, we observed that Porphyra cover (a) reduced temperature at the surface of the mussel bed but not at their base, (b) reduced desiccation both at the surface and base of the mussel bed and, (c) increased the densities of an abundant interstitial species—the amphipod Hyale grandicornis—in several study sites/dates. Additionally, we found that the positive responses of these grazing amphipods to Porphyra were driven by physical habitat modification (engineering) rather than food availability. This suggests that co-engineering by Porphyra and mussels generates abiotic states and focal species responses that would not be predictable from their individual effects. We expect that increased appreciation of co-engineering aids our understanding of complex ecological dynamics.
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