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Sasaki M, Kingsbury KM, Booth DJ, Nagelkerken I. Body size mediates trophic interaction strength of novel fish assemblages under climate change. J Anim Ecol 2024. [PMID: 38644583 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Ecological similarity plays an important role in biotic interactions. Increased body size similarity of competing species, for example, increases the strength of their biotic interactions. Body sizes of many exothermic species are forecast to be altered under global warming, mediating shifts in existing trophic interactions among species, in particular for species with different thermal niches. Temperate rocky reefs along the southeast coast of Australia are located in a climate warming hotspot and now house a mixture of temperate native fish species and poleward range-extending tropical fishes (vagrants), creating novel species assemblages. Here, we studied the relationship between body size similarity and trophic overlap between individual temperate native and tropical vagrant fishes. Dietary niche overlap between vagrant and native fish species increased as their body sizes converged, based on both stomach content composition (short-term diet), stable isotope analyses (integrated long-term diet) and similarity in consumed prey sizes. We conclude that the warming-induced faster growth rates of tropical range-extending fish species at their cool water ranges will continue to converge their body size towards and strengthen their degree of trophic interactions and dietary overlap with co-occurring native temperate species under increasing ocean warming. The strengthening of these novel competitive interactions is likely to drive changes to temperate food web structures and reshuffle existing species community structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minami Sasaki
- Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Kelsey M Kingsbury
- Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - David J Booth
- Fish Ecology Lab, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ivan Nagelkerken
- Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
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2
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Harman RR, Kim TN. Differentiating spillover: an examination of cross-habitat movement in ecology spillover in ecology. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232707. [PMID: 38351801 PMCID: PMC10865012 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Organisms that immigrate into a recipient habitat generate a movement pattern that affects local population dynamics and the environment. Spillover is the pattern of unidirectional movement from a donor habitat to a different, adjacent recipient habitat. However, ecological definitions are often generalized to include any cross-habitat movement, which limits within- and cross-discipline collaboration. To assess spillover nomenclature, we reviewed 337 studies within the agriculture, disease, fisheries and habitat fragmentation disciplines. Each study's definition of spillover and the methods used were analysed. We identified four descriptors (movement, habitat type and arrangement, and effect) used that differentiate spillover from other cross-habitat movement patterns (dispersal, foray loops and edge movement). Studies often define spillover as movement (45%) but rarely measure it as such (4%), particularly in disease and habitat fragmentation disciplines. Consequently, 98% of studies could not distinguish linear from returning movement out of a donor habitat, which can overestimate movement distance. Overall, few studies (12%) included methods that matched their own definition, revealing a distinct mismatch. Because theory shows that long-term impacts of the different movement patterns can vary, differentiating spillover from other movement patterns is necessary for effective long-term and inter-disciplinary management of organisms that use heterogeneous landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel R. Harman
- Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, 123 W. Waters Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
| | - Tania N. Kim
- Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, 123 W. Waters Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
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Mott AW, Krueger-Hadfield SA, Blakeslee AMH, Fowler AE. Native tube-building polychaete prefers to anchor non-native alga over other macrophytes. Oecologia 2022; 198:967-980. [PMID: 35438318 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05164-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 04/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Novel facultative mutualisms that develop between native and non-native ecosystem engineers can lead to the retention of the non-native partner. In some cases, behavior plays an additional, but less understood, role in the development and persistence of mutualisms. In soft-sediment marine habitats along the western Atlantic, the native decorator worm Diopatra cuprea anchors the non-native red alga Gracilaria vermiculophylla to its tube cap in a mutualism. To understand whether the worm's usage of G. vermiculophylla could represent a preference, we first surveyed the species composition of macrophytes affixed to worm tube caps at three sites in coastal Virginia, USA using transect and quadrat sampling. These unmanipulated field surveys supported previous work revealing variable, but often high frequencies (31-98%) of D. cuprea decoration with G. vermiculophylla. We next used field manipulations and controlled laboratory experiments to test the consistency of individual D. cuprea decoration with G. vermiculophylla versus three common macrophytes (Ulva sp., Agardhiella sp., and Spartina alterniflora) found in our field surveys. Twenty-four hours after removing the worm's tube cap in the field, D. cuprea decoration was dominated by both G. vermiculophylla (39.6%) and S. alterniflora (25.9%). When provided a choice of macrophytes in the laboratory, individual D. cuprea consistently decorated with G. vermiculophylla (58.7%) over the other macrophytes, showing a preference for the non-native macrophyte. Our study suggests that preference can drive strong and steadfast interactions between native and non-native organisms, facilitating the latter's persistence and spread, change available habitat, and alter community interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander W Mott
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA.
| | | | | | - Amy E Fowler
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, 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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Tummon Flynn P, McCarvill K, Lynn KD, Quijón PA. The positive effect of coexisting ecosystem engineers: a unique seaweed-mussel association provides refuge for native mud crabs against a non-indigenous predator. PeerJ 2021; 8:e10540. [PMID: 33391877 PMCID: PMC7759126 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 11/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In marine sedimentary bottoms, mussels and macroalgae have long been recognized as important autogenic engineers that create habitat and modify abiotic conditions. The structural complexity added by bivalves and macroalgae may also mediate intraguild predation amongst marine decapod crustaceans. While spatial distributions of these ecosystem engineers frequently overlap, there is limited understanding of compounded effects when more than one engineer is present. Here we demonstrate that the coexistence of two ecosystem engineers may create habitat valuable for the survival of a small native species, the Atlantic mud crab (Panopeus herbstii), in the presence of the invasive green crab (Carcinus maenas). Using laboratory and field habitat mimics, we measured mud crab survival rates as a proxy for refuge quality. We compared the refuge provided by a unique association between shells of blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) and the giant strain of Irish moss (Chondrus crispus) to that provided by bare substrate, and by each engineer alone. These experiments revealed that the association of giant Irish moss with blue mussel shells positively and non-additively increased mud crab survival compared to the other less complex habitat mimics. In contrast, parallel experiments revealed that high habitat complexity was less important for young green crabs to survive predation from large conspecifics. These results suggest that the impact of ecosystem engineers on trophic dynamics should be considered in a broader, whole-community context encompassing multiple habitat-forming species present.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Tummon Flynn
- Department of Biology, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE, Canada
| | - Keegan McCarvill
- Department of Biology, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE, Canada
| | - K Devon Lynn
- Department of Biology, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE, Canada
| | - Pedro A Quijón
- Department of Biology, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE, Canada
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Lanham BS, Poore AGB, Gribben PE. Facilitation cascades create a predation refuge for biodiversity in a novel connected habitat. Ecosphere 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Brendan S. Lanham
- Centre for Marine Science and Innovation School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Alistair G. B. Poore
- Centre for Marine Science and Innovation School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales Australia
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Paul E. Gribben
- Centre for Marine Science and Innovation School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales Australia
- Sydney Institute of Marine Science 19 Chowder Bay Road Mosman New South Wales 2088 Australia
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