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Uguen M, Gaudron SM, Nicastro KR, Zardi GI, Spilmont N, Henry S, Seuront L. The tolerance of a keystone ecosystem engineer to extreme heat stress is hampered by microplastic leachates. Biol Lett 2024; 20:20230457. [PMID: 38531416 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Plastic pollution and ongoing climatic changes exert considerable pressure on coastal ecosystems. Unravelling the combined effects of these two threats is essential to management and conservation actions to reduce the overall environmental risks. We assessed the capacity of a coastal ecosystem engineer, the blue mussel Mytilus edulis, to cope with various levels of aerial heat stress (20, 25, 30 and 35°C) after an exposure to substances leached from beached and virgin low-density polyethylene pellets. Our results revealed a significant interaction between temperature and plastic leachates on mussel survival rates. Specifically, microplastic leachates had no effect on mussel survival at 20, 25 and 30°C. In turn, mussel survival rates significantly decreased at 35°C, and this decrease was even more significant following an exposure to leachates from beached pellets; these pellets had a higher concentration of additives compared to the virgin ones, potentially causing a bioenergetic imbalance. Our results stress the importance of adopting integrated approaches combining the effects of multiple environmental threats on key marine species to understand and mitigate their potential synergistic effects on ecosystem dynamics and resilience in the face of the changing environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Uguen
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Station marine de Wimereux, 59000 Lille, France
| | - Sylvie M Gaudron
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Station marine de Wimereux, 59000 Lille, France
- Sorbonne Université, UFR 927, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Katy R Nicastro
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Station marine de Wimereux, 59000 Lille, France
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
- CCMAR-Centro de Ciencias do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
- Laboratoire de Biologie des Organismes et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques (BOREA), Université de Caen-Normandie, MNHN, SU, UA, CNRS, IRD, Esplanade de la paix, 14032 Caen Cedex, France
| | - Nicolas Spilmont
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Station marine de Wimereux, 59000 Lille, France
| | - Solène Henry
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Station marine de Wimereux, 59000 Lille, France
| | - Laurent Seuront
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Station marine de Wimereux, 59000 Lille, France
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
- Department of Marine Resources and Energy, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 4-5-7 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8477, Japan
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Zardi GI, Nicastro KR, Truong SL, Decorse P, Nozak S, Chevillot-Biraud A, Froneman PW, Akoueson F, Duflos G, Seuront L. Microplastic leachates inhibit small-scale self-organization in mussel beds. Sci Total Environ 2024; 914:169816. [PMID: 38181965 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
Self-organized spatial patterns are increasingly recognized for their contribution to ecosystem functioning. They can improve the ecosystem's ability to respond to perturbation and thus increase its resilience to environmental stress. Plastic pollution has now emerged as major threat to aquatic and terrestrial biota. Under laboratory conditions, we tested whether plastic leachates from pellets collected in the intertidal can impair small-scale, spatial self-organization and byssal threads production of intertidal mussels and whether the effect varied depending on where the pellets come from. Specifically, leachates originating from plastic pellets collected from relatively pristine and polluted areas respectively impaired and inhibited the ability of mussels to self-organize at small-scale and to produce byssal threads compared to control conditions (i.e., seawater without leaching solution). Limitations to natural self-organizing processes and threads formation may translate to a declined capacity of natural ecosystems to avoid tipping points and to a reduced restoration success of disturbed ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerardo I Zardi
- Normandie Université, UNICAEN, Laboratoire Biologie des Organismes et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques, UMR 8067 BOREA (CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, UCBN, IRD-207), 14000 Caen, France; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa; CCMAR-CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal
| | - Katy R Nicastro
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa; CCMAR-CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal; Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187 LOG, F-59000 Lille, France.
| | - Stéphanie Lau Truong
- Laboratoire ITODYS CNRS UMR7086, Université Paris Diderot, Bâtiment Lavoisier, 75205, France
| | - Philippe Decorse
- Laboratoire ITODYS CNRS UMR7086, Université Paris Diderot, Bâtiment Lavoisier, 75205, France
| | - Sophie Nozak
- Laboratoire ITODYS CNRS UMR7086, Université Paris Diderot, Bâtiment Lavoisier, 75205, France
| | | | | | - Fleurine Akoueson
- Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, UMR 1158 BioEcoAgro, EA 7394, Institut Charles Viollette, USC ANSES, INRAe, Univ. Lille, Univ. Artois, Univ. Picardie Jules Verne, Uni. Liège, F-62200 Boulogne-sur-Mer, France; ANSES - Laboratoire de Sécurité des Aliments, Boulevard du Bassin Napoléon, F-62200 Boulogne-sur-Mer, France
| | - Guillaume Duflos
- ANSES - Laboratoire de Sécurité des Aliments, Boulevard du Bassin Napoléon, F-62200 Boulogne-sur-Mer, France
| | - Laurent Seuront
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa; Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187 LOG, F-59000 Lille, France; Department of Marine Resources and Energy, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan
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Cozzolino L, Nicastro KR, Hubbard PC, Seuront L, McQuaid CD, Zardi GI. Intraspecific genetic lineages of a marine mussel show behavioural divergence when exposed to microplastic leachates. Environ Pollut 2024; 340:122779. [PMID: 37863252 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Revised: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/22/2023]
Abstract
Worldwide, microplastic pollution has numerous negative implications for marine biota, exacerbating the effects of other forms of global anthropogenic disturbance. Mounting evidence shows that microplastics (MPs) not only cause physical damage through their ingestion, but also act as vectors for hazardous compounds by leaching absorbed and adsorbed chemicals. Research on the effects of plastic pollution has, however, largely assumed that species respond uniformly, while ignoring intraspecific diversity (i.e., variation within a single species). We investigated the effects of plastic leachates derived from factory-fresh (virgin) and beached microplastics on the behavioural responses of two genetic lineages of the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. Through laboratory behavioural experiments, we found that during exposure to leachates from beached microplastics (beached MPLs), Atlantic specimens moved significantly less than Mediterranean individuals in terms of both (i) proportion of individuals responding through movement and (ii) net and gross distances crawled. In contrast, no significant intraspecific differences were observed in the behaviour of either adults or recruits when exposed to MPLs from virgin microplastics (virgin MPLs). Additionally, the reception of cues from three amino acids (L-cysteine, proline and L-leucine) at increasing concentrations (10-5 M to 10-3 M in charcoal-filtered seawater) was tested by electrophysiological analysis using mussels exposed to beached MPLs or control seawater. We found significant intraspecific differences in response to 10-3 M L-cysteine (regardless of treatment) and 10-4 M L-cysteine (in mussels exposed to beached MPLs) and to 10-3 M proline (in mussels exposed to beached MPLs) and 10-5 M L-leucine. Our study suggests that intraspecific variation in a marine mussel may prompt different responses to plastic pollution, potentially triggered by local adaptation and physiological variability between lineages. Our work highlights the importance of assessing the effects of intraspecific variation, especially in environmental sentinel species as this level of diversity could modulate responses to plastic pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Cozzolino
- CCMAR-Centro de Ciências do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139, Portugal.
| | - Katy R Nicastro
- CCMAR-Centro de Ciências do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139, Portugal; Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187 - LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, F-59000, Lille, France; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - Peter C Hubbard
- CCMAR-Centro de Ciências do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139, Portugal
| | - Laurent Seuront
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187 - LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, F-59000, Lille, France; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa; Department of Marine Resources and Energy, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 4-5-7 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108- 8477, Japan
| | - Christopher D McQuaid
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- CCMAR-Centro de Ciências do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139, Portugal; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa; Normandie Université, UNICAEN, Laboratoire Biologie des Organismes et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques, UMR 8067 BOREA (CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, UCBN, IRD-207), CS 14032, 14000, Caen, France
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Cozzolino L, Nicastro KR, Lefebvre S, Corona L, Froneman PW, McQuaid C, Zardi GI. The effect of interspecific and intraspecific diversity on microplastic ingestion in two co-occurring mussel species in South Africa. Mar Pollut Bull 2023; 196:115649. [PMID: 37864858 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/23/2023]
Abstract
Interspecific and intraspecific diversity are essential components of biodiversity with far-reaching implications for ecosystem function and service provision. Importantly, genotypic and phenotypic variation within a species can affect responses to anthropogenic pressures more than interspecific diversity. We investigated the effects of interspecific and intraspecific diversity on microplastic ingestion by two coexisting mussel species in South Africa, Mytilus galloprovincialis and Perna perna, the latter occurring as two genetic lineages. We found significantly higher microplastic abundance in M. galloprovincialis (0.54 ± 0.56 MP items g-1WW) than P. perna (0.16 ± 0.21 MP items g-1WW), but no difference between P. perna lineages. Microbeads were the predominant microplastic (76 % in P. perna, 99 % in M. galloprovincialis) and polyethylene the prevalent polymer. Interspecific differences in microplastic abundance varied across locations, suggesting diverse sources of contamination. We suggest that microplastic ingestion can be species-specific even in organisms that coexist and play similar functional roles within ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Cozzolino
- CCMAR-Centro de Ciências do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal.
| | - Katy R Nicastro
- CCMAR-Centro de Ciências do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa; Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187 - LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, station marine de Wimereux, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Sebastien Lefebvre
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187 - LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, station marine de Wimereux, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Luana Corona
- CCMAR-Centro de Ciências do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal
| | | | - Christopher McQuaid
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- CCMAR-Centro de Ciências do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal; Normandie Université, UNICAEN, Laboratoire Biologie des Organismes et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques, UMR 8067 BOREA (CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, UCBN, IRD-207), CS 14032, 14000 Caen, France; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
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Uguen M, Gaudron SM, Nicastro KR, Zardi GI, Spilmont N, Seuront L. Size-dependent response of the mussel collective behaviour to plastic leachates and predator cues. Sci Total Environ 2023; 888:164037. [PMID: 37207783 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Both individual and collective anti-predator behaviours are essential for the survival of many species. This is particularly true for ecosystem engineers such as intertidal mussels, which through their collective behaviour create novel habitats for a range of organisms and biodiversity hotspots. However, contaminants may disrupt these behaviours and consequently indirectly affect exposure to predation risk at the population level. Among these, plastic litter is a major and ubiquitous contaminant of the marine environment. Here, we assessed the impact of microplastic (MP) leachates of the most produced plastic polymer, polypropylene (PlasticsEurope, 2022), at a high but locally relevant concentration (i.e. ca. 12 g L-1) on the collective behaviours and anti-predator responses of both small and large Mytilus edulis mussels. Indeed, in contrast to large mussels, small ones reacted to MP leachates, showing a taxis towards conspecifics and stronger aggregations. All mussels reacted to the chemical cues of the predatory crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus, but with two different collective anti-predator behaviours. Small mussels only showed a taxis towards conspecifics when exposed to predator cues. This response was also found in large ones with a tendency to form more strongly bound aggregations and a considerable reduced activity, i.e. they significantly delayed their time to start to form aggregations and decreased their gross distance. These anti-predator behaviours were respectively inhibited and impaired in small and large mussels by MP leachates. The observed collective behavioural changes may reduce individual fitness by enhancing predation risk, particularly in small mussels that are the crab H. sanguineus's favourite preys. Given the key role of mussels as ecosystem engineers, our observations suggest that plastic pollution may have implication on M. edulis at the species level, but also enhancing a cascading effect towards a higher level of organisation such as population, community and ultimately structure and function of intertidal ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Uguen
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Station marine de Wimereux, F-59000 Lille, France.
| | - Sylvie M Gaudron
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Station marine de Wimereux, F-59000 Lille, France; Sorbonne Université, UFR 927, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Katy R Nicastro
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Station marine de Wimereux, F-59000 Lille, France; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa; CCMAR-Centro de Ciencias do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa; Laboratoire de Biologie des Organismes et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques (BOREA), Université de Caen-Normandie, MNHN, SU, UA, CNRS, IRD, Esplanade de la paix, 14032 Caen Cedex, France
| | - Nicolas Spilmont
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Station marine de Wimereux, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Laurent Seuront
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Station marine de Wimereux, F-59000 Lille, France; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa; Department of Marine Resources and Energy, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 4-5-7 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8477, Japan
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Nicastro KR, Pearson GA, Ramos X, Pearson V, McQuaid CD, Zardi GI. Transcriptome wide analyses reveal intraspecific diversity in thermal stress responses of a dominant habitat-forming species. Sci Rep 2023; 13:5645. [PMID: 37024658 PMCID: PMC10079687 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32654-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The impact of climate change on biodiversity has stimulated the need to understand environmental stress responses, particularly for ecosystem engineers whose responses to climate affect large numbers of associated organisms. Distinct species differ substantially in their resilience to thermal stress but there are also within-species variations in thermal tolerance for which the molecular mechanisms underpinning such variation remain largely unclear. Intertidal mussels are well-known for their role as ecosystem engineers. First, we exposed two genetic lineages of the intertidal mussel Perna perna to heat stress treatments in air and water. Next, we ran a high throughput RNA sequencing experiment to identify differences in gene expression between the thermally resilient eastern lineage and the thermally sensitive western lineage. We highlight different thermal tolerances that concord with their distributional ranges. Critically, we also identified lineage-specific patterns of gene expression under heat stress and revealed intraspecific differences in the underlying transcriptional pathways in response to warmer temperatures that are potentially linked to the within-species differences in thermal tolerance. Beyond the species, we show how unravelling within-species variability in mechanistic responses to heat stress promotes a better understanding of global evolutionary trajectories of the species as a whole in response to changing climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katy R Nicastro
- CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, UMR 8187 - LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Univ. Lille, 59000, Lille, France
- CCMAR-CIMAR - Associated Laboratory, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - Gareth A Pearson
- CCMAR-CIMAR - Associated Laboratory, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal
| | - Xana Ramos
- CCMAR-CIMAR - Associated Laboratory, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal
| | - Vasco Pearson
- CCMAR-CIMAR - Associated Laboratory, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal
- Department of Mathematics, Instituto Superior Técnico, 1049-001, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Christopher D McQuaid
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa.
- UNICAEN, Laboratoire Biologie des Organismes et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques, UMR 8067 BOREA (CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, UCBN, IRD-207), Normandie Université, CS 14032, 14000, Caen, France.
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Cozzolino L, Nicastro KR, Seuront L, McQuaid CD, Zardi GI. The relative effects of interspecific and intraspecific diversity on microplastic trapping in coastal biogenic habitats. Sci Total Environ 2022; 848:157771. [PMID: 35926622 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Revised: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Our understanding of how anthropogenic stressors such as climate change and plastic pollution interact with biodiversity is being widened to include diversity below the species level, i.e., intraspecific variation. The emerging appreciation of the key ecological importance of intraspecific diversity and its potential loss in the Anthropocene, further highlights the need to assess the relative importance of intraspecific versus interspecific diversity. One such issue is whether a species responds as a homogenous whole to plastic pollution. Using manipulative field transplant experiments and laboratory-controlled hydrodynamic simulations, we assessed the relative effects of intraspecific and interspecific diversity on microplastic trapping in coastal biogenic habitats dominated by two key bioengineers, the brown intertidal macroalgae Fucus vesiculosus and F. guiryi. At the individual level, northern morphotypes of F. guiryi trapped more microplastics than southern individuals, and F. vesiculosus trapped more microplastics than F. guiryi. Canopy density varied among species, however, leading to reversed patterns of microplastic accumulation, with F. guiryi canopies accumulating more microplastics than those of F. vesiculosus, while no differences were observed between the canopies of F. guiryi morphotypes. We emphasize the importance of assessing the effects of intraspecific variation which, along with other crucial factors such as canopy density, flow velocity and polymer composition, modulates the extent of microplastic accumulation in coastal biogenic habitats. Our findings indicate that a realistic estimation of plastic accumulation in biogenic habitats requires an understanding of within- and between-species traits at both the individual and population levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Cozzolino
- CCMAR-Centro de Ciencias do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal.
| | - Katy R Nicastro
- CCMAR-Centro de Ciencias do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal; Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, UMR 8187 - LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, F-59000 Lille, France; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
| | - Laurent Seuront
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, UMR 8187 - LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, F-59000 Lille, France; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa; Department of Marine Resources and Energy, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 4-5-7 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8477, Japan
| | - Christopher D McQuaid
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa; Normandie Université, UNICAEN, Laboratoire Biologie des Organismes et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques, UMR 8067 BOREA (CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, UCBN, IRD-207), CS 14032, 14000 Caen, France
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Seuront L, Zardi GI, Uguen M, Bouchet VMP, Delaeter C, Henry S, Spilmont N, Nicastro KR. A whale of a plastic tale: A plea for interdisciplinary studies to tackle micro- and nanoplastic pollution in the marine realm. Sci Total Environ 2022; 846:157187. [PMID: 35868387 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Revised: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Plastic is one of the most ubiquitous sources of both contamination and pollution of the Anthropocene, and accumulates virtually everywhere on the planet. As such, plastic threatens the environment, the economy and human well-being globally. The related potential threats have been identified as a major global conservation issue and a key research priority. As a consequence, plastic pollution has become one of the most prolific fields of research in research areas including chemistry, physics, oceanography, biology, ecology, ecotoxicology, molecular biology, sociology, economy, conservation, management, and even politics. In this context, one may legitimately expect plastic pollution research to be highly interdisciplinary. However, using the emerging topic of microplastic and nanoplastic leachate (i.e., the desorption of molecules that are adsorbed onto the surface of a polymer and/or absorbed into the polymer matrix in the absence of plastic ingestion) in the ocean as a case study, we argue that this is still far from being the case. Instead, we highlight that plastic pollution research rather seems to remain structured in mostly isolated monodisciplinary studies. A plethora of analytical methods are now available to qualify and quantify plastic monomers, polymers and the related additives. We nevertheless show though a survey of the literature that most studies addressing the effects of leachates on marine organisms essentially still lack of a quantitative assessment of the chemical nature and content of both plastic items and their leachates. In the context of the ever-increasing research effort devoted to assess the biological and ecological effects of plastic waste, we subsequently argue that the lack of a true interdisciplinary approach is likely to hamper the development of this research field. We finally introduce a roadmap for future research which has to evolve through the development of a sound and systematic ability to chemically define what we biologically compare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Seuront
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, 62930 Wimereux, France; Department of Marine Energy and Resource, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 4-5-7 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8477, Japan; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa.
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
| | - Marine Uguen
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, 62930 Wimereux, France
| | - Vincent M P Bouchet
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, 62930 Wimereux, France
| | - Camille Delaeter
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, 62930 Wimereux, France
| | - Solène Henry
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, 62930 Wimereux, France
| | - Nicolas Spilmont
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, 62930 Wimereux, France
| | - Katy R Nicastro
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, 62930 Wimereux, France; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa; CCMAR-Centro de Ciencias do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal
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9
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Uguen M, Nicastro KR, Zardi GI, Gaudron SM, Spilmont N, Akoueson F, Duflos G, Seuront L. Microplastic leachates disrupt the chemotactic and chemokinetic behaviours of an ecosystem engineer (Mytilus edulis). Chemosphere 2022; 306:135425. [PMID: 35809744 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.135425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The massive contamination of the environment by plastics is an increasing global scientific and societal concern. Knowing whether and how these pollutants affect the behaviour of keystone species is essential to identify environmental risks effectively. Here, we focus on the effect of plastic leachates on the behavioural response of the common blue mussel Mytilus edulis, an ecosystem engineer responsible for the creation of biogenic structures that modify the environment and provide numerous ecosystem functions and services. Specifically, we assess the effect of virgin polypropylene beads on mussels' chemotactic (i.e. a directional movement in response to a chemical stimulus) and chemokinetic (i.e. a non-directional change in movement properties such as speed, distance travelled or turning frequency in response to a chemical stimulus) responses to different chemical cues (i.e. conspecifics, injured conspecifics and a predator, the crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus). In the presence of predator cues, individual mussels reduced both their gross distance and speed, changes interpreted here as an avoidance behaviour. When exposed to polypropylene leachates, mussels moved less compared to control conditions, regardless of the cues tested. Additionally, in presence of crab cues with plastic leachates, mussels significantly changed the direction of movement suggesting a leachate-induced loss of their negative chemotaxis response. Taken together, our results indicate that the behavioural response of M. edulis is cue-specific and that its anti-predator behaviour as well as its mobility are impaired when exposed to microplastic leachates, potentially affecting the functioning of the ecosystem that the species supports.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Uguen
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Station Marine de Wimereux, F-59000, Lille, France.
| | - Katy R Nicastro
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Station Marine de Wimereux, F-59000, Lille, France; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa; CCMAR-Centro de Ciencias do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139, Portugal
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - Sylvie M Gaudron
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Station Marine de Wimereux, F-59000, Lille, France; Sorbonne Université, UFR 927, F-75005, Paris, France
| | - Nicolas Spilmont
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Station Marine de Wimereux, F-59000, Lille, France
| | - Fleurine Akoueson
- ANSES - Laboratoire de Sécurité des Aliments, Boulevard du Bassin Napoléon, F-62200, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France; Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, UMR 1158 BioEcoAgro, EA 7394, Institut Charles Viollette, USC ANSES, INRAe, Univ. Lille, Univ. Artois, Univ. Picardie Jules Verne, Uni. Liège, F-62200, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France
| | - Guillaume Duflos
- ANSES - Laboratoire de Sécurité des Aliments, Boulevard du Bassin Napoléon, F-62200, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France
| | - Laurent Seuront
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Station Marine de Wimereux, F-59000, Lille, France; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa; ANSES - Laboratoire de Sécurité des Aliments, Boulevard du Bassin Napoléon, F-62200, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France; Department of Marine Resources and Energy, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 4-5-7 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8477, Japan
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10
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Cunha RL, Nicastro KR, Zardi GI, Madeira C, McQuaid CD, Cox CJ, Castilho R. Comparative mitogenomic analyses and gene rearrangements reject the alleged polyphyly of a bivalve genus. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13953. [PMID: 36187748 PMCID: PMC9521344 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The order and orientation of genes encoded by animal mitogenomes are typically conserved, although there is increasing evidence of multiple rearrangements among mollusks. The mitogenome from a Brazilian brown mussel (hereafter named B1) classified as Perna perna Linnaeus, 1758 and assembled from Illumina short-length reads revealed an unusual gene order very different from other congeneric species. Previous mitogenomic analyses based on the Brazilian specimen and other Mytilidae suggested the polyphyly of the genus Perna. Methods To confirm the proposed gene rearrangements, we sequenced a second Brazilian P. perna specimen using the "primer-walking" method and performed the assembly using as reference Perna canaliculus. This time-consuming sequencing method is highly effective when assessing gene order because it relies on sequentially-determined, overlapping fragments. We also sequenced the mitogenomes of eastern and southwestern South African P. perna lineages to analyze the existence of putative intraspecific gene order changes as the two lineages show overlapping distributions but do not exhibit a sister relationship. Results The three P. perna mitogenomes sequenced in this study exhibit the same gene order as the reference. CREx, a software that heuristically determines rearrangement scenarios, identified numerous gene order changes between B1 and our P. perna mitogenomes, rejecting the previously proposed gene order for the species. Our results validate the monophyly of the genus Perna and indicate a misidentification of B1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Regina L. Cunha
- Centre of Marine Sciences, CCMAR, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, Algarve, Portugal
| | - Katy R. Nicastro
- Centre of Marine Sciences, CCMAR, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, Algarve, Portugal,CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d’Opale, UMR 8187 – LOG – Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences, Université de Lille, Lille, France,Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
| | - Gerardo I. Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
| | - Celine Madeira
- Centre of Marine Sciences, CCMAR, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, Algarve, Portugal
| | | | - Cymon J. Cox
- Centre of Marine Sciences, CCMAR, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, Algarve, Portugal
| | - Rita Castilho
- Centre of Marine Sciences, CCMAR, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, Algarve, Portugal
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11
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Nicastro KR, Seuront L, McQuaid CD, Zardi GI. Symbiont-induced intraspecific phenotypic variation enhances plastic trapping and ingestion in biogenic habitats. Sci Total Environ 2022; 826:153922. [PMID: 35183637 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Plastic contamination has major effects on biodiversity, enhancing the consequences of other forms of global anthropogenic disturbance such as climate change and habitat fragmentation. Despite this and the recognised importance of intraspecific diversity, we still know relatively little about how plastic pollution affects diversity below the species level. Here, we assessed the effects of intraspecific variation in a habitat forming species (the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis) on the trapping and ingestion of microplastics. We focused on symbiont-induced phenotypic variation in mussel beds. Using fractal analysis, we measured an increase in the complexity of mussel bed surfaces by ca. 15% caused by phototropic shell-degrading endoliths. By simulating high tide flow conditions and incoming waves, we found that symbionts significantly increased microplastic accumulation in mussel beds. This likely reflects deceleration of near-bed flow velocities, creation of turbulence in the bottom boundary layer and consequently increased particle retention. This effect was not constant at high tide, with no effect of infestation on retention at the base of the mussel bed under mid and high flow conditions and reduced microplastic trapping on the surface of mussel shells. Nevertheless, under natural conditions, the ingestion and trapping of microplastic were higher by the mussels comprising beds with symbionts than those in beds without symbionts. Given the dependency of many species on mussel biogenic habitats, there is an increased risk of plastics moving up the food chain in mussel beds infested by symbiotic endoliths. Our results highlight how the effects of within-species phenotypic diversity may influence the consequences of rising levels of plastic pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katy R Nicastro
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, UMR 8187 - LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, F-59000 Lille, France; CCMAR-Centro de Ciencias do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
| | - Laurent Seuront
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, UMR 8187 - LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, F-59000 Lille, France; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa; Department of Marine Resources and Energy, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 4-5-7 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8477, Japan
| | - Christopher D McQuaid
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa.
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12
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Oróstica MH, Wyness AJ, Monsinjon JR, Nicastro KR, Zardi GI, Barker C, McQuaid CD. Effects of habitat quality on abundance, size and growth of mussel recruits. Hydrobiologia 2022; 849:4341-4356. [PMID: 36065210 PMCID: PMC9434526 DOI: 10.1007/s10750-022-04994-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2021] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Recruitment of mussels is a complex process with the successful arrival of individuals hinging on the availability of suitable habitats. We examined the effects of adult mussels as settlement habitat and the degree to which the suitability of habitat they offer is species-specific by comparing the recruitment success of intertidal mussels. We hypothesised that mussel recruitment and early growth are dictated by the quality of habitat offered by conspecifics adults. We used a unique experimental arena on the south coast of South Africa, where Mytilus galloprovincialis and two lineages of Perna perna co-exist. Treatments were based on the translocation of individuals of M. galloprovincialis, western- and eastern lineage of P. perna to a single site, where artificial beds were created and sampled monthly over one year. Recruit's number, their sizes and growth were greater within beds of the western lineage of Perna than eastern lineage or Mytilus beds. The results clearly demonstrate that the quality of settlement habitat offered by adult beds differs among adult lineages/species and affects rates of settlement and the early growth of recruits. This effect extends to the intraspecific level; we found greater differences in density and growth of recruits between lineages of Perna than between either lineage and M. galloprovincialis. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10750-022-04994-7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauricio H. Oróstica
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140 South Africa
- Departamento de Ciencias, Facultad de Artes Liberales, Universidad Adolfo Ibañéz, 2562340 Viña del Mar, Chile
| | - Adam J. Wyness
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140 South Africa
- School of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Mpumalanga, Mbombela, 1200 South Africa
| | - Jonathan R. Monsinjon
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140 South Africa
- Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), Délégation Océan Indien (DOI), Rue Jean Bertho, BP 60 - 97822, 97420 Le Port, La Réunion France
| | - Katy R. Nicastro
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140 South Africa
- CCMAR–Centro de Ciencias do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005‐139 Faro, Portugal
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d’Opale, UMR 8187 – LOG – Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences, 59000 Lille, France
| | - Gerardo I. Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140 South Africa
- CCMAR–Centro de Ciencias do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005‐139 Faro, Portugal
| | - Cassandra Barker
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140 South Africa
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, 7600 South Africa
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13
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Monsinjon JR, McQuaid CD, Nicastro KR, Seuront L, Oróstica MH, Zardi GI. Weather and topography regulate the benefit of a conditionally helpful parasite. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Katy R. Nicastro
- Department of Zoology and Entomology Rhodes University Grahamstown South Africa
- CCMAR, CIMAR Associated Laboratory University of Algarve Faro Portugal
- Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences Univ. LilleCNRSUniv. Littoral Côte d'OpaleUMR 8187 LOG Lille France
| | - Laurent Seuront
- Department of Zoology and Entomology Rhodes University Grahamstown South Africa
- CCMAR, CIMAR Associated Laboratory University of Algarve Faro Portugal
- Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences Univ. LilleCNRSUniv. Littoral Côte d'OpaleUMR 8187 LOG Lille France
- Department of Marine Resources and Energy Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology Tokyo Japan
| | | | - Gerardo I. Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology Rhodes University Grahamstown South Africa
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14
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Seuront L, Nicastro KR, Zardi GI. Heads in the clouds: On the carbon footprint of conference-seeded publications in the advancement of knowledge. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:15205-15211. [PMID: 34765171 PMCID: PMC8571599 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
The carbon footprint of flying overseas to conferences, meetings, and workshops to share and build knowledge has been increasingly questioned over the last two decades, especially in environmental and climate sciences, due to the related colossal carbon emissions. Here, we infer the value of scientific meetings through the number of publications produced either directly or indirectly after attending a scientific conference, symposium, or workshop (i.e., the conference-related production) and the number of publications produced per meeting (i.e., the conference-related productivity) as proxies for the academic value of these meetings, and relate them to both the number of meetings attended and the related carbon emissions. We show that conference-related production and productivity, respectively, increase and decay with the number of meetings attended, and noticeably that the less productive people exhibit the largest carbon footprint. Taken together, our results imply that a twofold decrease in the carbon footprint F CO 2 of a given scientist would result in a twofold increase in productivity through a fivefold decrease in the number of meeting attended. In light of these figures, we call for both the implementation of objective and quantitative criteria related to the optimum number of conferences to attend in an effort to maximize scientific productivity while minimizing the related carbon footprint, and the development of a rationale to minimize the carbon emission related to scientific activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Seuront
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d’Opale, UMR 8187 – LOG – Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de GéosciencesLilleFrance
- Department of Marine Resources and EnergyTokyo University of Marine Science and TechnologyMinato‐kuJapan
- Department of Zoology and EntomologyRhodes UniversityGrahamstownSouth Africa
| | - Katy R. Nicastro
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d’Opale, UMR 8187 – LOG – Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de GéosciencesLilleFrance
- Department of Zoology and EntomologyRhodes UniversityGrahamstownSouth Africa
- CCMAR–Centro de Ciencias do MarCIMAR Laboratório AssociadoUniversidade do AlgarveFaroPortugal
| | - Gerardo I. Zardi
- Department of Zoology and EntomologyRhodes UniversityGrahamstownSouth Africa
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15
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Zardi GI, Monsinjon JR, McQuaid CD, Seuront L, Orostica M, Want A, Firth LB, Nicastro KR. Foul-weather friends: Modelling thermal stress mitigation by symbiotic endolithic microbes in a changing environment. Glob Chang Biol 2021; 27:2549-2560. [PMID: 33772983 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2020] [Revised: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Temperature extremes are predicted to intensify with climate change. These extremes are rapidly emerging as a powerful driver of species distributional changes with the capacity to disrupt the functioning and provision of services of entire ecosystems, particularly when they challenge ecosystem engineers. The subsequent search for a robust framework to forecast the consequences of these changes mostly ignores within-species variation in thermal sensitivity. Such variation can be intrinsic, but can also reflect species interactions. Intertidal mussels are important ecosystem engineers that host symbiotic endoliths in their shells. These endoliths unexpectedly act as conditionally beneficial parasites that enhance the host's resistance to intense heat stress. To understand how this relationship may be altered under environmental change, we examined the conditions under which it becomes advantageous by reducing body temperature. We deployed biomimetic sensors (robomussels), built using shells of mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) that were or were not infested by endoliths, at nine European locations spanning a temperature gradient across 22°of latitude (Orkney, Scotland to the Algarve, Portugal). Daily wind speed and solar radiation explained the maximum variation in the difference in temperature between infested and non-infested robomussels; the largest difference occurred under low wind speed and high solar radiation. From the robomussel data, we inferred body temperature differences between infested and non-infested mussels during known heatwaves that induced mass mortality of the mussel Mytilus edulis along the coast of the English Channel in summer 2018 to quantify the thermal advantage of endolith infestation during temperature extremes. Under these conditions, endoliths provided thermal buffering of between 1.7°C and 4.8°C. Our results strongly suggest that sustainability of intertidal mussel beds will increasingly depend on the thermal buffering provided by endoliths. More generally, this work shows that biomimetic models indicate that within-species thermal sensitivity to global warming can be modulated by species interactions, using an intertidal host-symbiont relationship as an example.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerardo I Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
| | - Jonathan R Monsinjon
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
| | | | - Laurent Seuront
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
- UMR 8187 - LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, Lille, France
- Department of Marine Energy and Resources, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Minato-ku, Japan
| | - Mauricio Orostica
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
| | - Andrew Want
- International Centre for Island Technology, Heriot Watt University Orkney Campus, Stromness, UK
| | - Louise B Firth
- School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - Katy R Nicastro
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
- CCMAR, CIMAR Associated Laboratory, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
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16
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Zardi GI, Nicastro KR, McQuaid CD, de Jager M, van de Koppel J, Seuront L. Density-Dependent and Species-Specific Effects on Self-Organization Modulate the Resistance of Mussel Bed Ecosystems to Hydrodynamic Stress. Am Nat 2021; 197:615-623. [PMID: 33908830 DOI: 10.1086/713738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AbstractSelf-organized, regular spatial patterns emerging from local interactions among individuals enhance the ability of ecosystems to respond to environmental disturbances. Mussels self-organize to form large, regularly patterned biogenic structures that modify the biotic and abiotic environment and provide numerous ecosystem functions and services. We used two mussel species that form monospecific and mixed beds to investigate how species-specific behavior affects self-organization and resistance to wave stress. Perna perna has strong attachment but low motility, while Mytilus galloprovincialis shows the reverse. At low density, the less motile P. perna has limited spatial self-organization compared with M. galloprovincialis, while when coexisting, the two species formed random spatial patterns. At high density, the two species self-organized in similar ways, while when coexisting, patterns were less strong. Spatial pattern formations significantly shaped resistance to hydrodynamic stress. At low density, P. perna beds with strong attachment and M. galloprovincialis beds with strong spatial organization showed higher retention rates than mixed beds. At high density, the presence of strongly attached P. perna significantly increased retention in mixed and P. perna beds compared with M. galloprovincialis beds. Our study emphasizes the importance of the interplay of species-specific behaviors to spatial self-organization and stress tolerance in natural communities.
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17
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Seuront L, Nicastro KR, McQuaid CD, Zardi GI. Microplastic leachates induce species-specific trait strengthening in intertidal mussels. Ecol Appl 2021; 31:e02222. [PMID: 32867006 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2020] [Revised: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Plastic pollution is ubiquitous with increasing recognition of its direct effects on species' fitness. Little is known, however, about its more subtle effects, including the influence of plastic pollution on the morphological, functional and behavioral traits of organisms that are central to their ability to withstand disturbances. Among the least obvious but most pernicious forms of plastic-associated pollution are the chemicals that leach from microplastics. Here, we investigate how such leachates influence species' traits by assessing functional trait compensation across four species of intertidal mussels, through investigations of byssal thread production, movement and aggregation behavior for mussels held in natural seawater or seawater contaminated by microplastic leachates. We found no evidence for compensation of functional traits, but for each species, microplastic leachates reinforced one trait while others remained unaffected. Two species (Perna perna and Mytilus galloprovincialis), were characterized by a resistance strategy to disturbance; they produced more byssal threads in microplastic leachate seawater than in control seawater, while motility and aggregation remained essentially unaffected. In contrast, the other two species (M. edulis and Choromytilus meridionalis), showed a resilience strategy to disturbance through increased motility and aggregation in leachate seawater, while byssal thread production remained unaffected. These results suggest that the competitive abilities of intertidal mussels may be related to their sensitivity to microplastic leachates or other chemical disturbance. Importantly, the trait strengthening observed will affect the ability of these mussels to form spatially patterned beds, with implications for their quality as autogenic ecological engineers or foundation species. Thus, our findings have implications for the ability of mussel beds to tolerate disturbance, and hence for central ecosystem services, such as their ability to support biodiversity and enhance secondary and tertiary production. The results suggest that an inconspicuous aspect of plastic pollution has the potential to influence other communities and ecosystems in powerful ways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Seuront
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, UMR 8187 - LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, F-59000, Lille, France
- Department of Marine Resources and Energy, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 4-5-7 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8477, Japan
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - Katy R Nicastro
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
- CCMAR-Centro de Ciencias do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139, Portugal
| | - Christopher D McQuaid
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
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Nicastro KR, McQuaid CD, Dievart A, Zardi GI. Intraspecific diversity in an ecological engineer functionally trumps interspecific diversity in shaping community structure. Sci Total Environ 2020; 743:140723. [PMID: 32758835 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2020] [Revised: 06/29/2020] [Accepted: 07/02/2020] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Can intraspecific diversity functionally supersede interspecific diversity? Recent studies have established the ecological effects of intraspecific variation on a number of ecosystem dynamics including resilience and productivity and we hypothesised that they may functionally exceed those of species diversity. We focused on a coastal ecosystem dominated by two coexisting bioengineering mussel species, one of which, Perna perna, displays two distinct phylogeographic lineages. A manipulative field experiment revealed greater habitat structural complexity and a more benign microscale environment within beds of the eastern lineage than those of the western lineage or the second species (Mytilus galloprovincialis); the latter two did not differ. Similarly, while infaunal species abundance and biomass differed significantly between the two lineages of Perna, there was no such difference between Mytilus and the western Perna lineage. The evenness and diversity of associated infaunal assemblages responded differently. Diversity differed relatively weakly between species, while evenness showed a very strong difference between conspecific lineages. Our results show that variation within a species can functionally supersede diversity between species. As the two P. perna lineages have different physiological tolerances, we expect them to react differently to environmental change. Our findings indicate that predicting the ecosystem-level consequences of climate change requires an understanding of the relative strengths of within- and between-species differences in functionality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katy R Nicastro
- CCMAR, CIMAR Associated Laboratory, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
| | - Christopher D McQuaid
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
| | - Alexia Dievart
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa.
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19
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Velez N, Nicastro KR, McQuaid CD, Zardi GI. Small scale habitat effects on anthropogenic litter material and sources in a coastal lagoon system. Mar Pollut Bull 2020; 160:111689. [PMID: 33181959 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2020] [Revised: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic litter is ubiquitous throughout marine ecosystems, but its abundance and distribution are driven by complex interactions of distinct environmental factors and thus can be extremely heterogeneous. Here we compare the extent of anthropogenic litter pollution at a sheltered lagoon habitat and nearby open coast sites. Monthly surveys over a period of five months showed that both the types and sources of litter always differed significantly between lagoon and open coast sites. Pollution within the lagoon was mainly land-derived and was largely made up of construction materials (70% to 95%). At open coast sites, construction materials represented a minor portion of pollution (4% to 12%) while plastics were the most abundant (82% to 95%). We show that stranded anthropogenic litter in adjacent marine habitats can differ significantly and stress the importance of sampling at appropriate spatial scales to gain realistic insights into the sources of pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadja Velez
- CCMAR-CIMAR - Associated Laboratory, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal
| | - Katy R Nicastro
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
| | | | - Gerardo I Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.
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20
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Ma KCK, Zardi GI, McQuaid CD, Nicastro KR. Historical and contemporary range expansion of an invasive mussel, Semimytlius algosus, in Angola and Namibia despite data scarcity in an infrequently surveyed region. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0239167. [PMID: 32915915 PMCID: PMC7485899 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the spread of invasive species in many regions is difficult because surveys are rare. Here, historical records of the invasive marine mussel, Semimytilus algosus, on the shores of Angola and Namibia are synthesised to re-construct its invasive history. Since this mussel was first discovered in Namibia about 90 years ago, it has spread throughout the western coast of southern Africa. By the late 1960s, the species was well established across a range of 1005 km of coastline in southern Angola and northern Namibia. Although only coarse spatial resolution data are available since the 1990s, the distribution of S. algosus clearly increased substantially over the subsequent decades. Today, the species is distributed over 2785 km of coastline, appearing in southern Namibia in 2014, whence it spread across the border to northern South Africa in 2017, and in northern Angola in 2015. Conspicuously, its current range appears to be relatively contiguous across at least 810 km of shore in southern Angola and throughout Namibia, with isolated, spatially disjunct occurrences towards the southern and northern limits of its distribution. Despite there being few occurrence records that are unevenly distributed spatially and temporally, data for the distributional patterns of S. algosus in Angola and Namibia provide invaluable insights into how marine invasive species spread in developing regions that are infrequently monitored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin C. K. Ma
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa
- * E-mail:
| | - Gerardo I. Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa
| | - Christopher D. McQuaid
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa
| | - Katy R. Nicastro
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa
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21
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Cozzolino L, Nicastro KR, Zardi GI, de Los Santos CB. Species-specific plastic accumulation in the sediment and canopy of coastal vegetated habitats. Sci Total Environ 2020; 723:138018. [PMID: 32213414 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2020] [Revised: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Plastic waste has become ubiquitous in ecosystems worldwide. Few, recent studies report evidence of coastal vegetated habitats acting as sink for plastics, yet assessments have been completed either for macro or microplastics and focussing on just one type of vegetated habitat. Here, we investigated the role of marine coastal vegetated habitats as sinks for macro (≥5 mm) and microplastics (<5 mm) through a comprehensive, multi-habitat approach. We assessed the occurrence, abundance and physical properties of macro and microplastics in the canopy and superficial sediment of two intertidal (seagrass Zostera noltei, saltmarsh Sporobolus maritimus) and two subtidal (mixed seagrass meadows of Cymodocea nodosa and Zostera marina, rhizophytic macroalga Caulerpa prolifera) habitats in the Ria Formosa lagoon (Portugal). Our results showed that coastal vegetated habitats trapped macro and microplastics in the sediment at variable degrees (1.3-17.3 macroplastics 100 m-2, and 18.2-35.2 microplastics kg-1). Macroplastics accumulated in all vegetated habitat but not in nearby unvegetated areas, yet only S. maritimus habitat presented a significant trapping effect. Microplastics occurred in the sediment of all vegetated and unvegetated areas with similar abundances and high variability. Microplastics, all of type fibre, were recorded on all canopies except for S. maritimus. Overall, the trapping capacity of microplastics in the sediment and on the canopy was higher for subtidal than for intertidal vegetated habitats. We conclude that generalizations in the trapping effect of coastal vegetated areas should be done with caution, since it may be highly variable and may depend on the plastic size, habitat and tidal position. Since these habitats support a high biodiversity, they should be included in assessments of plastic debris accumulation and impacts in coastal areas. Further research, including experimental studies, is needed to shed more light on the role of coastal vegetated habitats as plastic sinks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Cozzolino
- CCMAR - Centre of Marine Sciences of Algarve, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
| | - Katy R Nicastro
- CCMAR - Centre of Marine Sciences of Algarve, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, 6140 Grahamstown, South Africa
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, 6140 Grahamstown, South Africa
| | - Carmen B de Los Santos
- CCMAR - Centre of Marine Sciences of Algarve, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal.
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22
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Ntuli NN, Nicastro KR, Zardi GI, Assis J, McQuaid CD, Teske PR. Rejection of the genetic implications of the "Abundant Centre Hypothesis" in marine mussels. Sci Rep 2020; 10:604. [PMID: 31953497 PMCID: PMC6969206 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-57474-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2019] [Accepted: 12/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The ‘Abundant-Centre Hypothesis’ is a well-established but controversial hypothesis stating that the abundance of a species is highest at the centre of its range and decreases towards the edges, where conditions are unfavourable. As genetic diversity depends on population size, edge populations are expected to show lower intra-population genetic diversity than core populations, while showing high inter-population genetic divergence. Here, the genetic implications of the Abundant-Centre Hypothesis were tested on two coastal mussels from South Africa that disperse by means of planktonic larvae, the native Perna perna and the invasive Mytilus galloprovincialis. Genetic structure was found within P. perna, which, together with evidence from Lagrangian particle simulations, points to significant reductions in gene flow between sites. Despite this, the expected diversity pattern between centre and edge populations was not found for either species. We conclude that the genetic predictions of the Abundant-Centre Hypothesis are unlikely to be met by high-dispersal species with large population sizes, and may only become evident in species with much lower levels of connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noxolo N Ntuli
- Centre for Ecological Genomics and Wildlife Conservation, Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, 2006, South Africa
| | - Katy R Nicastro
- CCMAR - Centro de Ciências do Mar, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal.,Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - Jorge Assis
- CCMAR - Centro de Ciências do Mar, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Christopher D McQuaid
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - Peter R Teske
- Centre for Ecological Genomics and Wildlife Conservation, Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, 2006, South Africa.
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23
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Seuront L, Nicastro KR, Zardi GI, Goberville E. Decreased thermal tolerance under recurrent heat stress conditions explains summer mass mortality of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis. Sci Rep 2019; 9:17498. [PMID: 31767954 PMCID: PMC6877631 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-53580-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Accepted: 10/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Extreme events such as heat waves have increased in frequency and duration over the last decades. Under future climate scenarios, these discrete climatic events are expected to become even more recurrent and severe. Heat waves are particularly important on rocky intertidal shores, one of the most thermally variable and stressful habitats on the planet. Intertidal mussels, such as the blue mussel Mytilus edulis, are ecosystem engineers of global ecological and economic importance, that occasionally suffer mass mortalities. This study investigates the potential causes and consequences of a mass mortality event of M. edulis that occurred along the French coast of the eastern English Channel in summer 2018. We used an integrative, climatological and ecophysiological methodology based on three complementary approaches. We first showed that the observed mass mortality (representing 49 to 59% of the annual commercial value of local recreational and professional fisheries combined) occurred under relatively moderate heat wave conditions. This result indicates that M. edulis body temperature is controlled by non-climatic heat sources instead of climatic heat sources, as previously reported for intertidal gastropods. Using biomimetic loggers (i.e. ‘robomussels’), we identified four periods of 5 to 6 consecutive days when M. edulis body temperatures consistently reached more than 30 °C, and occasionally more than 35 °C and even more than 40 °C. We subsequently reproduced these body temperature patterns in the laboratory to infer M. edulis thermal tolerance under conditions of repeated heat stress. We found that thermal tolerance consistently decreased with the number of successive daily exposures. These results are discussed in the context of an era of global change where heat events are expected to increase in intensity and frequency, especially in the eastern English Channel where the low frequency of commercially exploitable mussels already questions both their ecological and commercial sustainability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Seuront
- CNRS, Univ. Lille, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, F 62930, Wimereux, France. .,Department of Marine Energy and Resource, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 4-5-7 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8477, Japan. .,Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa.
| | - Katy R Nicastro
- CCMAR-Centro de Ciencias do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139, Portugal
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - Eric Goberville
- BOREA, Biologie des Organismes et des Ecosystèmes Aquatiques, UMR Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Université, Université de Caen Normandie, Université des Antilles, CNRS 7208, IRD 207, 43 Rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France
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24
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Kolzenburg R, Nicastro KR, McCoy SJ, Ford AT, Zardi GI, Ragazzola F. Understanding the margin squeeze: Differentiation in fitness-related traits between central and trailing edge populations of Corallina officinalis. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:5787-5801. [PMID: 31160999 PMCID: PMC6540663 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2019] [Revised: 03/18/2019] [Accepted: 03/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
ABSTRACT Assessing population responses to climate-related environmental change is key to understanding the adaptive potential of the species as a whole. Coralline algae are critical components of marine shallow water ecosystems where they function as important ecosystem engineers. Populations of the calcifying algae Corallina officinalis from the center (southern UK) and periphery (northern Spain) of the North Atlantic species natural distribution were selected to test for functional differentiation in thermal stress response. Physiological measurements of calcification, photosynthesis, respiration, growth rates, oxygen, and calcification evolution curves were performed using closed cell respirometry methods. Species identity was genetically confirmed via DNA barcoding. Through a common garden approach, we identified distinct vulnerability to thermal stress of central and peripheral populations. Southern populations showed a decrease in photosynthetic rate under environmental conditions of central locations, and central populations showed a decline in calcification rates under southern conditions. This shows that the two processes of calcification and photosynthesis are not as tightly coupled as previously assumed. How the species as whole will react to future climatic changes will be determined by the interplay of local environmental conditions and these distinct population adaptive traits. OPEN RESEARCH BADGES This article has earned an Open Materials Badge for making publicly available the components of the research methodology needed to reproduce the reported procedure and analysis. All materials are available at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.899568.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Katy R. Nicastro
- Centre of Marine Sciences (CCMAR)University of AlgarveFaroPortugal
| | - Sophie J. McCoy
- Department of Biological SciencesFlorida State UniversityTallahasseeFlorida
| | - Alex T. Ford
- Institute of Marine SciencesUniversity of PortsmouthPortsmouthUK
| | - Gerardo I. Zardi
- Department of Zoology and EntomologyRhodes UniversityGrahamstownSouth Africa
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25
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Basto MN, Nicastro KR, Tavares AI, McQuaid CD, Casero M, Azevedo F, Zardi GI. Plastic ingestion in aquatic birds in Portugal. Mar Pollut Bull 2019; 138:19-24. [PMID: 30660262 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.11.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2018] [Revised: 11/06/2018] [Accepted: 11/13/2018] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
In modern society, plastic items have become indispensable. The rapid growth of plastic production has led to an increase in the concentration of plastic waste in the environment and, consequently, wildlife has been severely affected. As wide-ranging foragers and predators, aquatic birds are ideal sentinels for monitoring changes in their environment. Plastic found in stomach contents of stranded aquatic birds collected throughout Portugal was examined. Out of the 288 birds processed, 12.9% ingested plastics. Six of the 16 species assessed showed evidence of plastic ingestion. The Lesser Black-backed Gull (18.7%) had the highest incidence while, among those that did ingest plastics, the Northern Gannet (4.8%) had the lowest. User plastics were the most common type of plastic ingested, while microplastics and off/white-clear were the most common size and colour respectively of plastics found. This study sets a first multispecies baseline for incidence of plastic ingestion by aquatic birds in Portugal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta N Basto
- CCMAR-CIMAR - Associated Laboratory, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal.
| | - Katy R Nicastro
- CCMAR-CIMAR - Associated Laboratory, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal
| | - Ana I Tavares
- CCMAR-CIMAR - Associated Laboratory, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal
| | - Christopher D McQuaid
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhods University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
| | - María Casero
- Wildlife Rehabilitation and Investigation Centre (RIAS) - Associação ALDEIA, Ria Formosa Natural Park, Olhão, Portugal
| | - Fábia Azevedo
- Wildlife Rehabilitation and Investigation Centre (RIAS) - Associação ALDEIA, Ria Formosa Natural Park, Olhão, Portugal
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhods University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
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26
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Nicastro KR, Lo Savio R, McQuaid CD, Madeira P, Valbusa U, Azevedo F, Casero M, Lourenço C, Zardi GI. Plastic ingestion in aquatic-associated bird species in southern Portugal. Mar Pollut Bull 2018; 126:413-418. [PMID: 29421119 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.11.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2017] [Revised: 11/14/2017] [Accepted: 11/22/2017] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Excessive use of plastics in daily life and the inappropriate disposal of plastic products are severely affecting wildlife species in both coastal and aquatic environments. Birds are top-predators, exposed to all threats affecting their environments, making them ideal sentinel organisms for monitoring ecosystems change. We set a baseline assessment of the prevalence of marine plastic litter affecting multi-species populations of aquatic birds in southern Portugal. By examining 160 stomach contents from 8 species of aquatic birds, we show that 22.5% were affected by plastic debris. Plastic was found in Ciconia ciconia, Larus fuscus and L. michahellis. Ciconia ciconia ingested the highest amount (number of items and total mass) of plastic debris. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS, silicones) was the most abundant polymer and was recorded only in C. ciconia. Plastic ingestion baseline data are of crucial importance to evaluate changes through time and among regions and to define management and conservation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katy R Nicastro
- CCMAR, Centro de Ciências do Mar, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal.
| | - Roberto Lo Savio
- Department of Physics, Università degli Studi di Genova, Genoa, Italy
| | | | - Pedro Madeira
- CCMAR, Centro de Ciências do Mar, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
| | - Ugo Valbusa
- Department of Physics, Università degli Studi di Genova, Genoa, Italy
| | - Fábia Azevedo
- Centro de Recuperação e Investigação de Animais Selvagens (RIAS) - Associação ALDEIA, Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, Olhão, Portugal
| | - Maria Casero
- Centro de Recuperação e Investigação de Animais Selvagens (RIAS) - Associação ALDEIA, Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, Olhão, Portugal
| | - Carla Lourenço
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
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Lourenço CR, Nicastro KR, McQuaid CD, Chefaoui RM, Assis J, Taleb MZ, Zardi GI. Evidence for rangewide panmixia despite multiple barriers to dispersal in a marine mussel. Sci Rep 2017; 7:10279. [PMID: 28860631 PMCID: PMC5579014 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-10753-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2017] [Accepted: 08/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Oceanographic features shape the distributional and genetic patterns of marine species by interrupting or promoting connections among populations. Although general patterns commonly arise, distributional ranges and genetic structure are species-specific and do not always comply with the expected trends. By applying a multimarker genetic approach combined with Lagrangian particle simulations (LPS) we tested the hypothesis that oceanographic features along northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean shores influence dispersal potential and genetic structure of the intertidal mussel Perna perna. Additionally, by performing environmental niche modelling we assessed the potential and realized niche of P. perna along its entire native distributional range and the environmental factors that best explain its realized distribution. Perna perna showed evidence of panmixia across >4,000 km despite several oceanographic breaking points detected by LPS. This is probably the result of a combination of life history traits, continuous habitat availability and stepping-stone dynamics. Moreover, the niche modelling framework depicted minimum sea surface temperatures (SST) as the major factor shaping P. perna distributional range limits along its native areas. Forthcoming warming SST is expected to further change these limits and allow the species to expand its range polewards though this may be accompanied by retreat from warmer areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla R Lourenço
- CCMAR-CIMAR - Associated Laboratory, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139, Portugal. .,Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa.
| | - Katy R Nicastro
- CCMAR-CIMAR - Associated Laboratory, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139, Portugal
| | - Christopher D McQuaid
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - Rosa M Chefaoui
- CCMAR-CIMAR - Associated Laboratory, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139, Portugal
| | - Jorge Assis
- CCMAR-CIMAR - Associated Laboratory, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139, Portugal
| | - Mohammed Z Taleb
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences, University of Oran Ahmed Ben Bella, 31000, Oran, Algeria
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
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28
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Saada G, Nicastro KR, Jacinto R, McQuaid CD, Serrão EA, Pearson GA, Zardi GI. Taking the heat: distinct vulnerability to thermal stress of central and threatened peripheral lineages of a marine macroalga. DIVERS DISTRIB 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Saada
- CCMAR - Centro de Ciencias do Mar; CIMAR Laboratório Associado; Universidade do Algarve; Campus de Gambelas 8005-139 Faro Portugal
| | - Katy R. Nicastro
- CCMAR - Centro de Ciencias do Mar; CIMAR Laboratório Associado; Universidade do Algarve; Campus de Gambelas 8005-139 Faro Portugal
| | - Rita Jacinto
- CCMAR - Centro de Ciencias do Mar; CIMAR Laboratório Associado; Universidade do Algarve; Campus de Gambelas 8005-139 Faro Portugal
| | | | - Ester A. Serrão
- CCMAR - Centro de Ciencias do Mar; CIMAR Laboratório Associado; Universidade do Algarve; Campus de Gambelas 8005-139 Faro Portugal
| | - Gareth A. Pearson
- CCMAR - Centro de Ciencias do Mar; CIMAR Laboratório Associado; Universidade do Algarve; Campus de Gambelas 8005-139 Faro Portugal
| | - Gerardo I. Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology; Rhodes University; 6140 Grahamstown South Africa
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29
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Zardi GI, Nicastro KR, McQuaid CD, Ng TPT, Lathlean J, Seuront L. Enemies with benefits: parasitic endoliths protect mussels against heat stress. Sci Rep 2016; 6:31413. [PMID: 27506855 PMCID: PMC4979024 DOI: 10.1038/srep31413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2016] [Accepted: 07/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Positive and negative aspects of species interactions can be context dependant and strongly affected by environmental conditions. We tested the hypothesis that, during periods of intense heat stress, parasitic phototrophic endoliths that fatally degrade mollusc shells can benefit their mussel hosts. Endolithic infestation significantly reduced body temperatures of sun-exposed mussels and, during unusually extreme heat stress, parasitised individuals suffered lower mortality rates than non-parasitised hosts. This beneficial effect was related to the white discolouration caused by the excavation activity of endoliths. Under climate warming, species relationships may be drastically realigned and conditional benefits of phototrophic endolithic parasites may become more important than the costs of infestation.
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Affiliation(s)
- G I Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - K R Nicastro
- CCMAR-Centro de Ciencias do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139, Portugal
| | - C D McQuaid
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - T P T Ng
- The Swire Institute of Marine Science and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - J Lathlean
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - L Seuront
- CNRS, UMR LOG 8187, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Station Marine, BP 80, Wimereux, 62930, France
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Lathlean JA, Seuront L, McQuaid CD, Ng TPT, Zardi GI, Nicastro KR. Cheating the Locals: Invasive Mussels Steal and Benefit from the Cooling Effect of Indigenous Mussels. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0152556. [PMID: 27030975 PMCID: PMC4816446 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2015] [Accepted: 03/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The indigenous South African mussel Perna perna gapes during periods of aerial exposure to maintain aerobic respiration. This behaviour has no effect on the body temperatures of isolated individuals, but when surrounded by conspecifics, beneficial cooling effects of gaping emerge. It is uncertain, however, whether the presence of the invasive mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis limits the ability of P. perna for collective thermoregulation. We investigated whether varying densities of P. perna and M. galloprovincialis influences the thermal properties of both natural and artificial mussel beds during periods of emersion. Using infrared thermography, body temperatures of P. perna within mixed artificial beds were shown to increase faster and reach higher temperatures than individuals in conspecific beds, indicating that the presence of M. galloprovincialis limits the group cooling effects of gaping. In contrast, body temperatures of M. galloprovincialis within mixed artificial mussel beds increased slower and exhibited lower temperatures than for individuals in beds comprised entirely of M. galloprovincialis. Interestingly, differences in bed temperatures and heating rates were largely dependent on the size of mussels, with beds comprised of larger individuals experiencing less thermal stress irrespective of species composition. The small-scale patterns of thermal stress detected within manipulated beds were not observed within naturally occurring mixed mussel beds. We propose that small-scale differences in topography, size-structure, mussel bed size and the presence of organisms encrusting the mussel shells mask the effects of gaping behaviour within natural mussel beds. Nevertheless, the results from our manipulative experiment indicate that the invasive species M. galloprovincialis steals thermal properties as well as resources from the indigenous mussel P. perna. This may have significant implications for predicting how the co-existence of these two species may change as global temperatures continue to rise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin A. Lathlean
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
- * E-mail:
| | - Laurent Seuront
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CNRS UMR 8187 LOG, 28 avenue Foch, BP 80, 62930 Wimereux, France
| | | | - Terence P. T. Ng
- The Swire Institute of Marine Science and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Gerardo I. Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
| | - Katy R. Nicastro
- CCMAR—Centro de Ciencias do Mar, CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005–139 Faro, Portugal
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Assis J, Zupan M, Nicastro KR, Zardi GI, McQuaid CD, Serrão EA. Oceanographic Conditions Limit the Spread of a Marine Invader along Southern African Shores. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0128124. [PMID: 26114766 PMCID: PMC4482700 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0128124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2015] [Accepted: 04/23/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Invasive species can affect the function and structure of natural ecological communities, hence understanding and predicting their potential for spreading is a major ecological challenge. Once established in a new region, the spread of invasive species is largely controlled by their dispersal capacity, local environmental conditions and species interactions. The mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis is native to the Mediterranean and is the most successful marine invader in southern Africa. Its distribution there has expanded rapidly and extensively since the 1970s, however, over the last decade its spread has ceased. In this study, we coupled broad scale field surveys, Ecological Niche Modelling (ENM) and Lagrangian Particle Simulations (LPS) to assess the current invaded distribution of M. galloprovincialis in southern Africa and to evaluate what prevents further spread of this species. Results showed that all environmentally suitable habitats in southern Africa have been occupied by the species. This includes rocky shores between Rocky Point in Namibia and East London in South Africa (approx. 2800 km) and these limits coincide with the steep transitions between cool-temperate and subtropical-warmer climates, on both west and southeast African coasts. On the west coast, simulations of drifting larvae almost entirely followed the northward and offshore direction of the Benguela current, creating a clear dispersal barrier by advecting larvae away from the coast. On the southeast coast, nearshore currents give larvae the potential to move eastwards, against the prevalent Agulhas current and beyond the present distributional limit, however environmental conditions prevent the establishment of the species. The transition between the cooler and warmer water regimes is therefore the main factor limiting the northern spread on the southeast coast; however, biotic interactions with native fauna may also play an important role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Assis
- Center of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
- * E-mail:
| | - Mirta Zupan
- Center of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Katy R. Nicastro
- Center of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Gerardo I. Zardi
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
| | | | - Ester A. Serrão
- Center of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
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Cunha RL, Nicastro KR, Costa J, McQuaid CD, Serrão EA, Zardi GI. Wider sampling reveals a non-sister relationship for geographically contiguous lineages of a marine mussel. Ecol Evol 2014; 4:2070-81. [PMID: 25360249 PMCID: PMC4201422 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2014] [Accepted: 02/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The accuracy of phylogenetic inference can be significantly improved by the addition of more taxa and by increasing the spatial coverage of sampling. In previous studies, the brown mussel Perna perna showed a sister-lineage relationship between eastern and western individuals contiguously distributed along the South African coastline. We used mitochondrial (COI) and nuclear (ITS) sequence data to further analyze phylogeographic patterns within P. perna. Significant expansion of the geographical coverage revealed an unexpected pattern. The western South African lineage shared the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) with specimens from Angola, Venezuela, and Namibia, whereas eastern South African specimens and Mozambique grouped together, indicating a non-sister relationship for the two South African lineages. Two plausible biogeographic scenarios to explain their origin were both supported by the hypotheses-testing analysis. One includes an Indo-Pacific origin for P. perna, dispersal into the Mediterranean and Atlantic through the Tethys seaway, followed by recent secondary contact after southward expansion of the western and eastern South African lineages. The other scenario (Out of South Africa) suggests an ancient vicariant divergence of the two lineages followed by their northward expansion. Nevertheless, the "Out of South Africa" hypothesis would require a more ancient divergence between the two lineages. Instead, our estimates indicated that they diverged very recently (310 kyr), providing a better support for an Indo-Pacific origin of the two South African lineages. The arrival of the MRCA of P. perna in Brazil was estimated at 10 [0-40] kyr. Thus, the hypothesis of a recent introduction in Brazil through hull fouling in wooden vessels involved in the transatlantic itineraries of the slave trade did not receive strong support, but given the range for this estimate, it could not be discarded. Wider geographic sampling of marine organisms shows that lineages with contiguous distributions need not share a common ancestry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Regina L Cunha
- Centre of Marine Sciences - CCMAR, Campus de Gambelas, Universidade do Algarve 8005-139, Faro, Portugal
| | - Katy R Nicastro
- Centre of Marine Sciences - CCMAR, Campus de Gambelas, Universidade do Algarve 8005-139, Faro, Portugal
| | - Joana Costa
- Centre of Marine Sciences - CCMAR, Campus de Gambelas, Universidade do Algarve 8005-139, Faro, Portugal
| | - Christopher D McQuaid
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
| | - Ester A Serrão
- Centre of Marine Sciences - CCMAR, Campus de Gambelas, Universidade do Algarve 8005-139, Faro, Portugal
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- Centre of Marine Sciences - CCMAR, Campus de Gambelas, Universidade do Algarve 8005-139, Faro, Portugal ; Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa
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Teske PR, Zardi GI, McQuaid CD, Nicastro KR. Two sides of the same coin: extinctions and originations across the Atlantic/Indian Ocean boundary as consequences of the same climate oscillation. Frontiers of Biogeography 2013. [DOI: 10.21425/f55115591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
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Teske PR, Zardi GI, McQuaid CD, Nicastro KR. Two sides of the same coin: extinctions and originations across the Atlantic/Indian Ocean boundary as consequences of the same climate oscillation. Frontiers of Biogeography 2013. [DOI: 10.21425/f5fbg15591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
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Nicastro KR, Zardi GI, Teixeira S, Neiva J, Serrão EA, Pearson GA. Shift happens: trailing edge contraction associated with recent warming trends threatens a distinct genetic lineage in the marine macroalga Fucus vesiculosus. BMC Biol 2013; 11:6. [PMID: 23342999 PMCID: PMC3598678 DOI: 10.1186/1741-7007-11-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2012] [Accepted: 01/23/2013] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Significant effects of recent global climate change have already been observed in a variety of ecosystems, with evidence for shifts in species ranges, but rarely have such consequences been related to the changes in the species genetic pool. The stretch of Atlantic coast between North Africa and North Iberia is ideal for studying the relationship between species distribution and climate change as it includes the distributional limits of a considerable number of both cold- and warm-water species.We compared temporal changes in distribution of the canopy-forming alga Fucus vesiculosus with historical sea surface temperature (SST) patterns to draw links between range shifts and contemporary climate change. Moreover, we genetically characterized with microsatellite markers previously sampled extinct and extant populations in order to estimate resulting cryptic genetic erosion. RESULTS Over the past 30 years, a geographic contraction of the southern range edge of this species has occurred, with a northward latitudinal shift of approximately 1,250 km. Additionally, a more restricted distributional decline was recorded in the Bay of Biscay. Coastal SST warming data over the last three decades revealed a significant increase in temperature along most of the studied coastline, averaging 0.214°C/decade. Importantly, the analysis of existing and extinct population samples clearly distinguished two genetically different groups, a northern and a southern clade. Because of the range contraction, the southern group is currently represented by very few extant populations. This southern edge range shift is thus causing the loss of a distinct component of the species genetic background. CONCLUSIONS We reveal a climate-correlated diversity loss below the species level, a process that could render the species more vulnerable to future environmental changes and affect its evolutionary potential. This is a remarkable case of genetic uniqueness of a vanishing cryptic genetic clade (southern clade).
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Affiliation(s)
- Katy R Nicastro
- CCMAR - CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve - Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139 Portugal
| | - Gerardo I Zardi
- CCMAR - CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve - Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139 Portugal
| | - Sara Teixeira
- CCMAR - CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve - Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139 Portugal
| | - João Neiva
- CCMAR - CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve - Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139 Portugal
| | - Ester A Serrão
- CCMAR - CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve - Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139 Portugal
| | - Gareth A Pearson
- CCMAR - CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve - Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139 Portugal
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Marquet N, Nicastro KR, Gektidis M, McQuaid CD, Pearson GA, Serrão EA, Zardi GI. Comparison of phototrophic shell-degrading endoliths in invasive and native populations of the intertidal mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. Biol Invasions 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-012-0363-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Nicastro KR, Zardi GI, McQuaid CD, Pearson GA, Serrão EA. Love thy neighbour: group properties of gaping behaviour in mussel aggregations. PLoS One 2012; 7:e47382. [PMID: 23091620 PMCID: PMC3472978 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0047382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2012] [Accepted: 09/11/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
By associating closely with others to form a group, an animal can benefit from a number of advantages including reduced risk of predation, amelioration of environmental conditions, and increased reproductive success, but at the price of reduced resources. Although made up of individual members, an aggregation often displays novel effects that do not manifest at the level of the individual organism. Here we show that very simple behaviour in intertidal mussels shows new effects in dense aggregations but not in isolated individuals. Perna perna and Mytilus galloprovincialis are gaping (periodic valve movement during emersion) and non-gaping mussels respectively. P. perna gaping behaviour had no effect on body temperatures of isolated individuals, while it led to increased humidity and decreased temperatures in dense groups (beds). Gaping resulted in cooler body temperatures for P. perna than M. galloprovincialis when in aggregations, while solitary individuals exhibited the highest temperatures. Gradients of increasing body temperature were detected from the center to edges of beds, but M. galloprovincialis at the edge had the same temperature as isolated individuals. Furthermore, a field study showed that during periods of severe heat stress, mortality rates of mussels within beds of the gaping P. perna were lower than those of isolated individuals or within beds of M. galloprovincialis, highlighting the determinant role of gaping on fitness and group functioning. We demonstrate that new effects of very simple individual behaviour lead to amelioration of abiotic conditions at the aggregation level and that these effects increase mussel resistance to thermal stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katy R. Nicastro
- CCMAR-CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Gerardo I. Zardi
- CCMAR-CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Gareth A. Pearson
- CCMAR-CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Ester A. Serrão
- CCMAR-CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal
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Coelho NC, Zardi GI, Pearson GA, Serrão EA, Nicastro KR. Characterization of ten highly polymorphic microsatellite loci for the intertidal mussel Perna perna, and cross species amplification within the genus. BMC Res Notes 2012; 5:558. [PMID: 23039168 PMCID: PMC3520869 DOI: 10.1186/1756-0500-5-558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2012] [Accepted: 10/02/2012] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The brown mussel Perna perna (Linnaeus, 1758) is a dominant constituent of intertidal communities and a strong invader with multiple non-native populations distributed around the world. In a previous study, two polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed and used to determine population-level genetic diversity in invasive and native P. perna populations. However, higher number of microsatellite markers are required for reliable population genetic studies. In this context, in order to understand P. perna origins and history of invasion and to compare population genetic structure in native versus invaded areas, we developed 10 polymorphic microsatellite markers. Findings Described microsatellite markers were developed from an enriched genomic library. Analyses and characterization of loci using 20 individuals from a population in Western Sahara revealed on average 11 alleles per locus (range: 5–27) and mean gene diversity of 0.75 (range: 0.31 - 0.95). One primer pair revealed possible linkage disequilibrium while heterozygote deficiency was significant at four loci. Six of these markers cross-amplified in P. canaliculus (origin: New Zealand). Conclusions Developed markers will be useful in addressing a variety of questions concerning P. perna, including dispersal scales, genetic variation and population structure, in both native and invaded areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nelson C Coelho
- CCMAR, CIMAR-Laboratório Associado, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal.
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Coelho NC, Zardi GI, Pearson GA, Serrão EA, Nicastro KR. Characterization of ten highly polymorphic microsatellite loci for the intertidal mussel Perna perna, and cross species amplification within the genus. BMC Res Notes 2012. [DOI: 10.1186/1756-0500-5-2101791285670501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
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Zardi GI, Nicastro KR, Canovas F, Ferreira Costa J, Serrão EA, Pearson GA. Adaptive traits are maintained on steep selective gradients despite gene flow and hybridization in the intertidal zone. PLoS One 2011; 6:e19402. [PMID: 21695117 PMCID: PMC3114782 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0019402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2010] [Accepted: 04/05/2011] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Gene flow among hybridizing species with incomplete reproductive barriers blurs species boundaries, while selection under heterogeneous local ecological conditions or along strong gradients may counteract this tendency. Congeneric, externally-fertilizing fucoid brown algae occur as distinct morphotypes along intertidal exposure gradients despite gene flow. Combining analyses of genetic and phenotypic traits, we investigate the potential for physiological resilience to emersion stressors to act as an isolating mechanism in the face of gene flow. Along vertical exposure gradients in the intertidal zone of Northern Portugal and Northwest France, the mid-low shore species Fucus vesiculosus, the upper shore species Fucus spiralis, and an intermediate distinctive morphotype of F. spiralis var. platycarpus were morphologically characterized. Two diagnostic microsatellite loci recovered 3 genetic clusters consistent with prior morphological assignment. Phylogenetic analysis based on single nucleotide polymorphisms in 14 protein coding regions unambiguously resolved 3 clades; sympatric F. vesiculosus, F. spiralis, and the allopatric (in southern Iberia) population of F. spiralis var. platycarpus. In contrast, the sympatric F. spiralis var. platycarpus (from Northern Portugal) was distributed across the 3 clades, strongly suggesting hybridization/introgression with both other entities. Common garden experiments showed that physiological resilience following exposure to desiccation/heat stress differed significantly between the 3 sympatric genetic taxa; consistent with their respective vertical distribution on steep environmental clines in exposure time. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that F. spiralis var. platycarpus is a distinct entity in allopatry, but that extensive gene flow occurs with both higher and lower shore species in sympatry. Experimental results suggest that strong selection on physiological traits across steep intertidal exposure gradients acts to maintain the 3 distinct genetic and morphological taxa within their preferred vertical distribution ranges. On the strength of distributional, genetic, physiological and morphological differences, we propose elevation of F. spiralis var. platycarpus from variety to species level, as F. guiryi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerardo I. Zardi
- CCMAR-CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Gambelas, Faro, Portugal
| | - Katy R. Nicastro
- CCMAR-CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Gambelas, Faro, Portugal
| | - Fernando Canovas
- CCMAR-CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Gambelas, Faro, Portugal
| | - Joana Ferreira Costa
- CCMAR-CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Gambelas, Faro, Portugal
| | - Ester A. Serrão
- CCMAR-CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Gambelas, Faro, Portugal
| | - Gareth A. Pearson
- CCMAR-CIMAR Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Algarve, Gambelas, Faro, Portugal
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Nicastro KR, Zardi GI, McQuaid CD, Stephens L, Radloff S, Blatch GL. The role of gaping behaviour in habitat partitioning between coexisting intertidal mussels. BMC Ecol 2010; 10:17. [PMID: 20624310 PMCID: PMC2912236 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6785-10-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2009] [Accepted: 07/12/2010] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Environmental heterogeneity plays a major role in invasion and coexistence dynamics. Habitat segregation between introduced species and their native competitors is usually described in terms of different physiological and behavioural abilities. However little attention has been paid to the effects of behaviour in habitat partitioning among invertebrates, partially because their behavioural repertoires, especially marine benthic taxa, are extremely limited. This study investigates the effect of gaping behaviour on habitat segregation of the two dominant mussel species living in South Africa, the invasive Mytilus galloprovincialis and the indigenous Perna perna. These two species show partial habitat segregation on the south coast of South Africa, the lower and upper areas of the mussel zone are dominated by P. perna and M. galloprovincialis respectively, with overlap in the middle zone. During emergence, intertidal mussels will either keep the valves closed, minimizing water loss and undergoing anaerobic metabolism, or will periodically open the valves maintaining a more efficient aerobic metabolism but increasing the risk of desiccation. RESULTS Our results show that, when air exposed, the two species adopt clearly different behaviours. M. galloprovincialis keeps the shell valves closed, while P. perna periodically gapes. Gaping behaviour increased water loss in the indigenous species, and consequently the risk of desiccation. The indigenous species expressed significantly higher levels of stress protein (Hsp70) than M. galloprovincialis under field conditions and suffered significantly higher mortality rates when exposed to air in the laboratory. In general, no intra-specific differences were observed in relation to intertidal height. The absence of gaping minimises water loss but exposes the invasive species to other stresses, probably related to anoxic respiration. CONCLUSIONS Gaping affects tolerance to desiccation, thus influencing the vertical zonation of the two species. Valve closure exposes the invasive species to higher stress and associated energy demands, but it minimizes water loss, allowing this species to dominate the upper mussel zone, where the gaping indigenous P. perna cannot survive. Thus even very simple behaviour can influence the outcome of interactions between indigenous and invasive species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katy R Nicastro
- CCMAR, CIMAR, Universidade do Algarve, Gambelas, Faro, Portugal
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Bucher M, Brunner S, Zimmermann P, Zardi GI, Amrhein N, Willmitzer L, Riesmeier JW. The expression of an extensin-like protein correlates with cellular tip growth in tomato. Plant Physiol 2002; 128:911-23. [PMID: 11891247 PMCID: PMC152204 DOI: 10.1104/pp.010998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2001] [Accepted: 11/20/2001] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Extensins are abundant proteins presumed to determine physical characteristics of the plant cell wall. We have cloned a cDNA encoding LeExt1 from a tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) root hair cDNA library. The deduced sequence of the LeExt1 polypeptide defined a novel type of extensin-like proteins in tomato. Patterns of mRNA distribution indicated that expression of the LeExt1 gene was initiated in the root hair differentiation zone of the tomato rhizodermis. Cloning of the corresponding promoter and fusion to the -glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene allowed detailed examination of LeExt1 expression in transgenic tomato plants. Evidence is presented for a direct correlation between LeExt1 expression and cellular tip growth. LeExt1/GUS expression was detectable in trichoblasts (=root hair-bearing cells), but not in atrichoblasts of the tomato rhizodermis. Both hair formation and LeExt1 expression was inducible by the plant hormone ethylene. Comparative analysis of the LeExt1/GUS expression was performed in transgenic tomato, potato (Solanum tuberosum), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), and Arabidopsis plants. In the apical/basal dimension, GUS staining was absent from the root cap and undifferentiated cells at the root tip in all species investigated. It was induced at the distal end of the differentiation zone and remained high proximally to the root/hypocotyl boundary. In the radial dimension, GUS expression was root hair specific in the solanaceous species. Whereas LeExt1 mRNA was exclusively detectable in the rhizodermis, root hair-specific expression correlated with GUS expression in germinating pollen tubes. This is correlative evidence for a role of LeExt1 in root hair tip growth [corrected].
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel Bucher
- Federal Institute of Technology (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule [ETH]) Zurich, Switzerland.
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