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Belattmania Z, Chaouti A, Engelen AH, Serrao EA, Machado M, Reani A, Sabour B. Spatiotemporal variation of the epifaunal assemblages associated to Sargassum muticum on the NW Atlantic coast of Morocco. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2020; 27:35501-35514. [PMID: 32594439 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-09851-5] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2019] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Epifaunal assemblages inhabiting the non-indigenous macroalga Sargassum muticum (Yendo) Fensholt were investigated on two physically distinct intertidal rocky (S1) and sandy (S2) sites along the Atlantic coast of Morocco. The objective of this study was to test whether the habitat-forming marine alga S. muticum invasive in these sites supported different epifaunal assemblages under different environmental conditions and through time. The gastropods Steromphala umbilicalis, S. pennanti, and Rissoa parva and the isopod Dynamene bidentata were the most contributive species to the dissimilarity of epifaunal assemblage structure between both sites throughout seasons. SIMPER analysis showed a dissimilarity of 58.3-78.5% in the associated species composition of S. muticum between study sites with respect to sampling season. Species diversity and total abundance were significantly higher at the rocky site compared to the sandy site. PERMANOVA analyses showed significant differences of associated epifaunal assemblage structure for the season and site interaction. Accordingly, site and season were determinant factors conditioning the role of habitat in structuring epifaunal assemblages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahira Belattmania
- Research Unit "Phycology, Blue Biodiversity and Biotechnology," Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Chouaib Doukkali, El Jadida, Morocco.
| | - Abdellatif Chaouti
- Research Unit "Phycology, Blue Biodiversity and Biotechnology," Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Chouaib Doukkali, El Jadida, Morocco
| | - Aschwin H Engelen
- CCMAR - Centre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Ester A Serrao
- CCMAR - Centre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Margarida Machado
- CCMAR - Centre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Abdeltif Reani
- Research Unit "Phycology, Blue Biodiversity and Biotechnology," Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Chouaib Doukkali, El Jadida, Morocco
| | - Brahim Sabour
- Research Unit "Phycology, Blue Biodiversity and Biotechnology," Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Chouaib Doukkali, El Jadida, Morocco
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Pitacco V, Mistri M, Lipej L. Species-Area Relationship (SAR) models as tools for estimating faunal biodiversity associated with habitat builder species in sensitive areas: the case of the Mediterranean stony coral (Cladocora caespitosa). Mar Environ Res 2019; 149:27-39. [PMID: 31150925 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2019.05.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [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: 03/29/2019] [Revised: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/22/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Biodiversity associated with the Mediterranean stony coral Cladocora caespitosa (Linnaeus, 1767) was investigated at three levels: "microscale", focused on macrobenthic invertebrates within colonies; "mesoscale", focused on epibenthic megafauna among colonies; "macroscale", focused on associated ichthyofauna. The aim was to quantify associated diversity in terms of species richness, testing the efficiency of colony size (surface covered by a single colony) for the "microscale", and colony density or total coral coverage for "meso-" and "macroscale" as predictors and the consistency of models based on Species-Area Relationship (SAR) for those estimations. At level of "microscale", colony size was a good predictor, with richness of invertebrates increasing with the increasing of surface covered by each colony of C. caespitosa, following Arrhenius model. At levels of "mesoscale" and "macroscale", richness of epibenthic megafauna and fish were not related neither to colony density nor total coral coverage, but to sampled area, and frequency-based estimates of richness were used. The importance of C. caespitosa varied according to the investigation level, with most of taxa richness detected at the level of "microscale".
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Pitacco
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Fossato di Mortara 17, 44121, Ferrara, Italy.
| | - Michele Mistri
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Fossato di Mortara 17, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Lovrenc Lipej
- Marine Biology Station, National Institute of Biology, Fornače 61, 6630, Piran, Slovenia
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Bracewell SA, Clark GF, Johnston EL. Habitat complexity effects on diversity and abundance differ with latitude: an experimental study over 20 degrees. Ecology 2018; 99:1964-1974. [PMID: 29846936 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2017] [Revised: 03/15/2018] [Accepted: 05/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Habitat complexity is accepted as a general mechanism for increasing the abundance and diversity of communities. However, the circumstances under which complexity has the strongest effects are not clear. Over 20 degrees of Australia's east coast, we tested whether the effects of within-site structural habitat complexity on the diversity and community structure of sessile marine invertebrates was consistent over a latitudinal gradient where environmental conditions and species composition vary. We used experimental arrays with varied structural treatments to detect whether community cover, species richness, diversity and community composition (β-diversity) changed with increasing complexity. Community response to complexity varied over latitude due to differences in species richness and community development. Increased complexity had the greatest positive effects on community cover and species richness at higher latitudes where recruitment and growth were low. At lower latitudes, community cover and species richness were higher overall and did not vary substantially between complexity treatments. Latitudinal variation in within-treatment β-diversity relative to complexity further suggest divergent community responses. At higher latitudes, increased similarity in more complex treatments suggests community dominance of successful taxonomic groups. Despite limited effects on species richness and community cover at lower latitudes, β-diversity was higher in more complex treatments, signifying potential positive effects of increased complexity at these sites. These results demonstrate the context-dependency of complexity effects in response to variation in species richness and community development and should be taken into consideration to help direct conservation and restoration efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sally A Bracewell
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, 2052, Australia
| | - Graeme F Clark
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, 2052, Australia
| | - Emma L Johnston
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, 2052, Australia
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Velasquez E, Bryan SE, Ekins M, Cook AG, Hurrey L, Firn J. Age and area predict patterns of species richness in pumice rafts contingent on oceanic climatic zone encountered. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:5034-5046. [PMID: 29876079 PMCID: PMC5980578 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [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: 01/16/2018] [Accepted: 02/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The theory of island biogeography predicts that area and age explain species richness patterns (or alpha diversity) in insular habitats. Using a unique natural phenomenon, pumice rafting, we measured the influence of area, age, and oceanic climate on patterns of species richness. Pumice rafts are formed simultaneously when submarine volcanoes erupt, the pumice clasts breakup irregularly, forming irregularly shaped pumice stones which while floating through the ocean are colonized by marine biota. We analyze two eruption events and more than 5,000 pumice clasts collected from 29 sites and three climatic zones. Overall, the older and larger pumice clasts held more species. Pumice clasts arriving in tropical and subtropical climates showed this same trend, where in temperate locations species richness (alpha diversity) increased with area but decreased with age. Beta diversity analysis of the communities forming on pumice clasts that arrived in different climatic zones showed that tropical and subtropical clasts transported similar communities, while species composition on temperate clasts differed significantly from both tropical and subtropical arrivals. Using these thousands of insular habitats, we find strong evidence that area and age but also climatic conditions predict the fundamental dynamics of species richness colonizing pumice clasts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor Velasquez
- School of EarthEnvironmental and Biological SciencesFaculty of Science and EngineeringQueensland University of TechnologyBrisbaneQldAustralia
| | - Scott E. Bryan
- School of EarthEnvironmental and Biological SciencesFaculty of Science and EngineeringQueensland University of TechnologyBrisbaneQldAustralia
| | | | - Alex G. Cook
- School of EarthEnvironmental and Biological SciencesFaculty of Science and EngineeringQueensland University of TechnologyBrisbaneQldAustralia
- Queensland MuseumBrisbaneQldAustralia
| | - Lucy Hurrey
- School of Agriculture and Food SciencesThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQldAustralia
| | - Jennifer Firn
- School of EarthEnvironmental and Biological SciencesFaculty of Science and EngineeringQueensland University of TechnologyBrisbaneQldAustralia
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Segovia-Rivera V, Valdivia N. Independent effects of grazing and tide pool habitats on the early colonisation of an intertidal community on western Antarctic Peninsula. Rev Chil de Hist Nat 2016. [DOI: 10.1186/s40693-016-0053-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Matias MG, Coleman RA, Hochuli DF, Underwood AJ. Macrofaunal responses to edges are independent of habitat-heterogeneity in experimental landscapes. PLoS One 2013; 8:e61349. [PMID: 23593471 PMCID: PMC3620172 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0061349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [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: 12/05/2012] [Accepted: 03/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite edges being common features of many natural habitats, there is little general understanding of the ways assemblages respond to them. Every edge between two contrasting habitats has characteristics governed by the composition of adjoining habitats and/or by the nature of any transitions between them. To develop better explanatory theory, we examined the extent to which edges act independently of the composition of the surrounding landscape and to which transitions between different types of habitats affect assemblages. Using experimental landscapes, we measured the responses of assemblages of marine molluscs colonising different experimental landscapes constructed with different compositions (i.e. different types of habitats within the landscape) and different types of transitions between habitats (i.e. sharp vs gradual). Edge effects (i.e. proximity to the edge of the landscape) were independent of the internal composition of experimental landscape; fewer species were found near the edges of landscapes. These reductions may be explained by differences in differential larval settlement between edges and interiors of experimental landscapes. We also found that the sharpness of transitions influenced the magnitude of interactions in the different types of habitats in experimental landscapes, most probably due to the increased number of species in areas of transition between two habitats. Our experiments allowed the effects of composition and transitions between habitats to be disentangled from those of proximity to edges of landscapes. Understanding and making predictions about the responses by species to edges depends on understanding not only the nature of transitions across boundaries, but also the landscape in which the edges are embedded.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel G Matias
- Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities, Marine Ecology Laboratories A11, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
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Cole VJ, Johnson LG, McQuaid CD. Effects of patch-size on populations of intertidal limpets, Siphonaria spp., in a linear landscape. PLoS One 2012; 7:e52076. [PMID: 23284875 PMCID: PMC3527368 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0052076] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2012] [Accepted: 11/15/2012] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Organisms with different life-histories and abilities to disperse often utilise habitat patches in different ways. We investigated the influence of the size of patches of rock (separated by stretches of sand) on the density of pulmonate limpets (Siphonaria spp.) along 1500 km of the linear landscape of the South African coastline. We compared the influence of patch-size on two congeneric species with different modes of development, S. serrata a direct developer, and S. concinna a planktonic developer. We tested the spatial and temporal consistency of the effects of patch-size by sampling 7 independent regions spanning the distributional range of both species of limpets, and by sampling one region at monthly intervals for 1 year. Within each region or month, 4 small patches (<20 m in length) interspersed with the 4 large patches (>60 m in length) were sampled. Across the entire geographic range and throughout the year, there were more of both species of limpets in large patches than in small patches. In most regions, there was greater variability in large patches than small patches. Variability within patches in a single region was similar throughout the year, with greater variability of both species in large than in small patches. We found little influence of the mode of development on the response of limpets to patch-size. Our findings highlight the importance of understanding patterns of distribution of species with respect to habitat heterogeneity in linear landscapes, and contradict the idea that organism mobility at an early ontogenetic stage directly affects habitat use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria J Cole
- Coastal Research Group, Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel G Matias
- Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities, Marine Ecology Laboratories A11, School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
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VALDIVIA NELSON, STEHBENS JARRODD, HERMELINK BJÖRN, CONNELL SEAND, MOLIS MARKUS, WAHL MARTIN. Disturbance mediates the effects of nutrients on developing assemblages of epibiota. AUSTRAL ECOL 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2008.01866.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Abstract
The fluid mechanics of marine and terrestrial systems are surprisingly similar at many spatial and temporal scales. Not surprisingly, the dispersal of organisms that float, swim or fly is influenced by the fluid environments of air and seawater. Nonetheless, it has been argued repeatedly that the geography of evolution differs fundamentally between marine and terrestrial taxa. Might this view emanate from qualitative contrasts between the pelagic ocean and terrestrial land conflated by anthropocentric perception of within- and between-realm variation? We draw on recent advances in biogeography to identify two pairs of biophysically similar marine and terrestrial settings--(i) aerial and marine microplankton and (ii) true islands and brackish seawater lakes--which have similar geographies of evolution. Commonalities at these scales, the largest and smallest biogeographic scales, delimit the geographical extents that can possibly characterize evolution in the remaining majority of species. The geographies of evolution therefore differ statistically, not fundamentally, between marine and terrestrial systems. Comparing the geography of evolution in diverse non-microplanktonic and non-island species from a biophysical perspective is an essential next step for quantifying precisely how marine and terrestrial systems differ and is an important yet under-explored avenue of macroecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael N Dawson
- School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA 95344, USA.
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Krassoi FR, Brown KR, Bishop MJ, Kelaher BP, Summerhayes S. Condition-specific competition allows coexistence of competitively superior exotic oysters with native oysters. J Anim Ecol 2008; 77:5-15. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2007.01316.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Abstract
We monitored spiders on 41 Bahamian islands for 4 years before and then 4 years after the catastrophic Hurricane Floyd passed directly over the site, inundating the study islands with its storm surge. The respective recoveries of major community properties after this annihilation were far from synchronous. Before the hurricane, the species-area relation was generally strong and the slope showed no temporal trend. After the hurricane, the slope increased from near zero (7 months later) to a value about equal to its prehurricane state. The lizard effect (difference in spider abundance or species richness between islands with and without the lizard Anolis sagrei) was generally strong before the hurricane; 7 months after, the lizard effect on abundance was weak and the effect on richness had vanished. In subsequent years, the lizard effect on abundance became strong again, but the effect on species richness remained weak. The strength of the lizard effect on both abundance and richness over the 8 years was strongly positively related to the density of lizards measured on a subset of the study islands. Twelve months after the hurricane, species richness averaged over all islands rebounded to the last prehurricane value, but abundance attained only about half that value; this finding was remarkably similar to results found in an earlier study of spiders impacted by Hurricane Lili (1996) in a different Bahamian region. Nonetheless, in the next 3 years, species richness failed to increase further, part of its long-term decline at the study site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas W Schoener
- Section of Evolution and Ecology and Center for Population Biology, One Shields Avenue, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
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Abstract
Estimates of paleodiversity patterns through time have relied on datasets that lump taxonomic occurrences from geographic areas of varying size per interval of time. In essence, such estimates assume that the species-area effect, whereby more species are recorded from larger geographic areas, is negligible for fossil data. We tested this assumption by using the newly developed Miocene Mammal Mapping Project database of western North American fossil mammals and its associated analysis tools to empirically determine the geographic area that contributed to species diversity counts in successive temporal bins. The results indicate that a species-area effect markedly influences counts of fossil species, just as variable spatial sampling influences diversity counts on the modern landscape. Removing this bias suggests some traditionally recognized peaks in paleodiversity are just artifacts of the species-area effect while others stand out as meriting further attention. This discovery means that there is great potential for refining existing time-series estimates of paleodiversity, and for using species-area relationships to more reliably understand the magnitude and timing of such biotically important events as extinction, lineage diversification, and long-term trends in ecological structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony D Barnosky
- Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA.
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Bowden DA, Rowden AA, Attrill MJ. Effect of patch size and in-patch location on the infaunal macroinvertebrate assemblages of Zostera marina seagrass beds. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 2001; 259:133-154. [PMID: 11343709 DOI: 10.1016/s0022-0981(01)00236-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Much recent work on patch-occupancy dynamics has been concentrated in terrestrial ecosystems, with few examples evident from soft-sediment marine habitats. Seagrass landscapes have recently been recognised to be potentially ideal marine models for the study of such ecological concepts. Infaunal macroinvertebrate assemblages of two patch sizes of the seagrass Zostera marina were compared: small (<15 m diameter) and large (>30 m diameter), using an unreplicated random block design. Further comparison was made between infaunal assemblage composition at the edge and centre of each patch. Univariate statistical analysis of data indicated significantly greater total numbers of taxa in samples from large patches than in small. Multivariate analyses indicated significant differences in assemblage composition due to both patch size and in-patch location, and revealed that differences were due to small changes in the relative abundances of many taxa. Possible mechanisms underlying the observed variations of assemblage composition with patch size and in-patch location are discussed. Although the present results support some of the theories relating to the control of infaunal assemblage composition, explanations are not applicable across all taxonomic groups. At the scale of the present study, seagrass patch size and edge-effects appear to be less significant than 'regional' factors, which relate to relatively small variation in environmental parameters, for the structuring of infaunal macroinvertebrate assemblages.
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Affiliation(s)
- D A. Bowden
- Benthic Ecology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, PL4 8AA, Plymouth, UK
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Bulleri F, Menconi M, Cinelli F, Benedetti-Cecchi L. Grazing by two species of limpets on artificial reefs in the northwest Mediterranean. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 2000; 255:1-19. [PMID: 11090849 DOI: 10.1016/s0022-0981(00)00275-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The extensive presence of artificial reefs in marine coastal habitats demands a better understanding of the extent to which these structures can be considered surrogates of natural rocky shores for populations of plants and animals. The primary aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that removing limpets from the midlittoral of artificial breakwaters in the northwest Mediterranean led to changes in assemblages similar to those observed on rocky shores in the same area. Orthogonal combinations of the presence/absence of two species of limpets, P. aspera and P rustica, were produced using manual removals from June 1997 to February 1998. To test the hypothesis that the effects of limpets were variable at spatial scales comparable to those investigated on rocky shores, we repeated the experiment at two locations tens of kilometres apart, and on two reefs within each location a few kilometres apart. The results revealed strong and relatively consistent negative effects of limpets on filamentous algae, whereas interactions with other members of assemblages were complex and variable. Several taxa (Cyanophyta, encrusting and articulated coralline algae, Ralfsia and Rissoella) were abundant at one location but nearly absent at the other. This large-scale variability in patterns of distribution generated inconsistencies in the effects of limpets between locations. Within locations, several effects of P. aspera and P. rustica were observed, ranging from independent effects on some organisms, to additive or interactive effects on others. Apparently, the removal of filamentous algae by limpets resulted in positive indirect effects on Ralfsia and Rissoella. Collectively, these effects were comparable to those described for rocky shores in the northwest Mediterranean. The processes accounting for large-scale variation in grazing, however, appeared different between the natural and the artificial habitat.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Bulleri
- Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Uomo e dell'Ambiente, via A. Volta 6, 56126, Pisa, Italy
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