Biodiversity and food web indicators of community recovery in intertidal shellfish reefs

Christianen, Marjolijn J. A.; Heide, Tjisse van der; Holthuijsen, Sander; Reijden, K.J. van der; Borst, Annieke; Olff, Han

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2016.09.028

Cited by 38 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…However, experimental validation of these emergent effects is lacking, restricting advancement and refinement of this cross-ecosystem theory, as well as the application of self-organization concepts in the management and restoration of degraded ecosystems (24). In this study, we experimentally demonstrate that in mussel beds, selforganization processes enhance mussel resistance to disturbance, and thus the stability of this diversity-enhancing ecosystem on intertidal flats (33). This positive feedback occurs in our experiments regardless of whether a single scale of patterning or a combination is present, because all three patterned treatments either directly or indirectly facilitated small-scale mussel aggregation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Our study adds to a growing body of papers, theoretical or empirical, pointing to the importance of facilitation and selforganization for the resilience (13,22), productivity (2), and biodiversity of natural ecosystems (33). In many, if not most, human-modified ecosystems, the natural spatial structure is altered or lost due to mowing, drainage, dredging, and other forms of interference.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

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Behavioral self-organization underlies the resilience of a coastal ecosystem

Paoli

Heide

Berg

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Self-organized spatial patterns occur in many terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems. Theoretical models and observational studies suggest self-organization, the formation of patterns due to ecological interactions, is critical for enhanced ecosystem resilience. However, experimental tests of this cross-ecosystem theory are lacking. In this study, we experimentally test the hypothesis that self-organized pattern formation improves the persistence of mussel beds (Mytilus edulis) on intertidal flats. In natural beds, mussels generate selforganized patterns at two different spatial scales: regularly spaced clusters of mussels at centimeter scale driven by behavioral aggregation and large-scale, regularly spaced bands at meter scale driven by ecological feedback mechanisms. To test for the relative importance of these two spatial scales of self-organization on mussel bed persistence, we conducted field manipulations in which we factorially constructed small-scale and/or large-scale patterns. Our results revealed that both forms of self-organization enhanced the persistence of the constructed mussel beds in comparison to nonorganized beds. Small-scale, behaviorally driven cluster patterns were found to be crucial for persistence, and thus resistance to wave disturbance, whereas large-scale, self-organized patterns facilitated reformation of small-scale patterns if mussels were dislodged. This study provides experimental evidence that self-organization can be paramount to enhancing ecosystem persistence. We conclude that ecosystems with self-organized spatial patterns are likely to benefit greatly from conservation and restoration actions that use the emergent effects of self-organization to increase ecosystem resistance to disturbance.self-organization | resilience | multiscale patterns | ecosystems | mussels

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Behavioral self-organization underlies the resilience of a coastal ecosystem

Paoli

Heide

Berg

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…link density) by affecting species and links through non-trophic interactions [14–17]. Although this hypothesis was recently supported by two empirical studies of coastal ecosystems [13, 20], it remained unclear whether these findings could be generalized to other ecosystems. By comparing foundation species-dominated habitats with nearby bare habitats where these foundation species ware absent, we demonstrate that their presence consistently increased food web size and complexity across seven terrestrial, freshwater and coastal ecosystems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foundation species enhance food web complexity through non-trophic facilitation

et al. 2018

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Food webs are an integral part of every ecosystem on the planet, yet understanding the mechanisms shaping these complex networks remains a major challenge. Recently, several studies suggested that non-trophic species interactions such as habitat modification and mutualisms can be important determinants of food web structure. However, it remains unclear whether these findings generalize across ecosystems, and whether non-trophic interactions affect food webs randomly, or affect specific trophic levels or functional groups. Here, we combine analyses of 58 food webs from seven terrestrial, freshwater and coastal systems to test (1) the general hypothesis that non-trophic facilitation by habitat-forming foundation species enhances food web complexity, and (2) whether these enhancements have either random or targeted effects on particular trophic levels, functional groups, and linkages throughout the food web. Our empirical results demonstrate that foundation species consistently enhance food web complexity in all seven ecosystems. Further analyses reveal that 15 out of 19 food web properties can be well-approximated by assuming that foundation species randomly facilitate species throughout the trophic network. However, basal species are less strongly, and carnivores are more strongly facilitated in foundation species' food webs than predicted based on random facilitation, resulting in a higher mean trophic level and a longer average chain length. Overall, we conclude that foundation species strongly enhance food web complexity through non-trophic facilitation of species across the entire trophic network. We therefore suggest that the structure and stability of food webs often depends critically on non-trophic facilitation by foundation species.

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“…Shellfish reefs are ecological hotspots locally, sustaining complex food webs and boosting high biodiversity (Christianen et al 2016). Moreover, the fact that microphytobenthos is at the very basis of the food web (Christianen et al 2017) and shellfish reefs partially sustain its production at landscape scale underlines the importance of ecosystem engineers in sustaining food webs (Sanders et al 2014).…”

Section: Estimate Of the Magnitude Of The Positive Effect Of Shellfismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…insects, worms, shellfish, coral and algae) are hardly charismatic (Ducarme et al 2013), but still define major ecological processes within an environmental background (Crain & Bertness 2006). As such, ecosystem engineers determine ecological diversity (van der Zee et al 2015;Christianen et al 2016) and resilience (Eriksson et al 2010;Christianen et al 2016). Chapters 4 and 5 and other recent literature reveal that these ecological driving processes are not limited to the physical borders of the created habitat, but extend to influence significant areas beyond the borders of ecosystem engineering species.…”

Section: Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of remote sensing to reveal landscape-scale ecosystem engineering by shellfish reefs

Nieuwhof

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Biodiversity and food web indicators of community recovery in intertidal shellfish reefs

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Cited by 38 publications

References 62 publications

Behavioral self-organization underlies the resilience of a coastal ecosystem

Behavioral self-organization underlies the resilience of a coastal ecosystem

Foundation species enhance food web complexity through non-trophic facilitation

The use of remote sensing to reveal landscape-scale ecosystem engineering by shellfish reefs

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