Interactions Between the Amphipod <i>Corophium Volutator</i> and Macroalgal Mats on Estuarine Mudflats

Raffaelli, Dave; Limia, Jose M.; Hull, Stephen; Pont, Sylvain Courrech du

doi:10.1017/s0025315400053558

Cited by 103 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The patterns of species responses in our study are similar to those from intertidal flats covered by algae (Nicholls et al 1981, Soulsby et al 1982, Hull 1987, Raffaelli et al 1991, Everett 1994, although fundamental differences are expected as these algae grow attached and may facilitate migrations up into the algae. The contribution of .Hydrobid spp.…”

Section: Population Responses To Algal Stresssupporting

confidence: 82%

“…The species-specific responses of the benthos to algal stress are more complex than to mere hypoxia. In addition to the hypoxic/anoxic (and H2S) conditions In the sediment as well as under the algal mat, the benthic population~ also have to cope with the physical structure (Raffaelli et al 1991) as well as possible toxic exudates from the algae (Aneer 1987). Therefore the speciesspecific responses to hypoxia in general will not be valid when algae interact in the structuring with hypoxia.…”

Section: Population Responses To Algal Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pearl 1995, Bonsdorff et al 1996, and in sheltered coastal areas the increased growth of benthic macroalgae has often been attributed to the concu.rrent elevations in nutritional load (Rosenberg 1985, Hull 1987, Raffaelli et al 1991, Gray 1992, Isaksson & Pihl 1992, Kolbe et al 1995. The occurrence of attached algae on tidal flats and other shallow coastal areas has received considerable attention (Perkins & Abbott 1972.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Population responses of coastal zoobenthos to stress induced by drifting algal mats

Norkko¹,

Bonsdorff²

1996

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

174

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the large archipelago area of the northern Baltic Sea, increasing occurrences of drifting benthic macroalgae have been recorded in the subtidal zone. Their role as a structuring factor on the zoobenthic community has been altered from inducing occasional small-scale disturbances to inducing large-scale mortality of macrobenthic populations. A controlled field experiment was conducted on a sandy bottom in order to test for temporal responses of benthlc invertebrate populations to severe stress imposed by the algal mats. Algae corresponding to amounts recorded in the field were enclosed In netbags and attached to the bottom. Population abundance of the zoobenthic species under algae were compared w~t h control plots for 5 ivk with weekly sanipl~ng. Mass~ve die-offs of benthic populatlons were recorded in both the experiment and under natural occurrences of drift algal mats. The community dominants in abundance (mudsnails Hydrobia spp.) and biomass (bivalve Macoma balthica) exhibited strong population reductions after 9 d of algal stress. Within 5 wk, populat~on crashes were recorded for the sedentary po1ychaett.s Manayunkia aestuanna and Pygosplo elegans, ivh~le populations of the errant polychaete Nereis diverslcolor and tubificid oligochaetes remained stable under the algal mats. Initial short-term recovery after the algae were removed was rapid and do~nlnated by Hydrobia spp. The strong negative effects on key species such as M. balthica may have severe effects on entire food-web dynamics in Baltic coastal ecosystems.

show abstract

Section: Population Responses To Algal Stresssupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Population Responses To Algal Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Population responses of coastal zoobenthos to stress induced by drifting algal mats

Norkko¹,

Bonsdorff²

1996

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

174

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Mats of filamentous algae can cover formerly open sandy habitats or occur as epiphytes on seagrass and kelp algae resulting in a change of the habitat structure, thereby affecting the species composition of associated fauna (Reise, 1983;Raffaelli et al, 1991;Isaksson & Pihl, 1992;Pihl et al, 1995). These mats can act as a physical barrier to epibenthic predators, thus reducing predation and increasing survival of prey species able to cope with the conditions under the mats (Hull, 1987;Isaksson et al, 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat choice by juvenile cod (Gadus morhua L.) on sandy soft bottoms with different vegetation types

Borg

Pihl

Wennhage

1997

Helgoländer Meeresunters.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Habitat choice by juvenile cod (Gadus morhua L.) on sandy bottoms with different vegetation types was studied in laboratory. The experiment was conducted day and night in flowthrough tanks on two different size-classes of cod (7-13 and 17-28 cm TL). Four habitats, typical of shallow soft bottoms on the Swedish west coast: Fucus vesiculosus, Zostera marina, Cladophora sp. and bare sand, were set up pair-wise in six combinations. The main difference between habitats in this study was vegetation structure, since all parameters except vegetation type was considered equal for both sides of the experimental tanks and natural prey was eliminated. The results showed a difference in habitat utilization by juvenile cod between day (light) and night (dark). During day time the fishes showed a significant preference for vegetation, while nocturnally no significant choice of habitat was made. Both size-classes preferred Fucus, considered the most complex habitat in this study, when this was available. The smaller size-class seemed to be able to utilize the other vegetation types as well, always preferring vegetation over sand. Larger juvenile cod, on the other hand, appeared to be restricted to Fucus. This difference in habitat choice by the two size-classes might be due to a greater dependence on shelter from predation by the smaller juveniles, causing them to associate more strongly with vegetation. The larger juveniles avoided Cladophora, since they might have difficulties in entering the compact structure of this filamentous algae. Availability of vegetation at day time, as a predation refuge, as well as of open sandy areas for feeding during night, thus seems to be important for juvenile cod. It is concluded that eutrophication-induced changes in habitat structure, such as increased dominance by filamentous algae, could alter the availability of predation refuges and foraging habitats for juvenile cod.

show abstract

“…There, this amphipod had disappeared entirely in the 1980s (Reise et al 1989) and has not come back, but it is still present regionally. C. volutator has been shown to be aVected by trematodes (Jensen and Mouritsen 1992) or by a coverage of green algal mats (RaVaelli et al 1991). However, both eVects are unlikely to explain a complete loss of the amphipod population in Königshafen.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mudflat biota since the 1930s: change beyond return?

2007

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Where, since the 1980s, patchy and variable green algal mats are prevailing, distinct belts of an amphipod (Corophium volutator) and seagrass (Zostera spp.) had dominated in the 1930s. The zonation between tide marks has been mapped in a sheltered sedimentary bay in the Wadden Sea near the island of Sylt (coastal eastern North Sea). Maps on vegetation from 1924 and on selected macrobenthos from 1932 and 1934 are compared with biannual surveys conducted from 1988 to 2006. Rising high water levels and eutrophication are suggested to be major causes of the observed long-term changes. In front of a saltmarsh, a sandy beach developed and partly displaced former cyanobacterial mats. Advancing sandiness may have inhibited C. volutator and facilitated lugworms, Arenicola marina, in the upper tidal zone. A variable occurrence of green algal mats arising in the 1980s aVected infauna and seagrass by smothering the biota underneath. This dissolved a coherent belt of Zostera noltii. In the lower tidal zone, natural disturbances had lasting eVects on the occurrence of mussels with attached fucoid algae. The spectrum of species became enriched by alien species (13% of macrobenthic taxa). A reversal to habitat structure and biotic zonation of the 1920-1930s does not seem possible. Aliens, in combination with climate change, are expected to further divert the ecological pattern to new conWgurations.

show abstract

Interactions Between the Amphipod Corophium Volutator and Macroalgal Mats on Estuarine Mudflats

Cited by 103 publications

References 6 publications

Population responses of coastal zoobenthos to stress induced by drifting algal mats

Population responses of coastal zoobenthos to stress induced by drifting algal mats

Habitat choice by juvenile cod (Gadus morhua L.) on sandy soft bottoms with different vegetation types

Mudflat biota since the 1930s: change beyond return?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About