Macroalgae ecosystem engineering effects mediated by an invasive reef-builder polychaete in a Southwestern Atlantic coastal lagoon

Living under Ulva canopy: The case of the scavenger snail Buccinastrum deforme in a eutrophic macrotidal bay in Patagonia (Argentina)

“…Eutrophication is a relatively recent process in San Antonio Bay and one that has been increasing its effect in the last 20 years, as revealed by the high nutrient concentrations (Teichberg et al, 2010) and the macroalgal blooms, which increase food availability (Becherucci et al, 2019) and affect the biodiversity (Martinetto et al, 2010). Although the role of benthic macroalgae as ecosystem engineers with multiple community‐structuring effects is widely recognized (reviewed in Bellgrove et al, 2017), the effects are highly variable among ecosystems and species (e.g., Bazterrica et al, 2021; Bolam et al, 2000; Caliman et al, 2011; Eckman & Duggins, 1991). In this work, the results suggest that the structural effects of the Ulva canopy on a secondary consumer like B. deforme are variable or incipient and probably not ecologically meaningful.…”

“…Positive, neutral, and negative effects of macroalgal canopies on understory polychaetes (Raffaelli, 2000), mollusks (Bégin et al, 2004; Eckman & Duggins, 1991; Lewis & De Witt, 2017), and crustaceans (Eckman & Duggins, 1991; Franz & Friedman, 2002) have been described in other systems worldwide (Lyons et al, 2014). The effects are usually species‐specific and idiosyncratic, thus underscoring the essential nature of the context in which interactions take place, for example, the requirements of the species involved and the responses within their distribution (Barnes, 2018; Bazterrica et al, 2021; Bertness et al, 1999; Bolam & Fernandes, 2002; Lyons et al, 2014; Quillien et al, 2015). In the macrotidal ecosystem of San Antonio Bay, the effects of macroalgal blooms seem to be variable.…”

Enhanced removal of phenolic endocrine disrupting chemicals from coastal waters by intertidal macroalgae

“…The common intertidal macroalgae mainly include green alga (e.g., Ulva pertusa, Ulva prolifera, and Codium fragile), red alga (e.g., Gracilaria asiatica, Gymnogongrus flabelliformis, and Gracilaria lemaneiformis), and brown alga (e.g., Laminaria japonica, Sargassum hornori, and Scytosiphon lomentaria) (El Gamal, 2010;Fabre et al, 2020). The ecological service functions of macroalgae could embrace water aeration, water purification, suppression of harmful microorganisms, and shelter for aquatic animals (Bazterrica et al, 2021;Naiel et al, 2020). Ulva pertusa (U. pertusa) is a typical green macroalgae and distributed widely in the intertidal zone (Sun et al, 2018).…”