Morphological traits and density of foundation species modulate a facilitation cascade in Australian mangroves

Bishop, Melanie J.; Fraser, Jill Andresky; Gribben, Paul E.

doi:10.1890/12-1847.1

Cited by 53 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The relative contribution of foundation species to ecosystem function may stem from their morphological structure which has been measured using a composite of species‐specific trait‐based metrics such as size, number of branches or size of air bladders (Bishop et al . ; Bishop, Fraser & Gribben ; Wright et al . ) and mathematical relationships of species complexity (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Invasive seaweeds transform habitat structure and increase biodiversity of associated species

et al. 2017

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Summary The visual landscape of marine and terrestrial systems is changing as a result of anthropogenic factors. Often these shifts involve introduced species that are morphologically dissimilar to native species, creating a unique biogenic structure and habitat for associated species within the landscape. While community‐level changes as a result of introduced species have been documented in both terrestrial and marine systems, it is still unclear how long‐term shifts in species composition will affect habitat complexity or its potential to influence the biodiversity of species that occur at the base of the food web. We analysed quadrat photos collected at several subtidal sites in the Gulf of Maine over a 30+ year period, and collected individual seaweed species to determine their complexity and the biodiversity of meso‐invertebrates associated with each species. By coupling the relationship of 30+ years of shifts in seaweed assemblages, morphological structure of the seaweed assemblage, and their meso‐invertebrates, we determined introduced seaweeds have increased by up to 90%, corresponding to a rise in two‐dimensional (2D) structure, and a decline in canopy height of subtidal rocky habitats. The highly complex two‐dimensional habitat provided by introduced filamentous red seaweeds supports two to three times more meso‐invertebrate individuals and species that form the base of the food web than simpler forms of morphological habitat. Synthesis. The present study demonstrates a long‐term shift in foundation species towards a dominance of invasive seaweeds that directly reduce canopy height and increase the 2D biogenic structure of the habitat. These introduced seaweeds harbour greater biodiversity of species found at the base of the food web than seaweeds with simpler forms such as the native kelp species. Such shifts in habitat structure will propagate to food webs by influencing the structure of lower trophic‐level meso‐invertebrates and indirectly upper trophic‐level species that feed on these invertebrates and use the seaweed structure as refuge.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…; Crain & Bertness ; Angelini et al . ; Bishop, Fraser & Gribben ). It can also determine the outcome of predator–prey interactions (Warfe & Barmuta ), identity of associated species (Carr ; Lazzari & Stone ) and size of associated individuals (Hacker & Steneck ; McAbendroth et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive seaweeds transform habitat structure and increase biodiversity of associated species

et al. 2017

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“…Habitat cascades should occur where second‐order habitat‐formers are common and embedded within, entangled around, or attached to first‐order habitat‐formers, for example, along intertidal (Thomsen et al., 2016) and subtidal (Bell et al., 2014) rocky shores, in forests (Angelini & Silliman, 2014; Watson & Herring, 2012), seagrass beds (Edgar & Robertson, 1992; Gartner et al., 2013), mangroves (Bishop, Fraser, & Gribben, 2013; Bishop et al., 2012), salt marshes (Altieri et al., 2007; Angelini et al., 2015), and estuaries (Thomsen et al., 2010). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A sixth‐level habitat cascade increases biodiversity in an intertidal estuary

Thomsen

Hildebrand

South

et al. 2016

Ecology and Evolution

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Many studies have documented habitat cascades where two co‐occurring habitat‐forming species control biodiversity. However, more than two habitat‐formers could theoretically co‐occur. We here documented a sixth‐level habitat cascade from the Avon‐Heathcote Estuary, New Zealand, by correlating counts of attached inhabitants to the size and accumulated biomass of their biogenic hosts. These data revealed predictable sequences of habitat‐formation (=attachment space). First, the bivalve Austrovenus provided habitat for green seaweeds (Ulva) that provided habitat for trochid snails in a typical estuarine habitat cascade. However, the trochids also provided habitat for the nonnative bryozoan Conopeum that provided habitat for the red seaweed Gigartina that provided habitat for more trochids, thereby resetting the sequence of the habitat cascade, theoretically in perpetuity. Austrovenus is here the basal habitat‐former that controls this “long” cascade. The strength of facilitation increased with seaweed frond size, accumulated seaweed biomass, accumulated shell biomass but less with shell size. We also found that Ulva attached to all habitat‐formers, trochids attached to Ulva and Gigartina, and Conopeum and Gigartina predominately attached to trochids. These “affinities” for different habitat‐forming species probably reflect species‐specific traits of juveniles and adults. Finally, manipulative experiments confirmed that the amount of seaweed and trochids was important and consistent regulators of the habitat cascade in different estuarine environments. We also interpreted this cascade as a habitat‐formation network that describes the likelihood of an inhabitant being found attached to a specific habitat‐former. We conclude that the strength of the cascade increased with the amount of higher‐order habitat‐formers, with differences in form and function between higher and lower‐order habitat‐formers, and with the affinity of inhabitants for higher‐order habitat‐formers. We suggest that long habitat cascades are common where species traits allow for physical attachment to other species, such as in marine benthic systems and old forest.

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“…Despite this movement of urchins, certain plants tended to maintain higher densities of urchins, and gastropods were able to rapidly respond to their presence. In recolonisation experiments, differences in gastropod abundance between kelp with and without urchins were established in less than 24 h. Previous studies on facilitation cascades have primarily focused on relationships established over much longer periods of time , Bishop et al 2013.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facilitation cascade maintains a kelp community

Bell¹,

Bishop²,

Taylor

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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There is increasing interest in how facilitation cascades -nested positive indirect interactions involving at least 3 species -maintain community structure. Here we investigated whether the positive relationship between the kelp Ecklonia radiata and the gastropod Phasianotrochus eximius is mediated by a third species, the sea urchin Holopneustes purpurascens, via a facilitation cascade. Both the urchin and the gastropod are found enmeshed within the lamina of the common kelp E. radiata, which the urchin is known to consume. Sampling of urchin and gastropod abundances at 4 sites in Sydney, Australia, over 2 yr revealed that both H. purpurascens and P. eximius were more abundant on kelp than on other algal substrates and that the gastropod was more abundant on kelp with than without the urchin. Large P. eximius were found only on plants inhabited by H. purpurascens, suggesting that either P. eximius is able to survive longer when it is part of this association or that adults actively move onto this substrate. When the presence/absence of H. purpurascens on kelp plants was manipulated experimentally in the field, greater recolonisation by P. eximius of kelp with than without urchins was observed. Urchins, by contrast, did not differentially respond to kelp with and without the gastropod, indicating that the association between the kelp and the urchin is maintained by a unidirectional facilitation cascade. Our study adds to growing evidence that facilitation cascades are a common mechanism by which community structure is maintained. Studies are now needed to assess their sensitivity to environmental change.

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Morphological traits and density of foundation species modulate a facilitation cascade in Australian mangroves

Cited by 53 publications

References 28 publications

Invasive seaweeds transform habitat structure and increase biodiversity of associated species

Invasive seaweeds transform habitat structure and increase biodiversity of associated species

A sixth‐level habitat cascade increases biodiversity in an intertidal estuary

Facilitation cascade maintains a kelp community

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