Native eelgrass Zostera marina controls growth and reproduction of an invasive mussel through food limitation

Allen, Bengt J.; Williams, Susan L.

doi:10.3354/meps254057

Cited by 54 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Similarly, adding nutrients to an aquatic plankton community stimulated bacterial production, which in turn promoted invasion by ciliates due to decreased competition for resources (Jiang and Morin 2004). Conversely, limiting resource availability can decrease invasion success: because phytoplankton availability in the water column is reduced inside eelgrass beds due to decreased water flow, eelgrass limits the growth and survival of the suspension-feeding non-native mussel Musculista senhousia, reducing invasion compared to areas where eelgrass meadows are fragmented or absent and rates of food delivery are higher (Allen and Williams 2003). If we consider resource availability more broadly to include space, there is clear evidence from marine systems that if native species are unable to consume or utilize the primary limiting resource, a community may be more susceptible to invasion (Stachowicz et al 1999(Stachowicz et al , 2002a.…”

Section: Resource Levelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We first review examples of disturbance increasing available resources. Returning to an earlier example, seagrass beds are often fragmented as a result of physical disturbance from dredging and development; the non-native mussel, Musculista senhousia, grows best in disturbed eelgrass beds as compared to continuous beds with slower flow rates and reduced food availability (Allen and Williams 2003;Reusch and Williams 1999). In another experiment that simulated anthropogenic impacts, physical disturbance increased space availability and the recruitment success of the non-native bryozoan Bugula neritina, although chemical pollution did not (Clark and Johnston 2005).…”

Section: Disturbancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…12.6) (Clark and Johnston 2005;Chap. 7, Johnston et al) systems suggests that human-mediated eutrophication enhances the survival and growth of non-native species by creating conditions that are unfavorable for native species (Allen and Williams 2003;Byers 2002a;Occhipinti-Ambrogi and Savini 2003). In addition to disturbing native species directly (see above), the presence of other non-native species can also result in abiotic and/or biotic environmental change that is detrimental to native species (Byers 2002a;Grosholz 2002;Levin et al 2002;Neira et al 2005).…”

Section: Disturbancementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Ecological Factors Affecting Community Invasibility

Olyarnik¹,

Byrnes²,

Hughes³

et al. 2009

Biological Invasions in Marine Ecosystems

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What makes a community invasible? For over a century ecologists have sought to understand the relative importance of biotic and abiotic factors that determine community composition. The fact that we are still exploring this topic today hints at both its importance and complexity. As the impacts from harmful non-native species accumulate, it has become increasingly urgent to find answers to the more applied aspects of this question: what makes a habitat vulnerable to invasion by additional species, and which species are likely to invade? Answers to these questions will not only aid in targeting conservation efforts but will also advance our understanding of marine community ecology.Although the relative importance of abiotic vs. biotic factors in making a habitat invasible varies, abiotic factors undoubtedly serve as the first "filter" to invasions, limiting establishment of non-native (=exotic) species to conditions approximating their native ranges. As obvious examples, tropical corals will not establish in boreal waters, and temperate rocky intertidal species will not colonize tropical shores. Similarly, species cannot invade a community if propagules do not arrive at the site. Other chapters in this volume cover the influence of abiotic factors and propagule supply (Chap. 7, Johnston et al.; Chap. 8, Miller and Ruiz; Chap. 19, Hewitt et al.), so we only briefly review these factors. In this chapter we focus on the question of predicting invasion success of non-native species that are (1) transported to the habitat in question (i.e., propagule supply is not extremely limiting) and (2) physiologically capable of surviving in the climatic regime. We begin with the observation that even in areas of suitable habitat within the current range of an introduced species, there is often dramatic variation in the density, presence, and overall success of the invader. We seek to explain this variation in terms of processes that control the availability of resources. These include not only abiotic and physical factors that determine base resource levels, but also interactions between species or between organisms and their environment that increase resource availability (through disturbance) or decrease resource availability (through competitive processes), or create new resources (through facilitation) (Fig. 12.1

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Section: Resource Levelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Disturbancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Disturbancementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Ecological Factors Affecting Community Invasibility

Olyarnik¹,

Byrnes²,

Hughes³

et al. 2009

Biological Invasions in Marine Ecosystems

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“…For example, the alteration of trophic function following invasion by a hybrid cordgrass had negative impacts on the biomass of suspension feeding bivalves compared to nearby unvegetated substrata ). In addition, the native seagrass Zostera marina controlled the growth and survivorship of the invasive mussel, Musculista senhousia, which recruited to it, through limiting food supply (Reusch and Williams 1999;Allen and Williams 2003). However, for native macrophytes, positive effects on food supply have also been reported (Irlandi and Peterson 1991;Cummins et al 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Reduced performance of native infauna following recruitment to a habitat-forming invasive marine alga

et al. 2008

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Despite well-documented negative impacts of invasive species on native biota, evidence for the facilitation of native organisms, particularly by habitat-forming invasive species, is increasing. However, most of these studies are conducted at the population or community level, and we know little about the individual fitness consequences of recruitment to habitat-forming invasive species and, consequently, whether recruitment to these habitats is adaptive. We determined the consequences of recruitment to the invasive green alga Caulerpa taxifolia on the native soft-sediment bivalve Anadara trapezia and nearby unvegetated sediment. Initially, we documented the growth and survivorship of A. trapezia following a natural recruitment event, to which recruitment to C. taxifolia was very high. After 12 months, few clams remained in either habitat, and those that remained showed little growth. Experimental manipulations of recruits demonstrated that all performance measures (survivorship, growth and condition) were significantly reduced in C. taxifolia sediments compared to unvegetated sediments. Exploration of potential mechanisms responsible for the reduced performance in C. taxifolia sediments showed that water flow and water column dissolved oxygen (DO) were significantly reduced under the canopy of C. taxifolia and that sediment anoxia was significantly higher and sediment sulphides greater in C. taxifolia sediments. However, phytoplankton abundance (an indicator of food supply) was significantly higher in C. taxifolia sediments than in unvegetated ones. Our results demonstrate that recruitment of native species to habitat-forming invasive species can reduce growth, condition and survivorship and that studies conducted at the community level may lead to erroneous conclusions about the impacts of invaders and should include studies on life-history traits, particularly juveniles.

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“…Transplantation success of seagrass restoration projects may also be reduced in infested areas (Reutsch and Williams 1998). Ironically, dense, intact beds of native seagrass directly inhibit the growth of Musculista populations by limiting delivery of phytoplankton within the bed (Allen and Williams 2003).…”

Section: Potential Threats To Habitat Restoration the European Greenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive Marine and Estuarine Animals of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska

Ray¹

2005

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Native eelgrass Zostera marina controls growth and reproduction of an invasive mussel through food limitation

Cited by 54 publications

References 49 publications

Ecological Factors Affecting Community Invasibility

Ecological Factors Affecting Community Invasibility

Reduced performance of native infauna following recruitment to a habitat-forming invasive marine alga

Invasive Marine and Estuarine Animals of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska

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