Organisms as Ecosystem Engineers

Jones, Clive G.; Lawton, John H.; Shachak, Moshe

doi:10.1007/978-1-4612-4018-1_14

Cited by 1,270 publications

(863 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Because banner-tailed kangaroo rats and ants both may be ecosystem engineers (Jones et al 1994), the response of ants to the patch disturbances of D. spectabilis might generate a nested spatial hierarchy of animal-created disturbances. The abundance and spatial distribution of D. spectabilis mounds could influence resource distributions for other organisms not only directly, but also indirectly by altering the spatial patterns of the smaller ant mounds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These effects are especially evident in arid and semi-arid environments (Wiens 1985;Whitford and Kay 1999). Burrowing mammals may be ecosystem engineers (sensu Jones et al 1994;Lawton 1994) because they directly modify habitats and change the abundance and dispersion of resources used by other species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, ants are sensitive to habitat change and disturbance at numerous spatial scales (Wisdom and Whitford 1981;Bestelmeyer and Wiens 1996;Andersen 1997a;Peck et al 1998). Third, because their activities influence soil properties and redistribute resources used by other organisms, some ants are also ecosystem engineers (Jones et al 1994;Folgarait 1998). Linkages between ecosystem-engineer species should be important regulators of ecosystem processes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of small-scale disturbances by kangaroo rats on Chihuahuan Desert ants

Schooley¹,

Bestelmeyer

Kelly

2000

Oecologia

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Banner-tailed kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spectabilis) are prominent ecosystem engineers that build large mounds that influence the spatial structuring of fungi, plants, and some ground-dwelling animals. Ants are diverse and functionally important components of arid ecosystems; some species are also ecosystem engineers. We investigated the effects of patch disturbances created by D. spectabilis mounds on ant assemblages in a Chihuahuan Desert grassland in southern New Mexico by using pitfall traps in a paired design (mound vs. matrix). Although the disturbances did not alter species richness or harbor unique ant communities relative to the matrix, they did alter species composition; the abundances of 6 of 26 species were affected. The disturbances might also act to disrupt spatial patterning of ants caused by other environmental gradients. In contrast to previous investigations of larger-scale disturbances, we detected no effects of the disturbances on ants at the functional-group level. Whether ant communities respond to disturbance at a functional-group or within-functional-group level may depend on the size and intensity of the disturbance. Useful functional-group schemes also may be scale-dependent, however, or species may respond idiosyncratically. Interactions between disturbance-generating mammals and ants may produce a nested spatial structure of patches.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of small-scale disturbances by kangaroo rats on Chihuahuan Desert ants

Schooley¹,

Bestelmeyer

Kelly

2000

Oecologia

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“…Biological habitat generation is an important process within both aquatic and terrestrial landscapes (Ginsburg and Lowenstam 1958;Dayton 1972;Jones et al 1994;Callaway 1995), but appears to be especially common in marine benthos (Bertness and Leonard 1997). Simply through their presence, species that create habitat modify numerous environmental parameters and reduce environmental stress and predation intensity to levels tolerable by other species (Hunter and Aarssen 1988;Bertness and Callaway 1994;Jones et al 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patch-size dependent habitat modification and facilitation on New England cobble beaches by Spartina alterniflora

Bruno¹,

Kennedy²

2000

Oecologia

104

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Most marine habitats are generated by the presence of habitat-modifying species. However, little is know about many aspects of this process, such as how individual- and population-level traits of habitat modifiers affect their ability to reduce environmental stress and thus facilitate other species. An important habitat modifier in New England is the intertidal grass Spartina alterniflora which facilitates the establishment and persistence of cobble beach plant communities by reducing wave-related disturbance. The objectives of this study were to (1) quantify the modification of cobble beach habitats by S. alterniflora, (2) determine how this process is related to S. alterniflora bed traits, and (3) determine why small patches of S. alterniflora generally remain unoccupied by cobble beach plants. Our results demonstrate that S. alterniflora substantially reduces flow-related physical disturbance on cobble beaches. Behind S. alterniflora, mean flow velocity was reduced by 40-60% and substrate stability was dramatically increased compared to portions of the shoreline not bordered by this species. These comparative results were supported by a S. alterniflora shoot removal experiment, which resulted in a 33% increase in average flow velocity and an 85% increase in substrate instability relative to control areas. There was a strong inverse logarithmic relationship between bed length and both average flow velocity and substrate instability behind S. alterniflora. Most S. alterniflora beds were small and bed length was significantly related to the presence of one or more cobble beach plant species. Only 13% of beds <25 m and 40% of beds 30-40 m in length were occupied, in contrast to an occupancy rate of 87% for beds >40 m long. Seeds of two annual cobble beach species (Suaeda linearis and Salicornia europaea) were added to plots behind large (>100 m in length) and small S. alterniflora (<25 m) beds with and without a substrate stabilization manipulation. Seedlings of both species only emerged and established behind small beds when the substrate was stabilized. These results indicate that smaller S. alterniflora patches are usually unoccupied because they do not stabilize the substrate to a degree that meets the establishment requirements of seedlings. Thus, both habitat modification and facilitation by S. alterniflora are patch-size dependent. The conditionality of this facilitation appears to generate a pattern of patchy yet predictable population and community distribution at a landscape spatial scale.

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“…Reef-building polychaetes, like other bioconstructing species, are able to increase heterogeneity of the substrata, generating new habitats, and thus contributing to biodiversity (Jones et al 1994, Goldberg 2013. Observations on increases in taxonomic diversity and on reef associated species in Brazil and elsewhere have…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First record of Phragmatopoma caudata Krøyer in Mörch, 1863 (Annelida, Sabellariidae) in the state of Piauí, northern Brazilian coast: westernmost record in Brazil

Filho¹,

Santos²,

Souza³

2017

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We report the first occurrence of Phragmatopoma caudata Krøyer in Mörch, 1863 in Piauí state, Brazil. This is the first record of this species in the APA Delta do Parnaíba, a national environmental protection area that comprises areas from 3 Brazilian states, Maranhão, Piauí and Ceará. This is also the northernmost and westernmost record of this species in Brazil to date, further extending by 415 km its known distribution in Brazil, and helping to fill a gap on the knowledge of its distribution in South America.

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Organisms as Ecosystem Engineers

Cited by 1,270 publications

References 54 publications

Influence of small-scale disturbances by kangaroo rats on Chihuahuan Desert ants

Influence of small-scale disturbances by kangaroo rats on Chihuahuan Desert ants

Patch-size dependent habitat modification and facilitation on New England cobble beaches by Spartina alterniflora

First record of Phragmatopoma caudata Krøyer in Mörch, 1863 (Annelida, Sabellariidae) in the state of Piauí, northern Brazilian coast: westernmost record in Brazil

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Organisms as Ecosystem Engineers

Cited by 1,270 publications

References 54 publications

Influence of small-scale disturbances by kangaroo rats on Chihuahuan Desert ants

Influence of small-scale disturbances by kangaroo rats on Chihuahuan Desert ants

Patch-size dependent habitat modification and facilitation on New England cobble beaches by Spartina alterniflora

First record of Phragmatopoma caudata Kr&oslash;yer in M&ouml;rch, 1863&nbsp;(Annelida, Sabellariidae) in the state of Piau&iacute;, northern Brazilian coast: westernmost record in Brazil

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First record of Phragmatopoma caudata Krøyer in Mörch, 1863 (Annelida, Sabellariidae) in the state of Piauí, northern Brazilian coast: westernmost record in Brazil