Predation and habitat modification synergistically interact to control bivalve recruitment on intertidal mudflats

Heide, Tjisse van der; Tielens, Elske; Zee, Els M. van der; Weerman, Ellen J.; Holthuijsen, Sander; Eriksson, Britas Klemens; Piersma, Theunis; Koppel, Johan van de; Olff, Han

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2014.02.036

Cited by 54 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 40 publications

(76 reference statements)

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“…Aggregations of shell-producing organisms can provide protection from predation (Dolmer, 1998;Peterson and Black, 1993) or physical disturbance (Stiven and Gardner, 1992), thus reducing mortality rates of conspecifics. Mussel reefs create substrata that facilitate the attachment and survival of mussel larvae (Bertness and Grosholz, 1985;van der Heide et al, 2014), and alleviate hydrodynamic stress, possibly enhancing recruitment of cockles (Donadi et al, 2013a, this study). A recent study on oyster restoration showed that spat densities correlated positively with the density of adult oysters (Schulte et al, 2009) that facilitate spat settlement and provide refuge from predation (O'Beirn et al, 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The bivalve loop: Intra-specific facilitation in burrowing cockles through habitat modification

Donadi

Zee

Heide

et al. 2014

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

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a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f oHuman exploitation of bivalve populations has changed intertidal landscapes worldwide. Many bivalves are ecosystem engineers that modify the physical environment, affecting the conditions for their survival. Here we argue that lack of recovery of overexploited intertidal bivalve beds may be partly caused by the loss of important biological feedbacks from depleted populations. In a large-scale experiment we investigated engineering effects of cockles (Cerastoderma edule L.) and lugworms (Arenicola marina L.) on juvenile cockles by adding high densities of either species to 5 × 5 m plots in areas with different hydrodynamic and sediment conditions in the intertidal flats of the Wadden Sea. We hypothesized that cockles would facilitate the new generations by increasing sediment stability, while lugworms would have negative effects on juvenile cockles through sediment disturbance. We found that in sandy areas with high wave and current energy cockles enhanced sediment accumulation and promoted local densities of young cockles, while lugworms did not have any effect on juvenile cockles. In muddy sites sheltered from the tidal currents by mussel reefs (Mytilus edulis L.), juvenile cockle densities were generally high, demonstrating the general importance of biological engineering for recruitment processes in the intertidal. We suggest that the acknowledgement of positive feedbacks between bivalves and sediment stability is essential to achieve long-term restoration goals in coastal ecosystems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The bivalve loop: Intra-specific facilitation in burrowing cockles through habitat modification

Donadi

Zee

Heide

et al. 2014

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

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“…Seven mussel beds were established by transferring large numbers of adult mussels from aquaculture onto soft-sediments at a restoration site and four of these beds were subsequently assessed regularly over 2 years for changes in population size and the size structure of mussels. These four mussel beds (>24 m 2 ), which are larger than most plots of transplanted mussels in previous mussel restoration studies (<10 m 2 ) (Fariñas-Franco et al 2013;van der Heide et al 2014;de Paoli et al 2015), provided the opportunity to observe potential effects of density-dependent factors on the persistence of the beds. The results of this study will help contribute to the development of best-practice methods for future mussel restoration initiatives.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological restoration of mussel beds onto soft‐sediment using transplanted adults

Wilcox

Kelly²,

Jeffs

2017

Restoration Ecology

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The success of restoration initiatives to restore bivalve beds relies on sufficient recruitment of larvae to offset mortality of re‐established populations. Individuals of the nearly extirpated green‐lipped mussel are capable of surviving within the current environment of the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand; however, it is uncertain what potential factors might inhibit the establishment and persistence of restored mussel beds. Four experimental mussel beds were established within a shallow soft‐sediment embayment and assessments of population dynamics were conducted approximately every 6 months over a 2‐year period. Deployed mussels quickly congregated into contiguous mussel beds that persisted throughout the study; however, only 26.2% of mussels that were initially established survived until the end of the study. The cause of this overall loss of mussels can be attributed to a near lack of observed recruitment, with only three individual recruiting mussels observed throughout the entire study. Despite similar mortality rates within the restored mussel beds to that of natural populations, these populations will be unsustainable long term given the lack of recruitment. Potential causes of the observed mortality and lack of recruitment are discussed, including environmental factors affecting non‐natal mussel stock and sea star predation. This research provides a foundation for the development of best‐practice methods in the restoration of green‐lipped mussels. However, further investigation into recruitment pathways and sources of mortality for adult mussels will be necessary to overcome the observed limitations if future restoration is to be successful.

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“…Habitat modifiers, also described as 'ecosystem engineers' or 'foundation species', are increasingly recognized as important drivers of ecosystem functions [16,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. Although habitat modifiers are part of the food web like any other species (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How habitat-modifying organisms structure the food web of two coastal ecosystems

et al. 2016

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The diversity and structure of ecosystems has been found to depend both on trophic interactions in food webs and on other species interactions such as habitat modification and mutualism that form non-trophic interaction networks. However, quantification of the dependencies between these two main interaction networks has remained elusive. In this study, we assessed how habitat-modifying organisms affect basic food web properties by conducting in-depth empirical investigations of two ecosystems: North American temperate fringing marshes and West African tropical seagrass meadows. Results reveal that habitat-modifying species, through non-trophic facilitation rather than their trophic role, enhance species richness across multiple trophic levels, increase the number of interactions per species (link density), but decrease the realized fraction of all possible links within the food web (connectance). Compared to the trophic role of the most highly connected species, we found this non-trophic effects to be more important for species richness and of more or similar importance for link density and connectance. Our findings demonstrate that food webs can be fundamentally shaped by interactions outside the trophic network, yet intrinsic to the species participating in it. Better integration of non-trophic interactions in food web analyses may therefore strongly contribute to their explanatory and predictive capacity.

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Predation and habitat modification synergistically interact to control bivalve recruitment on intertidal mudflats

Cited by 54 publications

References 40 publications

The bivalve loop: Intra-specific facilitation in burrowing cockles through habitat modification

The bivalve loop: Intra-specific facilitation in burrowing cockles through habitat modification

Ecological restoration of mussel beds onto soft‐sediment using transplanted adults

How habitat-modifying organisms structure the food web of two coastal ecosystems

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