Predator Caging Experiments in Soft Sediments: Caution Advised

Virnstein, Robert W.

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-751850-3.50022-4

Cited by 99 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…An invasion of predators in form of planktonic crab larvae, a problem earlier discussed by Young et al (1976), Amtz (1977) and Virnstein (1978), indicated that the rate of juvenile infaunal population reduction was related to the number of juvenile crabs.…”

Section: Removal Of Predators Using Exclusion Cagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical factors and biological interactions regulating infauna in shallow boreal areas

Möller¹

1986

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Infauna, including all post-larval stages, were quantitatively sampled from 1977 to 1984 in a shallow (< 1 m) unvegetated, semi-exposed soft bottom area, situated on the Swedish west coast. Variations in the infaunal abundance, biomass and production are shown to be the result of temperature conditions and predator-prey interactions. Temperature is considered to be an important physical factor causing annual and seasonal variations in spat recruitment, biomass and survival over the winter. During the post-recruitment period, infaunal abundances are mainly controlled by intra-and interspecific competition, particularly the predation of mobile epibenthic animals. Intra-and interspecific interactions between adult bivalves and spat, as demonstrated in experimental studies, showed that high adult surv~val inhibited spat recruitment. In the absence of ovenvintered adults, spat survival increased. Interspecific interactions between adult bivalves showed that late-arriving species are able to eliminate older established species. The importance of physical factors, e.g. exposure, water depth and currents, in determining variations in the abundance, biomass and production of infauna, is also discussed. Results suggest that both abiotic factors and biological interactions are important regulating mechanisms for infaunal densities in shallow unvegetated boreal areas.

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Section: Removal Of Predators Using Exclusion Cagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical factors and biological interactions regulating infauna in shallow boreal areas

Möller¹

1986

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…This was achieved by stretching a Vexar (6.35-mm mesh) block net across the entrance of the branch from June -September 2004, coupled with continuous fish trapping and removal. This method of exclusion should produce fewer artifacts than traditional small-scale exclusions (Virnstein, 1978). A 60% reduction in killifish density was achieved (Deegan et al, 2007).…”

Section: Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Top-down and bottom-up control of infauna varies across the saltmarsh landscape

Fleeger

Johnson

Galván

et al. 2008

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

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Responses of infaunal saltmarsh benthic invertebrates to whole-ecosystem fertilization and predator removal were quantified in Plum Island Estuary, Massachusetts, USA. Throughout a growing season, we enriched an experimental creek on each flooding tide to 70 µM NO 3 -and 4µM PO 4 -3 (a 10 x increase in loading above background), and we reduced Fundulus heteroclitus density by 60% in a branch of the fertilized and a reference creek. Macroinfauna and meiofauna were sampled in creek (mudflat and creek wall), marsh edge (tall form Spartina alterniflora) and marsh platform (Spartina patens and stunted S. alterniflora) habitats before and after treatmentswere begun; responses were tested with BACI-design statistics. Treatment effects were most common in the mid-range of the inundation gradient. Most fertilization effects were on creek wall where ostracod abundance increased, indices of copepod reproduction increased and copepod and annelid communities were altered. These taxa may use epiphytes (that respond rapidly to fertilization) of filamentous algae as a food source. Killifish reduction effects on meiobenthic copepod abundance were detected at the marsh edge and suggest predator limitation. Fish reduction effects on annelids did not suggest top-down regulation in any habitat; however, fish reduction may have stimulated an increased predation rate on annelids by grass shrimp. Interactions between fertilization and fish reduction occurred under S. patens canopy where indirect predator reduction effects on annelids were indicated. No effects were observed in mudflat or stunted S. alterniflora habitats. Although the responses of infauna to fertilization and predator removal were largely independent and of similar mild intensity, our data suggests that the effects of ecological stressors vary across the marsh landscape.

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“…Virnstein 1978, Reise 1985, McArthur 1998. In the Wadden Sea, such experiments were conducted after mild winters and resulted in much higher bivalve recruitment in cages compared to plots with access to predators (Reise 1985).…”

Section: As Well As the Flatfishes Plaicementioning

confidence: 99%

Reduced epibenthic predation on intertidal bivalves after a severe winter in the European Wadden Sea

Strasser¹

2002

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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One hypothesis to explain the phenomenon of high bivalve recruitment after severe winters in coastal North Sea sediments is reduced epibenthic predation. Using predator exclusion experiments, I tested the hypothesis that epibenthic predation on the juvenile bivalves Cerastoderma edule, Macoma balthica and Mya arenaria was lower after a severe winter (1995 to 1996) than after a moderate (1996 to 1997) and a mild (1997 to 1998) winter. In C. edule and M. arenaria there was 2-fold evidence for reduced epibenthic predation after the severe winter: (1) significant predation effects occurred only in exclusion experiments after the 2 milder winters but not after the severe winter; and (2) recruits attained larger sizes in August and October after the severe winter suggesting continuous growth rather than truncation of the size spectrum by predators. In M. balthica, predation effects were also significant only after the milder winters but there was no effect on size. In all 3 bivalve species, recruitment at the experimental sites in the fall was higher after the severe winter than after the 2 milder ones. These results suggest that high bivalve recruitment after severe winters is primarily caused by the post-settlement factor of reduced epibenthic predation on the tidal flats. The strategy to conduct several predator exclusion experiments in both sand and mud in 3 consecutive years with differential winter conditions, and while considering migration activity and size development in juvenile bivalves, proved useful to distinguish between cage artefacts and predation effects.

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Predator Caging Experiments in Soft Sediments: Caution Advised

Cited by 99 publications

References 5 publications

Physical factors and biological interactions regulating infauna in shallow boreal areas

Physical factors and biological interactions regulating infauna in shallow boreal areas

Top-down and bottom-up control of infauna varies across the saltmarsh landscape

Reduced epibenthic predation on intertidal bivalves after a severe winter in the European Wadden Sea

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