Seaweed traits linked to wave exposure determine predator avoidance

Long, Jeremy D.; Porturas, Laura D.; Jones, Emily; Kwan, Christopher Kent; Trussell, Geoffrey C.

doi:10.3354/meps10294

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Potential differences in, for example, C:N ratio between sheltered and exposed F. vesiculosus (Long et al . ) did not affect their palatability for L. obtusata . The feeding ability of L. obtusata may actually depend more on radular traits (Reid ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Wave‐induced changes in seaweed toughness entail plastic modifications in snail traits maintaining consumption efficacy

et al. 2015

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Summary 1.Environmental stress can influence species traits and performance considerably. Using a seaweed-snail system from NW (Nova Scotia) and NE (Helgoland) Atlantic rocky shores, we examined how physical stress (wave exposure) modulates traits in the seaweed Fucus vesiculosus and indirectly in its main consumer, the periwinkle Littorina obtusata. 2. In both regions, algal tissue toughness increased with wave exposure. Reciprocal-transplant experiments showed that tissue toughness adjusted plastically to the prevailing level of wave exposure. 3. Choice experiments tested the feeding preference of snails from sheltered, exposed and very exposed habitats for algae from such wave exposures. Snails from exposed and very exposed habitats consumed algal tissues at similar rates irrespective of the exposure of origin of the algae. However, snails from sheltered habitats consumed less algal tissues from very exposed habitats than tissues from sheltered and exposed habitats. Choice assays using reconstituted algal food (triturated during preparation) identified high thallus toughness as the explanation for the low preference of snails from sheltered habitats for algae from very exposed habitats. 4. Ultrastructural analyses of radulae indicated that rachidian teeth were longest and the number of cusps in lateral teeth (grazing-relevant traits) was highest in snails from very exposed habitats, suggesting that radulae are best suited to rupture tough algal tissues in such snails. 5. No-choice feeding experiments revealed that these radular traits were also phenotypically plastic, as they adjusted to the toughness of the algal food. 6. Synthesis. This study indicates that the observed plasticity in the feeding ability of snails is mediated by wave exposure through phenotypic plasticity in the tissue toughness of algae. Thus, plasticity in consumers and their resource species may reduce the potential effects of physical stress on their interaction.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Wave‐induced changes in seaweed toughness entail plastic modifications in snail traits maintaining consumption efficacy

et al. 2015

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“…The palatability of a seaweed is determined by structural (e.g., tissue toughness) and chemical (e.g., elemental composition, defense chemicals) tissue characteristics which can vary in response to changing environmental conditions (Hemmi and Jormalainen, 2002;Long et al, 2013). Compared to animal tissue, algal tissue has a higher carbon content and relatively low contents of nitrogen and phosphorous.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ocean acidification affects growth but not nutritional quality of the seaweed Fucus vesiculosus (Phaeophyceae, Fucales)

Gutow

Rahman

Bartl

et al. 2014

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

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Understanding the ecological implications of global climate change requires investigations of not only the direct effects of environmental change on species performance but also indirect effects that arise from altered species interactions. We performed CO 2 perturbation experiments to investigate the effects of ocean acidification on the trophic interaction between the brown seaweed Fucus vesiculosus and the herbivorous isopod Idotea baltica. We predicted faster growth of F. vesiculosus at elevated CO 2 -concentrations and higher carbon content of the algal tissue. We expected that I. baltica has different consumption rates on algae that have been grown at different CO 2 levels and that the isopods remove surplus carbon metabolically by enhanced respiration. Surprisingly, growth of F. vesiculosus as well as the C:N-ratio of the algal tissue were reduced at high CO 2 -levels. The changes in the elemental composition had no effect on the consumption rates and the respiration of the herbivores. An additional experiment showed that consumption of F. vesiculosus by the isopod Idotea emarginata was independent of ocean acidification and temperature. Our results could not reveal any effects of ocean acidification on the per capita strength of the trophic interaction between F. vesiculosus and its consumers. However, reduced growth of the algae at high CO 2 -concentrations might reduce the capability of the seaweed to compensate losses due to intense herbivory.

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“…Palatable caterpillars are often restricted to the undersides of leaves (Heinrich, 1979;Heinrich and Collins, 1983), where birds are less apt to find them, consistent with the presence of defensive hairs or prickles only on the lower leaf surface of some species. Host specialization and counter-defences occur on large seaweeds, where predators and scraping sea urchins cannot easily forage (Vermeij, 1992;Sotka, 2007;Long et al, 2013). Herbivores can also hide in self-made tunnels or mines in the plant (Kobayashi et al, 2015).…”

Section: A Taxonomy Of Defencementioning

confidence: 99%