Species densities, biological interactions and benthic ecosystem functioning: an in situ experiment

Clare, David S.; Spencer, Matthew; Robinson, Leonie A.; Frid, Chris

doi:10.3354/meps11650

Cited by 15 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…For example, the effect of the abiotic environment on functioning may have masked biotic effects in the field [19]. Indeed, the effect of interspecific interactions on functioning appears to increase over time in natural ecosystems [31], and our experiment may have been of insufficient duration to detect their influence in the presence of environmental heterogeneity. Previous studies have reported that C .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The effects of macroinfaunal species on functioning are known to manifest within such short periods (e.g. [39,40]); however, the effects of interactions among species may become more prominent beyond this period [31]. Practical issues regarding the rapid depletion of organic detritus added to microcosms and difficulties in maintaining the desired species density treatments in field plots over time made a longer experiment duration unfeasible.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…diversicolor have been reported at multiple sites (e.g. [29–31]), as have temporal shifts in their dominance (e.g. [32]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Species-Specific Effects on Ecosystem Functioning Can Be Altered by Interspecific Interactions

et al. 2016

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Biological assemblages are constantly undergoing change, with species being introduced, extirpated and experiencing shifts in their densities. Theory and experimentation suggest that the impacts of such change on ecosystem functioning should be predictable based on the biological traits of the species involved. However, interspecific interactions could alter how species affect functioning, with the strength and sign of interactions potentially depending on environmental context (e.g. homogenous vs. heterogeneous conditions) and the function considered. Here, we assessed how concurrent changes to the densities of two common marine benthic invertebrates, Corophium volutator and Hediste diversicolor, affected the ecological functions of organic matter consumption and benthic-pelagic nutrient flux. Complementary experiments were conducted within homogenous laboratory microcosms and naturally heterogeneous field plots. When the densities of the species were increased within microcosms, interspecific interactions enhanced effects on organic matter consumption and reduced effects on nutrient flux. Trait-based predictions of how each species would affect functioning were only consistently supported when the density of the other species was low. In field plots, increasing the density of either species had a positive effect on organic matter consumption (with no significant interspecific interactions) but no effect on nutrient flux. Our results indicate that species-specific effects on ecosystem functioning can be altered by interspecific interactions, which can be either facilitative (positive) or antagonistic (negative) depending on the function considered. The impacts of biodiversity change may therefore not be predictable based solely on the biological traits of the species involved. Possible explanations for why interactions were detected in microcosms but not in the field are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Species-Specific Effects on Ecosystem Functioning Can Be Altered by Interspecific Interactions

et al. 2016

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“…There has been an impetus to quantify the effects of biodiversity loss on mudflat ecological processes and functioning (Clare et al, 2016;Solan et al, 2008). An informative approach has been to use simple model communities in the laboratory to allow the determination of the mechanisms by which intertidal species and communities affect the important ecosystem functions of the mudflat (Raffaelli et al, 2003;Solan et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We show a sudden decrease in macrofaunal density without recovery could lead to a shift from a dynamic resuspendible sediment habitat to a stabilised microphytobenthos dominated sediment. Additionally, differential recovery through simulated opportunistic expansion of a single infaunal species has the potential to lead to functional changes in the sedimentary environment (Clare et al, 2016). For some metrics, functional compensation for the loss of other species and the preservation of certain ecosystem functions was observed, however, recovery is species specific.…”

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confidence: 99%

Determining How Functionally Diverse Intertidal Sediment Species Preserve Mudflat Ecosystem Properties After Abrupt Biodiversity Loss

Hale

Jacques

Tolhurst

2019

Journal of Coastal Research

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As a result of anthropogenic climate change, extreme climatic events have increased in frequency, severity and longevity. The consequences for community structure after a catastrophic event have been well studied. However, changes in ecosystem functioning that occur after such an event, including ecosystem recovery are still uncertain. Here we simulate a catastrophic event in an intertidal sedimentary habitat. We also simulate four recovery scenarios: 1. No Recovery, 2. Migration Recovery, and recovery by differential opportunistic colonisation by 3. the polychaete worm Hediste diversicolor and 4. the mud snail Peringia ulvae, two locally dominant infauna species. These are compared to a control scenario not subjected to the event. The simulated extreme event caused a shift in habitat state due to a reduction in mobile macrofauna abundance and an increase in microphytobenthos biomass. Migratory recovery of species and the simulated opportunistic expansion of a single species ameliorated this shift and, for some metrics, functional compensation for the loss of other species and the preservation of certain ecosystem functions was observed. The dominant species identity during post-event habitat recovery can have considerable effects on important ecosystem processes and functions with consequences that may result in functional regime shifts in a habitat and alter coastal stability.

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Partitioning benthic nitrogen cycle processes among three common macrofauna holobionts

et al. 2021

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effect). Taken together, these functions promoted a reuse of nutrients at the benthic level, limiting net losses (e.g. denitrification) and effluxes to bottom water. Finally, the detection of multiple N transformations in macrofauna holobionts suggested a community-associated versatile microbiome, however, its role was of minor importance as compared to the activity of sediment-associated microbial communities. The present study highlights hidden and interactive effects among microbes and macrofauna, which should be considered analysing benthic functioning.

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Species densities, biological interactions and benthic ecosystem functioning: an in situ experiment

Cited by 15 publications

References 69 publications

Species-Specific Effects on Ecosystem Functioning Can Be Altered by Interspecific Interactions

Species-Specific Effects on Ecosystem Functioning Can Be Altered by Interspecific Interactions

Determining How Functionally Diverse Intertidal Sediment Species Preserve Mudflat Ecosystem Properties After Abrupt Biodiversity Loss

Partitioning benthic nitrogen cycle processes among three common macrofauna holobionts

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