The invasive kelp Undaria pinnatifida hosts an epifaunal assemblage similar to native seaweeds with comparable morphologies

Suárez-Jiménez, Rocío; Hepburn, Christopher D.; Hyndes, Glenn A.; McLeod, Rebecca J.; Taylor, Richard B.; Hurd, Catriona L.

doi:10.3354/meps12321

Cited by 25 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Common seaweed-associated reef fishes such as clinids and odacids inhabit wakame patches throughout vitellogenesis and into the spawning period (late winter to late spring: Gunn andThresher 1991, Neira andSporcic 2002, this study). Current evidence indicates that wakame supports a similar abundance and diversity of epifauna to native kelps with comparable morphologies (Howland 2012, Su arez-Jim enez et al 2017. Our data also indicate that adults residing in wakame habitat experience comparable food availability to those in native E. radiata habitats, although this may also reflect lower population density and therefore reduced competition in wakame patches (i.e., an ideal free distribution; Notes: N is presented as "wakame, E.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

A nonnative habitat‐former mitigates native habitat loss for endemic reef fishes

Barrett¹,

Dempster²,

Swearer³

2019

Preprint

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Animals that select the best available habitats are most likely to succeed in degraded environments, but ecological change can create evolutionarily unfamiliar habitats that may be under-or over-utilized by native fauna. In temperate coastal waters, eutrophication and grazing have driven a global decline in native seaweeds and facilitated the establishment of nonnative seaweeds that provide novel macrophyte habitat. We tested whether a nonnative kelp canopy (wakame Undaria pinnatifida) functions as a viable habitat or ecological trap for several endemic reef fishes on urchin-grazed reefs in southern Australia. We assessed the willingness of fish to utilize native vs. wakame kelp canopy via a laboratory habitat choice experiment and by recording natural recruitment to specially constructed boulder reefs with manipulated kelp canopy. We also compared fish communities on natural reefs using a beforeafter-control-impact survey of wakame patches, and to assess the quality of wakame habitat for resident fish, compared fitness metrics for fish collected from habitats with native vs. wakame kelp canopy. Endemic fishes did not distinguish between the native or wakame canopy but preferred both to barren reef habitats. On urchin-grazed natural reefs, fish occurred in higher abundance and diversity where seasonal wakame canopy was present. Fitness metrics in fish collected from wakame patches were comparable to those in fish from adjacent native kelp patches. These findings indicate that the nonnative canopy provides a viable habitat for endemic fish and may play a role in sustaining native fauna populations in this degraded ecosystem. More broadly, we recommend that managers consider the role of nonnative habitats within the context of environmental change, as endemic fauna may benefit from nonnative habitatformers in areas where their native counterparts cannot persist.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

A nonnative habitat‐former mitigates native habitat loss for endemic reef fishes

Barrett¹,

Dempster²,

Swearer³

2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Current evidence indicates that wakame supports a similar abundance and diversity of epifauna to native kelps with comparable morphologies (Howland , Suárez‐Jiménez et al. ). Our data also indicate that adults residing in wakame habitat experience comparable food availability to those in native E. radiata habitats, although this may also reflect lower population density and therefore reduced competition in wakame patches (i.e., an ideal free distribution; Fretwell and Lukas ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

A nonnative habitat‐former mitigates native habitat loss for endemic reef fishes

Barrett

Dempster

Swearer

2019

Ecological Applications

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Animals that select the best available habitats are most likely to succeed in degraded environments, but ecological change can create evolutionarily unfamiliar habitats that may be under‐ or over‐utilized by native fauna. In temperate coastal waters, eutrophication and grazing have driven a global decline in native seaweeds and facilitated the establishment of nonnative seaweeds that provide novel macrophyte habitat. We tested whether a nonnative kelp canopy (wakame Undaria pinnatifida) functions as a viable habitat or ecological trap for several endemic reef fishes on urchin‐grazed reefs in southern Australia. We assessed the willingness of fish to utilize native vs. wakame kelp canopy via a laboratory habitat choice experiment and by recording natural recruitment to specially constructed boulder reefs with manipulated kelp canopy. We also compared fish communities on natural reefs using a before‐after‐control‐impact survey of wakame patches, and to assess the quality of wakame habitat for resident fish, compared fitness metrics for fish collected from habitats with native vs. wakame kelp canopy. Endemic fishes did not distinguish between the native or wakame canopy but preferred both to barren reef habitats. On urchin‐grazed natural reefs, fish occurred in higher abundance and diversity where seasonal wakame canopy was present. Fitness metrics in fish collected from wakame patches were comparable to those in fish from adjacent native kelp patches. These findings indicate that the nonnative canopy provides a viable habitat for endemic fish and may play a role in sustaining native fauna populations in this degraded ecosystem. More broadly, we recommend that managers consider the role of nonnative habitats within the context of environmental change, as endemic fauna may benefit from nonnative habitat‐formers in areas where their native counterparts cannot persist.

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“…This bias often takes the form of covert hints in the interpretations and discussions of experimental or observational data that show no relationship between origin and impact. In analyzing the density, diversity and composition of epifauna across eight brown seaweed species, including the invasive Undaria pinnatifida , Suárez‐Jiménez et al () concluded that epifaunal traits were unassociated with the origin of the macroalgae, but with the complexity of host morphology, whereby U. pinnatifida (and several indigenous species) have simple morphologies and therefore support depauperate epifaunal assemblages. Yet, despite the fact that the area under study (New Zealand) was colonized by this NIS over 30 years earlier, in their concluding remarks the authors note that "abundances of epifauna at the ecosystem level will be reduced if U. pinnatifida displaces more structurally complex native seaweed species," omitting the obvious fact that that prospective future dominance by any of the indigenous species with a simple morphology will probably lead to the same result.…”

Section: Dissent Debate and Denialismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive species denialism: Sorting out facts, beliefs, and definitions

Boltovskoy

Sylvester

Paolucci

2018

Ecology and Evolution

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In the last decades, thousands of investigations confirmed the detrimental effects of species translocated by man outside of their native ranges (nonindigenous species, or NIS). However, results concluding that many NIS have null, neutral, or positive impacts on the biota and on human interests are as common in the scientific literature as those that point at baneful impacts. Recently, several scholars confronted the stand that origin per se is not a reliable indicator of negative effects, suggesting that such conclusions are the expression of scientific denialism, often led by spurious purposes, and that their numbers are increasing. When assessed in the context of the growing interest in introduced species, the proportion of academic publications claiming that NIS pose no threats to the environment and to social and economic interests is extremely low, and has not increased since 1990. The widely prevailing notion that many NIS are effectively or potentially harmful does not conflict with the fact that most have mixed (negative, neutral, and positive) impacts. When based on solid grounds, reports of positive or neutral impacts should not be labeled as manipulative or misleading unless proven otherwise, even if they may hamper interest in‐ and funding of research and control bioinvasion programs.

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The invasive kelp Undaria pinnatifida hosts an epifaunal assemblage similar to native seaweeds with comparable morphologies

Cited by 25 publications

References 60 publications

A nonnative habitat‐former mitigates native habitat loss for endemic reef fishes

A nonnative habitat‐former mitigates native habitat loss for endemic reef fishes

A nonnative habitat‐former mitigates native habitat loss for endemic reef fishes

Invasive species denialism: Sorting out facts, beliefs, and definitions

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