Shading facilitates sessile invertebrate dominance in the rocky subtidal Gulf of Maine

Ecology
Robert J Miller, Ron J Etter

Abstract

Dramatic shifts in community composition occur between vertical and horizontal rocky surfaces in subtidal environments worldwide, yet the forces mediating this transition are poorly understood. Vertical rock walls are often covered by lush, diverse communities of sessile suspension-feeding invertebrates, while adjacent horizontal substrates are dominated by algae, or corals in the tropics. Multiple factors, including light, sedimentation, water flow, and predation have been proposed to explain this pattern, but experimental tests of these hypotheses are lacking. We manipulated light level and predation to test whether variation in these mechanisms could be responsible for the shift in composition of sessile communities between vertical and horizontal surfaces in the rocky subtidal Gulf of Maine. Shaded horizontally oriented granite plots were dominated by invertebrates (e.g., ascidians, barnacles, bryozoans) after 25 months. Unshaded plots were dominated by macroalgae, which was virtually absent in shaded plots. Exclusion of grazers with cages had no effect on percent cover of invertebrates or algae. Preferential settlement of invertebrate larvae to shaded plots, due to larval behaviors such as negative phototaxis, did not seem...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jun 8, 2010·Oecologia·Andrew RassweilerSally J Holbrook
Aug 26, 2014·PloS One·Kirstin S MeyerMelanie Bergmann
Mar 7, 2014·Ecology·Simon P Hart, Dustin J Marshall
Jul 31, 2013·Global Change Biology·Graeme F ClarkMartin J Riddle
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Sep 29, 2011·Marine Pollution Bulletin·Marc RiusChristopher D McQuaid
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May 1, 2015·Biology Letters·Thomas W DaviesStuart R Jenkins
Jul 17, 2020·PloS One·Elisabeth Marijke Anne StrainMelanie Jane Bishop
Mar 17, 2020·PeerJ·Elena RybakovaAlexander Martynov
Mar 16, 2018·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Robert J MillerDaniel C Reed
Nov 23, 2013·The Journal of Experimental Biology·Hanna HartikainenBeth Okamura

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