Epiphyte presence and seagrass species identity influence rates of herbivory in Mediterranean seagrass meadows
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Título: | Epiphyte presence and seagrass species identity influence rates of herbivory in Mediterranean seagrass meadows |
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Autor/es: | Marco-Méndez, Candela | Ferrero-Vicente, Luis Miguel | Prado, Patricia | Heck Jr., Kenneth L. | Cebrián, Just | Sánchez-Lizaso, José Luis |
Grupo/s de investigación o GITE: | Biología Marina | Recursos Hídricos y Desarrollo Sostenible |
Centro, Departamento o Servicio: | Universidad de Alicante. Departamento de Ciencias del Mar y Biología Aplicada |
Palabras clave: | Food choice | Paracentrotus lividus | Sarpa salpa | Cymodocea nodosa | Posidonia oceanica | Epiphytes |
Área/s de conocimiento: | Zoología |
Fecha de publicación: | 5-mar-2015 |
Editor: | Elsevier |
Cita bibliográfica: | Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 2015, 154: 94-101. doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2014.12.043 |
Resumen: | Herbivory on Mediterranean seagrass species is generally low compared to consumption of some other temperate and tropical species of seagrasses. In this study we: (1) investigate the feeding preference of the two dominant Mediterranean seagrass herbivores, the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus and the fish Sarpa salpa, on Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa and (2) elucidate the role of epiphytes in herbivore choices. We assessed consumption rates by tethering seagrass shoots, and preferences by food choice experiments with the following paired combinations: 1) Epiphytized leaves of both C. nodosa vs. P. oceanica (CE vs PE); 2) Non-epiphytized leaves of C. nodosa vs. P. oceanica (CNE vs. PNE); 3) Epiphytized vs non-epiphytized leaves of C. nodosa (CE vs. CNE) and 4) Epiphytized vs non-epiphytized leaves of P. oceanica (PE vs PNE). We found that preference for C. nodosa was weak for S. salpa, but strong for P. lividus, the species responsible for most consumption at our study. Overall both herbivores showed preference for epiphytized leaves. The higher nutritional quality of C. nodosa leaves and epiphytes together with the high coverage and diversity of the epiphyte community found on its leaves help explain the higher levels of herbivory recorded on epiphyted leaves of C. nodosa. Other factors such as seagrass accessibility, herbivore mobility and size, and behavioral responses to predation risks, may also affect the intensity of seagrass herbivory, and studies addressing the interactions with these factors are needed to improve our understanding of the nature, extent and implications of herbivory in coastal ecosystems. |
Patrocinador/es: | This research was funded by the Department of Marine Science and Applied Biology (University of Alicante). |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/10045/44085 |
ISSN: | 0272-7714 (Print) | 1096-0015 (Online) |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.ecss.2014.12.043 |
Idioma: | eng |
Tipo: | info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
Revisión científica: | si |
Versión del editor: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2014.12.043 |
Aparece en las colecciones: | INV - Recursos Hídricos y Desarrollo Sostenible - Artículos de Revistas INV - BM - Artículos Científicos / Scientific Papers |
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