Effects of an invasive reef-building polychaete on the biomass and composition of estuarine macroalgal assemblages |
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Authors: | María Cielo Bazterrica Florencia Botto Oscar Iribarne |
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Institution: | 1.Departamento de Biología, Laboratorio de Ecología, FCEyN,Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP),Mar del Plata,Argentina;2.Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET),Buenos Aires,Argentina |
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Abstract: | Invasive species can transform ecological communities. Their profound effects may alter the sources and pathways of primary
production. We investigated the effects of the reef forming polychaete Ficopomatus enigmaticus invasion on the biomass and distribution of estuarine macroalgae in a SW Atlantic coastal lagoon (Mar Chiquita, 37° 40′S,
57° 23′W, Argentina). Reefs built by this species serve as substrates for macroalgal development and furnish structures that
modify physical and biological conditions for the surrounding benthos. We showed that (1) the red macroalga Polysiphonia subtilissima settles and grows almost exclusively on the surface of the reef, (2) the green macroalgae Cladophora sp. and Enteromorpha intestinalis are found almost exclusively in areas without reefs attached to mollusk shells and, (3) no macroalgae occur in the sediment
between reefs. Manipulative experiments show that reefs provide a complex substrate for settlement and survival and therefore
benefit red macroalga. These experiments also show that the invasive reef builder has negative indirect effects on green macroalgae
by increasing grazing and probably by increased sedimentation between reefs. Via these direct and indirect effects, reefs
change the relative biomass contribution of each macroalgal species to the overall production in the lagoon. Knowledge of
these processes is important not only for predicting net effects on primary production but also because changes in macroalgal
species composition may produce effects that cascade through the food web. |
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