Effects of environmental stress on intertidal mussels and their sea star predators |
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Authors: | Laura E Petes Morgan E Mouchka Ruth H Milston-Clements Tracey S Momoda Bruce A Menge |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Zoology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA;(2) Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA;(3) Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA;(4) Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory, 3618 Highway 98, St. Teresa, FL 32358-2702, USA |
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Abstract: | Consumer stress models of ecological theory predict that predators are more susceptible to stress than their prey. Intertidal
mussels, Mytilus californianus, span a vertical stress gradient from the low zone (lower stress) to the high zone (higher thermal and desiccation stress),
while their sea star predators, Pisaster ochraceus, range from the low zone only into the lower edge of the mussel zone. In summer 2003, we tested the responses of sea stars
and mussels to environmental stress in an experiment conducted on the Oregon coast. Mussels were transplanted from the middle
of the mussel bed to cages in the low and high edges of the mussel bed. Sea star predators were added to half of the mussel
cages. Mussels and sea stars were sampled between June and August for indicators of sublethal stress. Mussel growth was measured,
and tissues were collected for heat shock protein (Hsp70) analyses and histological analyses of reproduction. Sea stars were
weighed, and tissues were sampled for Hsp70 analyses. Mussels in high-edge cages had higher levels of total Hsp70 and exhibited
spawning activity earlier in the summer than mussels in the low-edge cages. Sea stars suffered high mortality in the high
edge, and low-edge sea stars lost weight but showed no differences in Hsp70 production. These results suggest that stress
in the intertidal zone affected the mobile predator more than its sessile prey, which is consistent with predictions of consumer
stress models.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. |
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Keywords: | Heat shock proteins Mytilus californianus Pisaster ochraceus |
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