1,721,076 research outputs found
Bulleri F, Boero F: "What are the spatial scales at which the effects of a land-management strategy on the..." Evaluation of: [Diez J et al. Interacting effects of management and environmental variability at multiple scales on invasive species distributions. J Appl Ecol. 2009; 46:1210-18; doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01725.x]. Faculty of 1000, 02 Mar 2010. F1000.com/2259956
No full text"In an era of major environmental and biological changes, identifying the spatial structure of metapopulations..." Evaluation of: [Ward EJ et al. Inferring spatial structure from time-series data: using multivariate state-space models to detect metapopulation structure of California sea lions in the Gulf of California, Mexico. J Appl Ecol. 2010; 47:47-56; doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01745.x]. Faculty of 1000, 12 Apr 2010. F1000.com/2842957
No full text"This paper provides a fresh perspective on evolutionary effects of global climate changes on mutualism..." Evaluation of: [Toby Kiers E et al. Mutualisms in a changing world: an evolutionary perspective. Ecol Lett. 2010 Dec; 13(12):1459-74; doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01538.x]. Faculty of 1000, 03 Mar 2011. F1000.com/8638957
No full textWeak effects of age but important role of microhabitats in community differences between breakwaters and natural rocky shores across a latitudinal gradient
No full textAim Coastal infrastructures are increasing at different latitudes, and their deployment often results in a complete replacement of natural habitats. Although infrastructure provides novel habitats, ecological engineering can increase their similarity to natural rocky habitats. One hurdle for effective design of greener infrastructure is the scarce information on the processes that underpin differences in the structure of communities between built and natural habitats. Using long-term data of intertidal community structure, we tested whether the magnitude of between-habitat differences changes with breakwater age and across latitudes, and we examined the role of topographic microhabitats (i.e., rock pools) in driving these differences. Location Nine locations distributed from 18 to 41 degrees S. Time period 2016-2020. Methods We sampled the mid-intertidal community structure on breakwaters of different age and on natural rocky habitats (platforms and boulder fields) and assessed the availability of microhabitats, such as crevices and rock pools, along a coastline spanning 23 degrees of latitude. Using generalized additive models (GAMs), we assessed the effect of the different factors on species diversity and functional group abundances. Results Age since construction was a poor predictor of differences between breakwaters and natural habitats. Communities on older breakwaters bore a poor resemblance to the species composition or functional group abundances found in natural habitats. The magnitude of differences between breakwaters and natural habitats varied with latitude, with season and with the type of natural habitat attributable to differences in microhabitats, especially in rock pool availability. Conclusions Our results indicate that replacement of rocky habitats with breakwaters will cause permanent alterations to coastal ecosystems. Our findings suggest that the availability of microhabitats able to shelter species from stressful environmental conditions is more important at lower and intermediate latitudes; hence, they should be incorporated primarily into infrastructures in tropical or subtropical areas. These strategies could help to compensate for the impacts on rocky ecosystems associated with increases in coastal urbanization
Development of reproductive structures in the introduced green alga, Codium fragile ssp. tomentosoides, in the northern Adriatic sea
Full text linkEnhanced nutrient loading and herbivory do not depress the resilience of subtidal canopy forests in Mediterranean oligotrophic waters
No full textThe interaction between top-down and bottom-up forces determines the recovery trajectory of macroalgal forests exposed to multiple stressors. In an oligotrophic system, we experimentally investigated how nutrient inputs affected the recovery of Cystoseira brachycarpa following physical disturbance of varying intensities, both inside forested areas and at the boundary with sea urchin barrens. Unexpectedly, Cystoseira forests were highly resilient to disturbance, as they were able to recover from any partial damage. In general, the addition of nutrients sped up the recovery of Cystoseira. Thus, only the total canopy removal, in combination with either low nutrient availability or intense grazing pressure, promoted the expansion of mat-forming algae or urchin barrens, respectively. Our study suggests that the effects of enhanced nutrient levels may vary according to the trophic characteristics of the waterbody, and hence, are likely to vary among regions of the Mediterranean basin
Sediment deposition dampens positive effects of substratum complexity on the diversity of macroalgal assemblages
No full textA three-year experimental studywas performed to evaluate the interactive effects of topographic complexity and
sedimentation in determining the structure of rocky macroalgal assemblages. The following hypotheses were
tested: i) the structure of macroalgal assemblages varies according to the complexity of the substratum;
ii) high sediment deposition reduces variations in the structure of assemblages among substrata characterized
by different complexity. At natural levels of sediment deposition, greater substratum complexity enhanced
species richness and favored the development of assemblages dominated by architecturally complex species,
such as large corticated Rhodophyta. Under high sediment deposition, turfs became the main component of
macroalgal assemblages, although different filamentous forms responded differently to substratum complexity.
In addition, high sediment deposition increased the abundance of the invasive Chlorophyta, Caulerpa cylindracea,
on low complexity substrata, but decreased it on high complexity substrata. These results show that an increase
in sediment deposition can dampen variations between assemblages associated to substrata characterized by
different complexity, with consequent reduction of both alpha (i.e., species loss) and beta diversity
(i.e., decreased small-scale variation in community structure)
The response of Posidonia oceanica rhizome epiphytes to different levels of disturbance.
No full textTemporal consistency of a facilitation cascade on shallow rocky reefs
No full textFacilitation cascades are increasingly recognized as key drivers of biodiversity in a variety of habitats, yet their temporal variability remains poorly investigated. On shallow subtidal rocky reefs, positive interactions between the canopy-forming species, Halopithys incurva, and its epiphyte, Jania rubens, enhance the abundance and di-versity of the associated mobile invertebrate assemblage. By means of a field experiment manipulating the presence of J. rubens on H. incurva plants, we investigated whether the effects of this facilitation cascade varied over time scales of months. Despite seasonal fluctuations in its biomass, J. rubens enhanced total invertebrate abundance and species richness by 64% and 45%, respectively, throughout the experiment. Our results suggest that the presence of J. rubens, likely by providing novel microhabitats and increasing resource availability, sustains invertebrate biodiversity of shallow macroalgal forests consistently between warm and cold periods. Understanding the temporal dynamics of facilitation cascades and their mechanisms can help inform manage-ment strategies targeting biodiversity conservation and restoration under current and future climates
Nutrient enrichment stimulates herbivory and alters epibiont assemblages at the edge but not inside subtidal macroalgal forests
Full text linkNutrient enrichment is a major threat to subtidal macroalgal forests. Several studies have shown that nutrient inputs can enhance the ability of opportunistic algal species to acquire space freed by disturbance, at the expense of architecturally complex species that form forests. However, competition between canopy- and turf-forming macroalgae is not limited to the aftermath of disturbance. Canopy-forming macroalgae can provide suitable substratum for diverse epibiont assemblages, including both algae (epiphytes) and sessile invertebrates (epizoans). Despite evidence of enhanced epiphyte loading under eutrophic conditions, few experimental studies have assessed how nutrient enrichment influences the structure of epibiont assemblages on canopy-forming macroalgae at the edge versus inside forests. In oligotrophic waters of the NW Mediterranean, we experimentally tested the hypothesis that nutrient-driven proliferation of opportunistic epiphytic algae would affect the performance of the fucoid, Carpodesmia brachycarpa, and reduce the richness and abundance of the epizoan species they support. We predicted negative effects of nutrient enrichment to be greater at the edge than inside forests and on thalli that had recovered in cleared areas than on those within undisturbed canopy stands. Nutrient enrichment did not affect the photosynthetic efficiency and reproductive output of C. brachycarpa. By contrast, it enhanced herbivore consumption and decreased the cover and diversity of epizoans at forest edges, likely by stimulating the foraging activity of Arbacia lixula, the most abundant sea urchin in adjacent encrusting coralline barrens. Fertilization of areas inside forests had no effect on either C. brachycarpa or epibiont assemblages. Finally, nutrient enrichment effects did not vary between cleared and undisturbed areas. Our results show that moderate nutrient enrichment of oligotrophic waters does not necessarily cause the proliferation of epiphytes and, hence, a strengthening of their competitive effects on canopy-forming macroalgae. Nevertheless, enhanced herbivory damage to fertilized thalli at forest edges suggests that fragmentation could reduce the resilience of macroalgal forests and associated epibiont assemblages to nutrient enrichment
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