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Sy Lee - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Effects of Biogenic Structure on prey consumption by the xanthid crabs Eurytium limosum and Panopeus herbstii in a salt marsh
Marine Ecology Progress Series, 1994Co-Authors: Sy Lee, KneibAbstract:The predatory xanthid crabs Eurytjum limosurn and Panopeus herbstii are common components of benthic assemblages in different intertidal habitats within salt marshes around Sapelo Island. Georgia, USA. E. limosum feed primarily on other crabs and are found where cordgrass Spartina altemiflora stems are the dominant structural elements in the environment. P: herbstii feed largely on bivalve molluscs and are abundant in intertidal creeks where oyster Crassostrea virginica reefs are the predominant structural elements. We designed laboratory experiments to measure prey consumption rates by these 2 predators under conditions that simulated those experienced by each species in its respective habitat. Biogenic Structure within the environment of each species reduced prey consumption rates. The mean (i. SD) number of fiddler crabs Uca puynax killed in 24 h by E. limosum was less (2.0 t 0.87 individuals) in the presence of stems than in their absence (2.9 + 1.63 individuals). Fiddler crabs had no refuge in size from predation by E. limosum. However, mortality rates of fiddler crabs exposed to predation by E. lirnosum were sex-dependent. Males of U. pugnax sometimes escaped the predator's grasp by autotomizing their prominent major chela and consequently when prey were offered in an equal sex ratio significantly (paired t-test, p = 0.03) fewer males (4.3 f 2.55) than females (5.7 + 2.65) were killed by E. limosurn in 48 h. We believe that predation by mud crabs may contribute to male-biased sex ratios that are commonly observed in natural populations of fiddler crabs. Oyster shell clumps influenced the predator-prey interaction between P herbstil and the ribbed mussel Geukensia dernissa In a simulated intertidal creek environment. Mussels attached to the exterior (exposed) surfaces of an oyster clump suffered a 3.5 times greater mortality than those attached to the inside (concealed) surface of the clump. Results of previous studies in whlch prey were offered as isolated individuals suggest that k? herbstii should have the greatest impact on small (
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effects of Biogenic Structure on prey consumption by the xanthid crabs eurytium limosum and panopeus herbstii in a salt marsh
Marine Ecology Progress Series, 1994Co-Authors: Sy Lee, R T KneibAbstract:The predatory xanthid crabs Eurytjum limosurn and Panopeus herbstii are common components of benthic assemblages in different intertidal habitats within salt marshes around Sapelo Island. Georgia, USA. E. limosum feed primarily on other crabs and are found where cordgrass Spartina altemiflora stems are the dominant structural elements in the environment. P: herbstii feed largely on bivalve molluscs and are abundant in intertidal creeks where oyster Crassostrea virginica reefs are the predominant structural elements. We designed laboratory experiments to measure prey consumption rates by these 2 predators under conditions that simulated those experienced by each species in its respective habitat. Biogenic Structure within the environment of each species reduced prey consumption rates. The mean (i. SD) number of fiddler crabs Uca puynax killed in 24 h by E. limosum was less (2.0 t 0.87 individuals) in the presence of stems than in their absence (2.9 + 1.63 individuals). Fiddler crabs had no refuge in size from predation by E. limosum. However, mortality rates of fiddler crabs exposed to predation by E. lirnosum were sex-dependent. Males of U. pugnax sometimes escaped the predator's grasp by autotomizing their prominent major chela and consequently when prey were offered in an equal sex ratio significantly (paired t-test, p = 0.03) fewer males (4.3 f 2.55) than females (5.7 + 2.65) were killed by E. limosurn in 48 h. We believe that predation by mud crabs may contribute to male-biased sex ratios that are commonly observed in natural populations of fiddler crabs. Oyster shell clumps influenced the predator-prey interaction between P herbstil and the ribbed mussel Geukensia dernissa In a simulated intertidal creek environment. Mussels attached to the exterior (exposed) surfaces of an oyster clump suffered a 3.5 times greater mortality than those attached to the inside (concealed) surface of the clump. Results of previous studies in whlch prey were offered as isolated individuals suggest that k? herbstii should have the greatest impact on small (<20 mm shell length) mussels. However, by simulating natural conditions, we showed that predation by P herbstii inflicted the greatest mortality on mussels of intermediate (20 to 40 mm shell length) size because larger mussels have a refuge in size and small mussels have a spatial refuge within the interstices of oyster clumps. Our findings suggest that xanthid crabs have a greater impact within salt marsh communities than previously recognized and emphasize the importance of using 'context-sensitive' experiments to explore predator-prey interactions.
John A. Commito - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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After the Fall: Legacy Effects of Biogenic Structure on Wind-Generated Ecosystem Processes Following Mussel Bed Collapse
Diversity, 2019Co-Authors: John A. Commito, Brittany R. Jones, Mitchell A. Jones, Sondra E. Winders, Serena ComoAbstract:Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) are ecosystem engineers with strong effects on species diversity and abundances. Mussel beds appear to be declining in the Gulf of Maine, apparently due to climate change and predation by the invasive green crab, Carcinus maenas. As mussels die, they create a legacy of large expanses of shell Biogenic Structure. In Maine, USA, we used bottom traps to examine effects of four bottom cover types (i.e., live mussels, whole shells, fragmented shells, bare sediment) and wind condition (i.e., days with high, intermediate, and low values) on flow-related ecosystem processes. Significant differences in transport of sediment, meiofauna, and macrofauna were found among cover types and days, with no significant interaction between the two factors. Wind condition had positive effects on transport. Shell hash, especially fragmented shells, had negative effects, possibly because it acted as bed armor to reduce wind-generated erosion and resuspension. Copepods had the greatest mobility and shortest turnover times (0.15 d), followed by nematodes (1.96 d) and the macrofauna dominant, Tubificoides benedeni (2.35 d). Shell legacy effects may play an important role in soft-bottom system responses to wind-generated ecosystem processes, particularly in collapsed mussel beds, with implications for recolonization, connectivity, and the creation and maintenance of spatial pattern.
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Recruitment facilitation and spatial pattern formation in soft‐bottom mussel beds
Ecosphere, 2014Co-Authors: John A. Commito, Benjamin M. Grupe, Ann E. Commito, Rutherford V. Platt, Wendy E. Dow Piniak, Natasha J. Gownaris, Kyle A. Reeves, Allison M. VissichelliAbstract:Mussels (Mytilus edulis) build massive, spatially complex, Biogenic Structures that alter the biotic and abiotic environment and provide a variety of ecosystem services. Unlike rocky shores, where mussels can attach to the primary substrate, soft sediments are unsuitable for mussel attachment. We used a simple lattice model, field sampling, and field and laboratory experiments to examine facilitation of recruitment (i.e., preferential larval, juvenile, and adult attachment to mussel Biogenic Structure) and its role in the development of power-law spatial patterns observed in Maine, USA, soft-bottom mussel beds. The model demonstrated that recruitment facilitation produces power-law spatial Structure similar to that in natural beds. Field results provided strong evidence for facilitation of recruitment to other mussels—they do not simply map onto a hard-substrate template of gravel and shell hash. Mussels were spatially decoupled from non-mussel hard substrates to which they can potentially recruit. Recent...
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Species diversity in the soft-bottom intertidal zone: Biogenic Structure, sediment, and macrofauna across mussel bed spatial scales
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 2008Co-Authors: John A. Commito, Serena Como, Benjamin M. Grupe, Wendy E. DowAbstract:Mussels are important ecosystem engineers that have significant impacts on the ecology of the seafloor. In this study, we attempt to characterize and explain infaunal and epifaunal abundance patterns across scales in a spatially complex, intertidal, soft-bottom habitat: beds of the semi-infaunal mussel, Mytilus edulis. We used univariate and multivariate analyses in a nested sampling design at three locations in eastern Maine to show the relationships between environmental and macrofaunal assemblage variables. The results support the hypotheses that: 1) environmental and macrofaunal assemblage variables vary widely across spatial scales and exhibit maximum variance at different spatial scales; 2) abundance and diversity patterns of macrofauna are linked to spatial variation in environmental variables in the form of Biogenic Structure (live mussels and mussel shell hash), terrestrially-derived gravel, and, to a lesser degree, the proportion of silt-clay in the sediment; and 3) epifauna are generally positively correlated with hard-substrate features such as live mussels and gravel, and negatively correlated with the silt-clay content of the sediment, although the latter relationships were not strong. On the other hand, the results did not support the hypotheses that: 4) most infauna, specifically those with free-swimming larvae, are negatively correlated with live mussels and silt-clay proportion; instead, they were often positively correlated with live mussels and had weak, insignificant correlations with silt-clay; and 5) infauna without free-swimming larvae are positively correlated with live mussels and silt-clay proportion; instead, they showed some positive correlations with live mussels, but a mix of weak, insignificant correlations with silt-clay. Thus, mussel beds had a variety of scale-dependent relationships, both positive and negative, with each of the macrofaunal groups. The results show that Biogenic Structure in the form of live mussels and mussel shell hash is important in this system, as is terrestrial gravel, and that these variables are more important than silt-clay content for the macrofaunal assemblage. Mussel beds play an important role in regulating macrofaunal diversity in soft-bottom habitats, and their effects vary across spatial scales.
R T Kneib - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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effects of Biogenic Structure on prey consumption by the xanthid crabs eurytium limosum and panopeus herbstii in a salt marsh
Marine Ecology Progress Series, 1994Co-Authors: Sy Lee, R T KneibAbstract:The predatory xanthid crabs Eurytjum limosurn and Panopeus herbstii are common components of benthic assemblages in different intertidal habitats within salt marshes around Sapelo Island. Georgia, USA. E. limosum feed primarily on other crabs and are found where cordgrass Spartina altemiflora stems are the dominant structural elements in the environment. P: herbstii feed largely on bivalve molluscs and are abundant in intertidal creeks where oyster Crassostrea virginica reefs are the predominant structural elements. We designed laboratory experiments to measure prey consumption rates by these 2 predators under conditions that simulated those experienced by each species in its respective habitat. Biogenic Structure within the environment of each species reduced prey consumption rates. The mean (i. SD) number of fiddler crabs Uca puynax killed in 24 h by E. limosum was less (2.0 t 0.87 individuals) in the presence of stems than in their absence (2.9 + 1.63 individuals). Fiddler crabs had no refuge in size from predation by E. limosum. However, mortality rates of fiddler crabs exposed to predation by E. lirnosum were sex-dependent. Males of U. pugnax sometimes escaped the predator's grasp by autotomizing their prominent major chela and consequently when prey were offered in an equal sex ratio significantly (paired t-test, p = 0.03) fewer males (4.3 f 2.55) than females (5.7 + 2.65) were killed by E. limosurn in 48 h. We believe that predation by mud crabs may contribute to male-biased sex ratios that are commonly observed in natural populations of fiddler crabs. Oyster shell clumps influenced the predator-prey interaction between P herbstil and the ribbed mussel Geukensia dernissa In a simulated intertidal creek environment. Mussels attached to the exterior (exposed) surfaces of an oyster clump suffered a 3.5 times greater mortality than those attached to the inside (concealed) surface of the clump. Results of previous studies in whlch prey were offered as isolated individuals suggest that k? herbstii should have the greatest impact on small (<20 mm shell length) mussels. However, by simulating natural conditions, we showed that predation by P herbstii inflicted the greatest mortality on mussels of intermediate (20 to 40 mm shell length) size because larger mussels have a refuge in size and small mussels have a spatial refuge within the interstices of oyster clumps. Our findings suggest that xanthid crabs have a greater impact within salt marsh communities than previously recognized and emphasize the importance of using 'context-sensitive' experiments to explore predator-prey interactions.
Kneib - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Effects of Biogenic Structure on prey consumption by the xanthid crabs Eurytium limosum and Panopeus herbstii in a salt marsh
Marine Ecology Progress Series, 1994Co-Authors: Sy Lee, KneibAbstract:The predatory xanthid crabs Eurytjum limosurn and Panopeus herbstii are common components of benthic assemblages in different intertidal habitats within salt marshes around Sapelo Island. Georgia, USA. E. limosum feed primarily on other crabs and are found where cordgrass Spartina altemiflora stems are the dominant structural elements in the environment. P: herbstii feed largely on bivalve molluscs and are abundant in intertidal creeks where oyster Crassostrea virginica reefs are the predominant structural elements. We designed laboratory experiments to measure prey consumption rates by these 2 predators under conditions that simulated those experienced by each species in its respective habitat. Biogenic Structure within the environment of each species reduced prey consumption rates. The mean (i. SD) number of fiddler crabs Uca puynax killed in 24 h by E. limosum was less (2.0 t 0.87 individuals) in the presence of stems than in their absence (2.9 + 1.63 individuals). Fiddler crabs had no refuge in size from predation by E. limosum. However, mortality rates of fiddler crabs exposed to predation by E. lirnosum were sex-dependent. Males of U. pugnax sometimes escaped the predator's grasp by autotomizing their prominent major chela and consequently when prey were offered in an equal sex ratio significantly (paired t-test, p = 0.03) fewer males (4.3 f 2.55) than females (5.7 + 2.65) were killed by E. limosurn in 48 h. We believe that predation by mud crabs may contribute to male-biased sex ratios that are commonly observed in natural populations of fiddler crabs. Oyster shell clumps influenced the predator-prey interaction between P herbstil and the ribbed mussel Geukensia dernissa In a simulated intertidal creek environment. Mussels attached to the exterior (exposed) surfaces of an oyster clump suffered a 3.5 times greater mortality than those attached to the inside (concealed) surface of the clump. Results of previous studies in whlch prey were offered as isolated individuals suggest that k? herbstii should have the greatest impact on small (
Allison M. Vissichelli - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Recruitment facilitation and spatial pattern formation in soft‐bottom mussel beds
Ecosphere, 2014Co-Authors: John A. Commito, Benjamin M. Grupe, Ann E. Commito, Rutherford V. Platt, Wendy E. Dow Piniak, Natasha J. Gownaris, Kyle A. Reeves, Allison M. VissichelliAbstract:Mussels (Mytilus edulis) build massive, spatially complex, Biogenic Structures that alter the biotic and abiotic environment and provide a variety of ecosystem services. Unlike rocky shores, where mussels can attach to the primary substrate, soft sediments are unsuitable for mussel attachment. We used a simple lattice model, field sampling, and field and laboratory experiments to examine facilitation of recruitment (i.e., preferential larval, juvenile, and adult attachment to mussel Biogenic Structure) and its role in the development of power-law spatial patterns observed in Maine, USA, soft-bottom mussel beds. The model demonstrated that recruitment facilitation produces power-law spatial Structure similar to that in natural beds. Field results provided strong evidence for facilitation of recruitment to other mussels—they do not simply map onto a hard-substrate template of gravel and shell hash. Mussels were spatially decoupled from non-mussel hard substrates to which they can potentially recruit. Recent...