The Experts below are selected from a list of 146556 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Han Olff - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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large scale ecosystem engineering by flamingos and fiddler crabs on west african intertidal flats promote joint Food Availability
2019Co-Authors: Elhacen Mohamed Elhacen, Tjeerd J Bouma, Puck Oomen, Theunis Piersma, Han OlffAbstract:Although the ecosystem engineering concept is well established in ecology, cases of joint engineering by multiple species at large scales remain rare. Here, we combine observational studies and exclosure experiments to investigate how co-occurring greater flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus and fiddler crabs Uca tangeri promote their own and each other's Food Availability by creating a spatially complex mosaic of depressions (bowls, gullies) and hummocks (plateaus, mounds) in the intertidal zone. This results in a mosaic of microhabitats with different tidal inundation regimes. These microhabitats are spatially organized with labyrinth-like patterns in the high intertidal zone and spotted patterns in the lower intertidal, both of which likely arise from biophysical interactions between these organisms and hydrodynamic forces. We show that the resulting spatial complexity is vital for biofilm production. The depression microhabitats were wetter and richer in organic matter and biofilms compared with hummocks. Excluding flamingos and crabs resulted in an increase in biofilm biomass over the shorter term (six months), but a decrease over the longer term (after one year). Moreover, our results strongly suggest that these biogeomorphological microhabitats in the mosaics were maintained by the feeding activities of flamingos and to a lesser extent crabs. During a period of flamingo exclusion, all the spotted patterns filled up with sediment, while the exclusion of crabs led to gradual sediment accumulation in the labyrinth-like patterns. Collectively, these findings provide empirical evidence for large-scale joint promotion of Food Availability by multiple taxa in a marine ecosystem.
Tjeerd J Bouma - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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large scale ecosystem engineering by flamingos and fiddler crabs on west african intertidal flats promote joint Food Availability
2019Co-Authors: Elhacen Mohamed Elhacen, Tjeerd J Bouma, Puck Oomen, Theunis Piersma, Han OlffAbstract:Although the ecosystem engineering concept is well established in ecology, cases of joint engineering by multiple species at large scales remain rare. Here, we combine observational studies and exclosure experiments to investigate how co-occurring greater flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus and fiddler crabs Uca tangeri promote their own and each other's Food Availability by creating a spatially complex mosaic of depressions (bowls, gullies) and hummocks (plateaus, mounds) in the intertidal zone. This results in a mosaic of microhabitats with different tidal inundation regimes. These microhabitats are spatially organized with labyrinth-like patterns in the high intertidal zone and spotted patterns in the lower intertidal, both of which likely arise from biophysical interactions between these organisms and hydrodynamic forces. We show that the resulting spatial complexity is vital for biofilm production. The depression microhabitats were wetter and richer in organic matter and biofilms compared with hummocks. Excluding flamingos and crabs resulted in an increase in biofilm biomass over the shorter term (six months), but a decrease over the longer term (after one year). Moreover, our results strongly suggest that these biogeomorphological microhabitats in the mosaics were maintained by the feeding activities of flamingos and to a lesser extent crabs. During a period of flamingo exclusion, all the spotted patterns filled up with sediment, while the exclusion of crabs led to gradual sediment accumulation in the labyrinth-like patterns. Collectively, these findings provide empirical evidence for large-scale joint promotion of Food Availability by multiple taxa in a marine ecosystem.
Theunis Piersma - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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large scale ecosystem engineering by flamingos and fiddler crabs on west african intertidal flats promote joint Food Availability
2019Co-Authors: Elhacen Mohamed Elhacen, Tjeerd J Bouma, Puck Oomen, Theunis Piersma, Han OlffAbstract:Although the ecosystem engineering concept is well established in ecology, cases of joint engineering by multiple species at large scales remain rare. Here, we combine observational studies and exclosure experiments to investigate how co-occurring greater flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus and fiddler crabs Uca tangeri promote their own and each other's Food Availability by creating a spatially complex mosaic of depressions (bowls, gullies) and hummocks (plateaus, mounds) in the intertidal zone. This results in a mosaic of microhabitats with different tidal inundation regimes. These microhabitats are spatially organized with labyrinth-like patterns in the high intertidal zone and spotted patterns in the lower intertidal, both of which likely arise from biophysical interactions between these organisms and hydrodynamic forces. We show that the resulting spatial complexity is vital for biofilm production. The depression microhabitats were wetter and richer in organic matter and biofilms compared with hummocks. Excluding flamingos and crabs resulted in an increase in biofilm biomass over the shorter term (six months), but a decrease over the longer term (after one year). Moreover, our results strongly suggest that these biogeomorphological microhabitats in the mosaics were maintained by the feeding activities of flamingos and to a lesser extent crabs. During a period of flamingo exclusion, all the spotted patterns filled up with sediment, while the exclusion of crabs led to gradual sediment accumulation in the labyrinth-like patterns. Collectively, these findings provide empirical evidence for large-scale joint promotion of Food Availability by multiple taxa in a marine ecosystem.
Elhacen Mohamed Elhacen - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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large scale ecosystem engineering by flamingos and fiddler crabs on west african intertidal flats promote joint Food Availability
2019Co-Authors: Elhacen Mohamed Elhacen, Tjeerd J Bouma, Puck Oomen, Theunis Piersma, Han OlffAbstract:Although the ecosystem engineering concept is well established in ecology, cases of joint engineering by multiple species at large scales remain rare. Here, we combine observational studies and exclosure experiments to investigate how co-occurring greater flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus and fiddler crabs Uca tangeri promote their own and each other's Food Availability by creating a spatially complex mosaic of depressions (bowls, gullies) and hummocks (plateaus, mounds) in the intertidal zone. This results in a mosaic of microhabitats with different tidal inundation regimes. These microhabitats are spatially organized with labyrinth-like patterns in the high intertidal zone and spotted patterns in the lower intertidal, both of which likely arise from biophysical interactions between these organisms and hydrodynamic forces. We show that the resulting spatial complexity is vital for biofilm production. The depression microhabitats were wetter and richer in organic matter and biofilms compared with hummocks. Excluding flamingos and crabs resulted in an increase in biofilm biomass over the shorter term (six months), but a decrease over the longer term (after one year). Moreover, our results strongly suggest that these biogeomorphological microhabitats in the mosaics were maintained by the feeding activities of flamingos and to a lesser extent crabs. During a period of flamingo exclusion, all the spotted patterns filled up with sediment, while the exclusion of crabs led to gradual sediment accumulation in the labyrinth-like patterns. Collectively, these findings provide empirical evidence for large-scale joint promotion of Food Availability by multiple taxa in a marine ecosystem.
Takeshi Tomiyama - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Food Availability before aestivation governs growth and winter reproductive potential in the capital breeding fish, Ammodytes japonicus
2019Co-Authors: Hirotsune Kuzuhara, Michio Yoneda, Tatsuo Tsuzaki, Masanori Takahashi, Naoaki Kono, Takeshi TomiyamaAbstract:Capital breeders develop gametes by using energy that was stored before the spawning season. Energy is allocated to growth and reproduction, and limited Food Availability affects the balance of energy allocation, especially in fish that mature within a year, such as western sand lance (Ammodytes japonicus). This species aestivates without feeding until winter spawning and utilize energy stores that were accumulated prior to aestivation for maturation and spawning. This study aimed to evaluate the growth, energy storage, maturation rate, and reproduction of A. japonicus in response to Food Availability before aestivation. We conducted laboratory experiments in which young-of-the-year A. japonicus were fed at rates of 4% and 1% of their body weight per day; assigned as high and low ration groups, respectively. In June, body length was found to be significantly larger in the high ration group than in the low ration group, but the somatic condition did not differ significantly between the groups. Maturation rates and average fecundities were 1.0 and 6297 in the high ration group and 0.8 and 2251 in the low ration group, respectively. These results indicate that Food Availability before aestivation strongly governs the reproductive potential of A. japonicus, and suggest the involvement of mechanisms in the inter-annual recruitment variation in sand lance species.