The Mediterranean benthic herbivores show diverse responses to extreme storm disturbances

Catastrophic storms have been observed to be one of the major elements in shaping the standing structure of marine benthic ecosystems. Yet, little is known about the effect of catastrophic storms on ecosystem processes. Specifically, herbivory is the main control mechanism of macrophyte communities...

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Autores: Pagès Fauria, Jordi, Gera, Alessandro, Romero, Javier (Romero Martinengo), Farina, Simone, García-Rubies, Antoni, Hereu Fina, Bernat, Alcoverro i Pedrola, Teresa
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2013
País:España
Recursos:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/50885
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/50885
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Ecologia marina
Herbívors
Mediterrània (Mar)
Ecosistemes
Marine ecology
Herbivores
Mediterranean Sea
Biotic communities
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spelling The Mediterranean benthic herbivores show diverse responses to extreme storm disturbancesPagès Fauria, JordiGera, AlessandroRomero, Javier (Romero Martinengo)Farina, SimoneGarcía-Rubies, AntoniHereu Fina, BernatAlcoverro i Pedrola, TeresaEcologia marinaHerbívorsMediterrània (Mar)EcosistemesMarine ecologyHerbivoresMediterranean SeaBiotic communitiesCatastrophic storms have been observed to be one of the major elements in shaping the standing structure of marine benthic ecosystems. Yet, little is known about the effect of catastrophic storms on ecosystem processes. Specifically, herbivory is the main control mechanism of macrophyte communities in the Mediterranean, with two main key herbivores: the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus and the fish Sarpa salpa. Consequently, the effects of extreme storm events on these two herbivores (at the population level and on their behaviour) may be critical for the functioning of the ecosystem. With the aim of filling this gap, we took advantage of two parallel studies that were conducted before, during and after an unexpected catastrophic storm event. Specifically, fish and sea urchin abundance were assessed before and after the storm in monitored fixed areas (one site for sea urchin assessment and 3 sites for fish visual transects). Additionally, we investigated the behavioural response to the disturbance of S. salpa fishes that had been tagged with acoustic transmitters. Given their low mobility, sea urchins were severely affected by the storm (ca. 50% losses) with higher losses in those patches with a higher density of sea urchins. This may be due to a limited availability of refuges within each patch. In contrast, fish abundance was not affected, as fish were able to move to protected areas (i.e. deeper) as a result of the high mobility of this species. Our results highlight that catastrophic storms differentially affect the two dominant macroherbivores of rocky macroalgal and seagrass systems due to differences in mobility and escaping strategies. This study emphasises that under catastrophic disturbances, the presence of different responses among the key herbivores of the system may be critical for the maintenance of the herbivory function.Public Library of Science (PLoS)2014201420132014info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/2445/50885Articles publicats en revistes (Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals)reponame:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunyainstname:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)InglésReproducció del document publicat a: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0062719PLoS One, 2013, vol. 8, num. 5, p. e62719http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0062719cc-by (c) Pagès Fauria, Jordi et al., 2013http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/esinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:recercat.cat:2445/508852026-05-29T05:05:01Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv The Mediterranean benthic herbivores show diverse responses to extreme storm disturbances
title The Mediterranean benthic herbivores show diverse responses to extreme storm disturbances
spellingShingle The Mediterranean benthic herbivores show diverse responses to extreme storm disturbances
Pagès Fauria, Jordi
Ecologia marina
Herbívors
Mediterrània (Mar)
Ecosistemes
Marine ecology
Herbivores
Mediterranean Sea
Biotic communities
title_short The Mediterranean benthic herbivores show diverse responses to extreme storm disturbances
title_full The Mediterranean benthic herbivores show diverse responses to extreme storm disturbances
title_fullStr The Mediterranean benthic herbivores show diverse responses to extreme storm disturbances
title_full_unstemmed The Mediterranean benthic herbivores show diverse responses to extreme storm disturbances
title_sort The Mediterranean benthic herbivores show diverse responses to extreme storm disturbances
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Pagès Fauria, Jordi
Gera, Alessandro
Romero, Javier (Romero Martinengo)
Farina, Simone
García-Rubies, Antoni
Hereu Fina, Bernat
Alcoverro i Pedrola, Teresa
author Pagès Fauria, Jordi
author_facet Pagès Fauria, Jordi
Gera, Alessandro
Romero, Javier (Romero Martinengo)
Farina, Simone
García-Rubies, Antoni
Hereu Fina, Bernat
Alcoverro i Pedrola, Teresa
author_role author
author2 Gera, Alessandro
Romero, Javier (Romero Martinengo)
Farina, Simone
García-Rubies, Antoni
Hereu Fina, Bernat
Alcoverro i Pedrola, Teresa
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Ecologia marina
Herbívors
Mediterrània (Mar)
Ecosistemes
Marine ecology
Herbivores
Mediterranean Sea
Biotic communities
topic Ecologia marina
Herbívors
Mediterrània (Mar)
Ecosistemes
Marine ecology
Herbivores
Mediterranean Sea
Biotic communities
description Catastrophic storms have been observed to be one of the major elements in shaping the standing structure of marine benthic ecosystems. Yet, little is known about the effect of catastrophic storms on ecosystem processes. Specifically, herbivory is the main control mechanism of macrophyte communities in the Mediterranean, with two main key herbivores: the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus and the fish Sarpa salpa. Consequently, the effects of extreme storm events on these two herbivores (at the population level and on their behaviour) may be critical for the functioning of the ecosystem. With the aim of filling this gap, we took advantage of two parallel studies that were conducted before, during and after an unexpected catastrophic storm event. Specifically, fish and sea urchin abundance were assessed before and after the storm in monitored fixed areas (one site for sea urchin assessment and 3 sites for fish visual transects). Additionally, we investigated the behavioural response to the disturbance of S. salpa fishes that had been tagged with acoustic transmitters. Given their low mobility, sea urchins were severely affected by the storm (ca. 50% losses) with higher losses in those patches with a higher density of sea urchins. This may be due to a limited availability of refuges within each patch. In contrast, fish abundance was not affected, as fish were able to move to protected areas (i.e. deeper) as a result of the high mobility of this species. Our results highlight that catastrophic storms differentially affect the two dominant macroherbivores of rocky macroalgal and seagrass systems due to differences in mobility and escaping strategies. This study emphasises that under catastrophic disturbances, the presence of different responses among the key herbivores of the system may be critical for the maintenance of the herbivory function.
publishDate 2013
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2013
2014
2014
2014
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/2445/50885
url https://hdl.handle.net/2445/50885
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Reproducció del document publicat a: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0062719
PLoS One, 2013, vol. 8, num. 5, p. e62719
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0062719
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv cc-by (c) Pagès Fauria, Jordi et al., 2013
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv cc-by (c) Pagès Fauria, Jordi et al., 2013
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Public Library of Science (PLoS)
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Articles publicats en revistes (Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals)
reponame:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
instname:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
instname_str Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
reponame_str Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
collection Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score 15,198674

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