Seascapes and foraging success: movement and resource discovery by a benthic marine herbivore ...

• Main Authors: MacGregor, Kathleen, Johnson, Ladd
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2022
• Subjects: FOS Biological sciences; drift kelp; foraging behaviour; Gulf of Saint Lawrence; northwest Atlantic; rocky subtidal; sand substratum; Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis; Sea urchin barrens; Northwest Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2z34tmppz; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.2z34tmppz

1. Spatially concentrated resources result in patch-based foraging, wherein the detection and choice of patches as well as the process of locating and exploiting resource patches involve moving through an explicit landscape composed of both resources and barriers to movement. An understanding of behavioural responses to resources and barriers is key to interpreting observed ecological patterns. 2. We examined the process of resource discovery in the context of a heterogeneous seascape using sea urchins and drift kelp in urchin barrens as a model system. Under field conditions, we manipulated both the presence of a highly valuable resource (drift kelp) and a barrier to movement (sandy substratum) to test the interacting influence of these two factors on the process of resource discovery in barren grounds by urchins. We removed all foraging urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) from replicate areas and monitored urchin recolonization and kelp consumption. We tested two hypotheses: 1) unstable substratum ... : All data was collected using SCUBA diving, and include in situ observations (numbers of urchins present throughout clearing experiments), collections measured immediately in the lab (original site densities, urchin diameters and biomass, biomass of kelp consumed), or processed and then measured later (dry weight lost through dissolution for clod cards). See article for details of methods used during data collection. ...