Data from: Effects of a trophic cascade on a multi-level facilitation cascade ...

• Main Authors: Yakovis, Eugeniy, Artemieva, Anna
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2021
• Subjects: Crabs; Shrimp; foundation species; facilitation cascade; top-down control; FOS Biological sciences; Solovetsky; White Sea; Solovetsky Islands
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rv15dv47v; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.rv15dv47v

1. The role of cascades in natural communities has been extensively studied, but interactions between trophic and facilitation cascades are unexplored. In the White Sea (65° N) shallow subtidal bivalve primary facilitators provide hard substrate for secondary facilitator barnacles, that in turn provide substrate for conspecifics, ascidians, red algae, and multiple associated organisms, composing a multi-level facilitation cascade. Previous research revealed that predation by the whelk (Boreotrophon clathratus) accounts for ~7% of adult barnacle mortality. Low whelk abundance limits their effect, with barnacles living on conspecifics several times more vulnerable to predation than those living on primary substrate. 2. Trophic cascades can selectively shield foundation species from consumers, and hence may affect the structure and length of facilitation cascades. We tested the hypothesis that low abundance of the whelks results from mesopredator predation on their juveniles. Depending on the magnitude of the ... : Field experiments. We tested mesopredator effects on Boreotrophon clathratus (hereafter 'whelk') recruitment to barnacle clusters in a series of year-long field experiments conducted at a 12 m deep subtidal site in the Solovetsky Islands (65°01.180’N, 35°39.721’E, see Yakovis & Artemieva, 2015). In July 2009-2012 and 2015 we collected empty shells with live Balanus crenatus and similar shells with empty barnacle tests (the latter are almost equally abundant in the field). We defaunated these shells except of adult barnacles (4 or more annual growth rings) and their empty tests and attached them in alternating order to the bottom of 300×375×70 mm plastic cages covered with 2.5 mm nylon mesh (2-3 shells with live barnacles and 2-3 shells with empty tests per cage). Boreotrophon is a direct-developer with crawl-away recruits, attaching egg masses to hard substrates, with a lifespan of several years. The mesh is permeable for juvenile whelks with shell height within 7 mm (Yakovis & Artemieva, 2015). Each ...