Ecosystem engineering by seagrasses interacts with grazing to shape an intertidal landscape

Self-facilitation through ecosystem engineering (i.e., organism modification of the abiotic environment) and consumer-resource interactions are both major determinants of spatial patchiness in ecosystems. However, interactive effects of these two mechanisms on spatial complexity have not been extens...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLoS ONE
Main Authors: van der Heide, Tjisse, Eklof, Johan S., van Nes, Egbert H., van der Zee, Els M., Donadi, Serena, Weerman, Ellen J., Olff, Han, Eriksson, Britas Klemens
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2012
Subjects:
SPATIAL VEGETATION PATTERNS
GEESE BRANTA-BERNICLA
BRENT GEESE
ARID ECOSYSTEMS
ZOSTERA-NOLTII
WADDEN SEA
DYNAMICS
ORGANISMS
DESERTIFICATION
EXPLOITATION
Branta bernicla
brent geese
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/11370/32cbd0b1-7fa5-4fa4-983c-ca61a39c8012
https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/32cbd0b1-7fa5-4fa4-983c-ca61a39c8012
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0042060
https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/56878272/Ecosystem_engineering_by_seagrasses.pdf
Description
Summary:Self-facilitation through ecosystem engineering (i.e., organism modification of the abiotic environment) and consumer-resource interactions are both major determinants of spatial patchiness in ecosystems. However, interactive effects of these two mechanisms on spatial complexity have not been extensively studied. We investigated the mechanisms underlying a spatial mosaic of low-tide exposed hummocks and waterlogged hollows on an intertidal mudflat in the Wadden Sea dominated by the seagrass Zostera noltii. A combination of field measurements, an experiment and a spatially explicit model indicated that the mosaic resulted from localized sediment accretion by seagrass followed by selective waterfowl grazing. Hollows were bare in winter, but were rapidly colonized by seagrass during the growth season. Colonized hollows were heavily grazed by brent geese and widgeon in autumn, converting these patches to a bare state again and disrupting sediment accretion by seagrass. In contrast, hummocks were covered by seagrass throughout the year and were rarely grazed, most likely because the waterfowl were not able to employ their preferred but water requiring feeding strategy ('dabbling') here. Our study exemplifies that interactions between ecosystem engineering by a foundation species (seagrass) and consumption (waterfowl grazing) can increase spatial complexity at the landscape level.

Similar Items