Influence of complexity and habitat heterogeneity on macrofaunal assemblages provided by an invasive ecosystem engineer in Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon

Macroalgae ecosystem engineering effects mediated by an invasive reef-builder polychaete in a Southwestern Atlantic coastal lagoon

“…Besides, crabs can disturb macroalgae mats by feeding on macroalgae thallus (probably eating epibionts; see Bazterrica et al, 2013) and therefore increment the variability of the abundance of species in macroalgae such as Cypridae. Finally, considering that Monocorophium insidiosum is tube-building (Ulrich et al, 1995), the lack of direct delivery of macroalgae detritus in and under artificial macroalgae might explain their variability in abundance, which can be higher with macroalgae (Martinez et al, 2020 ). Here, we did not investigate all the potential direct and indirect macroalgae effects but, our results suggest that in accordance to previous studies (see Mckindsey and Bourget, 2001), effects might depend on requirements of species involved, the interactions, and responses, along the vertical distribution gradient.…”

“…Sessile species and B. ligerica are exclusive from reefs, while N. fluviatilis are in sediments. In general, species from reefs and sediment are the same, and the density of macrofauna is higher in reefs with a trend for intermediate values in reef-free sediment (in Martinez et al, 2020).…”

“…In turn, F. enigmaticus drives habitat heterogeneity, generating areas with and without reefs (see Bazterrica et al, 2012), which modifies the relative importance of top-down and bottom-up effects (Bruschetti et al, 2009;Bazterrica et al, 2013) as well as the strength of facilitative interactions (Bazterrica et al, 2014). That leads to different benthic assemblages in terms of macroalgae (Bazterrica et al, 2012) and macrofauna species composition (Martinez et al, 2020) as well as in terms of species population traits (Bazterrica et al, 2020). Polychaete reefs affect the structure and function of the community in the invaded areas through direct and indirect ecosystem engineering mechanisms and top-down control (Schwindt et al, 2001;Bruschetti et al, 2008).…”

Impacts of alien polychaete species in marine ecosystems: a systematic review

“…In the South-west Atlantic, the presence and continuous activity of research groups has focused on benthic communities in institutions such as Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata in Argentina. Here, researchers Rodolfo Elias, Maria Cielo Bazterrica, Maria L. Jaubet, Griselda V. Garaffo and Carlos Martin Bruschetti determined that in the last 50 years, changes in the community structure were induced by sewage discharge and introduction of non-indigenous species (Llanos et al, 2019;Martinez et al, 2020). In Australia research groups lead by the polychaete taxonomists Pat Hutchings, Elena Kupriyanova and Christopher J. Glasby are active at national museums of the country, while in New Zealand the research by Geoffrey Read at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research is active in the taxonomy of polychaetes.…”

Is Ficopomatus enigmaticus (Annelida: Serpulidae) Becoming a Nuisance in Galveston Bay, Texas?

“…As an efficient suspension feeder, F. enigmaticus competes with other filter-feeding organisms over phytoplankton [24]. As an ecosystem engineer, it generally increases biodiversity by altering the community composition of the benthic fauna, including facilitating the establishment of other nonnative species [25][26][27][28]. Another concern is the fouling of other organisms (e.g., oysters), which could alter their hydrodynamic properties and feeding efficiency.…”