Intercontinental tests of the effects of habitat patch type on the distribution of chitons within and among patches in intertidal boulder field landscapes

Liversage, Kiran; Cole, Victoria J.; McQuaid, Christopher D.; Coleman, Ross A.

doi:10.1007/s00227-012-2038-y

Cited by 5 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…It may indicate that the taxon is positively influenced by boulder disturbance, or alternatively, other variables associated with boulder size may influence these species. Such variables may include height above the water/ice surface (McGuinness and Underwood, 1986), the amount of edge habitat (which is favourable to some species; Le Hir and Hily, 2005;Liversage et al, 2012), or effects from other species that are themselves influenced by boulder size. Further research is required to (1) observe directly the frequency of physical disturbance and (2) determine if there is a causal link between disturbance and assemblage patterns.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disturbance-related patterns in unstable rocky benthic habitats of the north-eastern Baltic coast

Liversage¹,

Kotta²

2015

Proc. Estonian Acad. Sci.

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Abstract. Distinct patterns of benthic flora and fauna are produced when unstable rocky substrata are disturbed by water motion. This study investigated occurrence of disturbance-related patterns in benthic boulder habitats on the north-eastern Baltic coast. Sessile assemblages, mostly algae on tops of boulders and barnacles and bryozoans underneath, were found to differ between small (50-150 cm 2 upperside surface area) and large (200-800 cm 2 ) boulders. Densities of motile gammaridean amphipods were negatively correlated with boulder size. These patterns may be due to small boulders being displaced by water motion more frequently than large ones. Most of the barnacle shells/tests were remnant empty ones, and the proportion of empty tests and living barnacles was similar underneath small and large boulders, suggesting that degradation/removal of empty tests was not influenced by disturbance associated with boulder size. There was no consistent evidence of algae being affected by boulder size, but the tops of boulders had less algae than the edges, a pattern that is typically associated with high rates of overturning. Confirmation of disturbance as having caused these patterns and thus being an important process for structuring benthic biota in this region could be achieved by further manipulative experimentation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disturbance-related patterns in unstable rocky benthic habitats of the north-eastern Baltic coast

Liversage¹,

Kotta²

2015

Proc. Estonian Acad. Sci.

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“…But in general, assemblages on initially bare and unmanipulated boulders did develop similarly structured assemblages. This is not unexpected, since many mobile species migrate frequently amongst boulders (Liversage et al 2012), and initially bare substrata is often colonised very rapidly (Chapman 2002(Chapman , 2003(Chapman , 2007.…”

Section: Q1: Do Assemblages On Siltstone and Limestone Reefs Differ?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…sand, shell grit or pebbles; Le Hir & Hily 2005) surrounding boulders. This factor can influence boulder species such as chitons (Liversage et al 2012), and gastropods such as N. atramentosa may respond similarly. Recruitment of brachyuran crabs also can vary among cobbles, shell grit and algal turf (Pardo et al 2007), which may vary be tween reef types.…”

Section: Q1: Do Assemblages On Siltstone and Limestone Reefs Differ?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations of benthic fauna with different rock types, and evidence of changing effects during succession

Liversage

Janetzki²,

Benkendorff

2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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The importance of the substratum to benthic species can vary depending on the material of its construction. Intertidal boulder reefs with different rock types often have distinct benthic assemblages, and their ecology is structured strongly by succession. Therefore, dynamics causing assemblage variability may involve an interaction of factors involved in succession with features of the substratum. The current experiments monitored 11 month successional trajectories of benthic invertebrates on 2 rock types (siltstone and limestone) with differing physical characteristics. Unmanipulated boulders in siltstone and limestone reefs had different assemblages, but when bare boulders of the non-native rock type were transplanted into reefs, assemblages developing on non-native boulders were in most ways similar to those on boulders of the reef's native rock type. A substratum-dependent variation in successional trajectories was observed for one taxon, the true limpet Notoacmea spp. Under specific conditions of rock type at the individual boulder scale and the wider reef scale, evidence was found of a consistent peak in abundance during early succession. Notoacmea spp. was also positively associated not only with siltstone reefs but also with individual siltstone boulders, suggesting an effect of rock type at the boulder scale. Although processes occurring at scales encompassing whole reefs mostly dictate how these assemblages are associated with rock type, some species are affected by rock type at the boulder scale, and the effect can vary during succession. For such species, successional processes and environmental factors need to be considered synergistically to understand spatial and temporal population variability.

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“…The only direct observations of Ischnochiton movements are notes of movement occurring on exposed rock surfaces, mostly nocturnally ( Kangas & Shepherd, 1984 ). Using shell patterns to identify individual chitons, Liversage et al (2012) found that approximately two-thirds of the individuals emigrate from their original boulder over three days, while an average of three new chiton individuals move onto boulders. Similarly, in an intertidal cobble reef, McClintock, Angus & McClintock (2007) marked and relocated a habitat-generalist chiton species ( Sypharochiton pelliserpentis ) and found that the percentage of chitons that stayed under their original cobble after two tidal cycles varied from 10% (small cobbles) to 45% (large cobbles).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Accordingly, we measured movement paths of chitons using time-lapse photography during nocturnal low tides. To determine the generality of the finding from Liversage et al (2012) , that chitons migrate among habitat patches that have been disturbed by sampling, we tested the hypothesis that chitons will not remain on individual habitat patches, but migrate amongst the boulders or pebbles that have been left undisturbed (i.e. not overturned or moved).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The first observations ofIschnochiton(Mollusca, Polyplacophora) movement behaviour, with comparison between habitats differing in complexity

Liversage

Benkendorff

2017

PeerJ

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Most species of Ischnochiton are habitat specialists and are almost always found underneath unstable marine hard-substrata such as boulders. The difficulty of experimenting on these chitons without causing disturbance means little is known about their ecology despite their importance as a group that often contributes greatly to coastal species diversity. In the present study we measured among-boulder distributional patterns of Ischnochiton smaragdinus, and used time-lapse photography to quantify movement behaviours within different habitat types (pebble substrata and rock-platform). In intertidal rock-pools in South Australia, I. smaragdinus were significantly overdispersed among boulders, as most boulders had few individuals but a small proportion harboured large populations. I. smaragdinus individuals emerge from underneath boulders during nocturnal low-tides and move amongst the inter-boulder matrix (pebbles or rock-platform). Seventy-two percent of chitons in the pebble matrix did not move from one pebble to another within the periods of observation (55–130 min) but a small proportion moved across as many as five pebbles per hour, indicating a capacity for adults to migrate among disconnected habitat patches. Chitons moved faster and movement paths were less tortuous across rock-platform compared to pebble substrata, which included more discontinuities among substratum patches. Overall, we show that patterns of distribution at the boulder-scale, such as the observed overdispersion, must be set largely by active dispersal of adults across the substratum, and that differing substratum-types may affect the degree of adult dispersal for this and possibly other under-boulder chiton species.

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Intercontinental tests of the effects of habitat patch type on the distribution of chitons within and among patches in intertidal boulder field landscapes

Cited by 5 publications

References 50 publications

Disturbance-related patterns in unstable rocky benthic habitats of the north-eastern Baltic coast

Disturbance-related patterns in unstable rocky benthic habitats of the north-eastern Baltic coast

Associations of benthic fauna with different rock types, and evidence of changing effects during succession

The first observations ofIschnochiton(Mollusca, Polyplacophora) movement behaviour, with comparison between habitats differing in complexity

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