Relationships between a common Caribbean corallivorous snail and protected area status, coral cover, and predator abundance

Shaver, Elizabeth C.; Renzi, Julianna J.; Bucher, Maite G; Silliman, Brian R.

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-73568-1

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 46 publications

(94 reference statements)

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“…Lastly, grazing snails (i.e., smooth tegula and green nerite) also seemed to be most active and abundant at night, which suggests many wounds are produced nocturnally and could explain why this phenomenon has been overlooked (i.e., most seagrass research takes place during the day). This also suggests that nocturnal predators, such as grunts and octopus, may have the ability to control grazing snail populations in seagrass systems, similar to what has been shown for snails on coral reefs (Shaver et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

Invertebrate Grazing on Live Turtlegrass (Thalassia testudinum): A Common Interaction That May Facilitate Fungal Growth

et al. 2022

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In coastal wetlands and tropical reefs, snails can regulate foundation species by feeding on marsh grasses and hard corals. In many cases, their impacts are amplified because they facilitate microbial infection in grazer-induced wounds. Whether snails commonly graze live plants and facilitate microbial growth on plants in tropical seagrass systems is less explored. On a Belizean Caye, we examined patterns in snail-generated grazer scars on the abundant turtlegrass (Thalassia testudinum). Our initial survey showed the occurrence of snail-induced scarring on live turtlegrass blades was common, with 57% of live leaves scarred. Feeding trials demonstrated that two of five common snails (Tegula fasciata–smooth tegula and Smaragdia viridis–emerald nerite) grazed unepiphytized turtlegrass blades and that smooth tegula abundance had a positive relationship with scarring intensity. Subsequent surveys at three Caribbean sites (separated by >150 km) also showed a high occurrence of snail-induced scars on turtlegrass blades. Finally, simulated herbivory experiments and field observations of a turtlegrass bed in Florida, United States suggests that herbivore damage could facilitate fungal growth in live seagrass tissue through mechanical opening of tissue. Combined, these findings reveal that snail grazing on live turtlegrass blades in the Caribbean can be common. Based on these results, we hypothesize that small grazers could be exerting top-down control over turtlegrass growth directly via grazing and/or indirectly by facilitating microbial infection in live seagrass tissue. Further studies are needed to determine the generality and relative importance of direct and indirect effects of gastropod grazing on turtlegrass health.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

Invertebrate Grazing on Live Turtlegrass (Thalassia testudinum): A Common Interaction That May Facilitate Fungal Growth

et al. 2022

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“…Marine protected areas may indirectly provide some resilience against disease by protecting corallivore predator populations, conserving biodiversity, reducing macroalgae, and limiting fishing activity. One study from the Philippines found that fish biodiversity was higher in protected areas, where disease prevalence was lower (Raymundo et al 2009) and surveys in the Florida Keys found that protected areas had more diverse corallivore predator assemblages, which was correlated with decreased C. galea (i.e., abbreviata) abundance (Shaver et al 2020). It may be that marine protected areas with more robust corallivore predator assemblages indirectly decrease disease prevalence by controlling corallivore populations (Fig.…”

Section: Interactions Among Corallivores Disease and Noncorallivore S...mentioning

confidence: 98%

The role of predators in coral disease dynamics

et al. 2022

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Coral disease is becoming increasingly problematic on reefs worldwide. However, most coral disease research has focused on the abiotic drivers of disease, potentially overlooking the role of species interactions in disease dynamics. Coral predators in particular can influence disease by breaking through protective tissues and exposing corals to infections, vectoring diseases among corals, or serving as reservoirs for pathogens. Numerous studies have demonstrated the relationship between corallivores and disease in certain contexts, but to date there has been no comprehensive synthesis of the relationships between corallivores and disease, which hinders our understanding of coral disease dynamics. To address this void, we identified 65 studies from 26 different ecoregions that examine this predator–prey-disease relationship. Observational studies found over 20 positive correlations between disease prevalence and corallivore abundance, with just four instances documenting a negative correlation between corallivores and disease. Studies found putative pathogens in corallivore guts and experiments demonstrated the ability of corallivores to vector pathogens. Corallivores were also frequently found infesting disease margins or targeting diseased tissues, but the ecological ramifications of this behavior remains unknown. We found that the impact of corallivores was taxon-dependent, with most invertebrates increasing disease incidence, prevalence, or progression; fish showing highly context-dependent effects; and xanthid crabs decreasing disease progression. Simulated wounding caused disease in many cases, but experimental wound debridement slowed disease progression in others, which could explain contrasting findings from different taxa. The negative effects of corallivores are likely to worsen as storms intensify, macroalgal cover increases, more nutrients are added to marine systems, and water temperatures increase. As diseases continue to impact coral reefs globally, a more complete understanding of the ecological dynamics of disease—including those involving coral predators—is of paramount importance to coral reef conservation and management.

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“…To maintain sufficient coral cover on recently established ARs, reducing coral predation directly through AR design or outplanted species selection appears more effective than attempting to regulate corallivore populations indirectly by facilitating their predators. This suggestion applies in particular to larger adult corallivores, which are less sensitive to predation (Cowan et al, 2017;Shaver et al, 2020). Excess nutrient inputs by humans are generally detrimental to reef functioning and could promote corallivores (Shantz and Burkepile, 2014;Pratchett et al, 2017), but nutrient recycling by fish communities has been shown to benefit corals on natural reefs (Shantz et al, 2015) and might help to facilitate recovery of degraded reefs (Ladd and Shantz, 2020).…”

Section: Ecological Facilitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community-managed coral reef restoration in southern Kenya initiates reef recovery using various artificial reef designs

et al. 2023

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Monitoring of reef restoration efforts and artificial reefs (ARs) has typically been limited to coral fragment survival, hampering evaluation of broader objectives such as ecosystem recovery. This study aimed to determine to what extent AR design influences the ecological recovery of restored reefs by monitoring outplanted coral fragments, benthic cover, coral recruitment and fish and invertebrate communities for two years. Four AR designs (16 m2), unrestored controls and natural reef patches as reference (n = 10) were established in Mkwiro, Kenya. ARs consisted either of concrete disks with bottles, layered concrete disks, metal cages or a combination thereof. A mixture of 18 branching coral species (mainly Acropora spp.) was outplanted on ARs at a density of 7 corals m-2. After two years, 60% of all outplanted fragments had survived, already resulting in coral cover on most ARs comparable (though Acropora-dominated) to reference patches. Coral survival differed between ARs, with highest survival on cages due to the absence of crown-of-thorns sea star predation on this design. In total, 32 coral genera recruited on ARs and recruit densities were highest on reference patches, moderate on concrete ARs and low on cages. ARs and reference patches featured nearly twice the fish species richness and around an order of magnitude higher fish abundance and biomass compared to control patches. Fish abundance and biomass strongly correlated with coral cover on ARs. AR, reference and control patches all had distinct fish species compositions, but AR and reference patches were similar in terms of trophic structure of their fish communities. Motile invertebrates including gastropods, sea urchins, sea cucumbers and sea stars were present at ARs, but generally more abundant and diverse at natural reference patches. Taken together, all studied ecological parameters progressed towards reef ecosystem recovery, with varying influences of AR design and material. We recommend a combination of metal cages and layered concrete ARs to promote high fragment survival as well as natural coral recruitment. Ultimately, a longer period of monitoring is needed to fully determine the effectiveness reef restoration as conservation tool to support coral reef ecosystem recovery.

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Relationships between a common Caribbean corallivorous snail and protected area status, coral cover, and predator abundance

Cited by 7 publications

References 46 publications

Invertebrate Grazing on Live Turtlegrass (Thalassia testudinum): A Common Interaction That May Facilitate Fungal Growth

Invertebrate Grazing on Live Turtlegrass (Thalassia testudinum): A Common Interaction That May Facilitate Fungal Growth

The role of predators in coral disease dynamics

Community-managed coral reef restoration in southern Kenya initiates reef recovery using various artificial reef designs

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