Salt marsh litter and detritivores: A closer look at redundancy

Zimmer, Martin; Pennings, Steven C.; Buck, Tracy L.; Carefoot, Thomas H.

doi:10.1007/bf02912038

Cited by 58 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…While Littoraria will consume Juncus litter (Zimmer et al. 2004), they are not known to consume standing live or dead stems, and we did not observe any visible grazing scars in our mesocosm experiment. Even when structural defenses of Spartina and Juncus were eliminated in our agar-based feeding trial, few snails consumed Juncus tissue (Fig 3…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Consumer trait variation influences tritrophic interactions in salt marsh communities

Hughes

Hanley

Orozco

et al. 2015

Ecology and Evolution

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The importance of intraspecific variation has emerged as a key question in community ecology, helping to bridge the gap between ecology and evolution. Although much of this work has focused on plant species, recent syntheses have highlighted the prevalence and potential importance of morphological, behavioral, and life history variation within animals for ecological and evolutionary processes. Many small-bodied consumers live on the plant that they consume, often resulting in host plant-associated trait variation within and across consumer species. Given the central position of consumer species within tritrophic food webs, such consumer trait variation may play a particularly important role in mediating trophic dynamics, including trophic cascades. In this study, we used a series of field surveys and laboratory experiments to document intraspecific trait variation in a key consumer species, the marsh periwinkle Littoraria irrorata, based on its host plant species (Spartina alterniflora or Juncus roemerianus) in a mixed species assemblage. We then conducted a 12-week mesocosm experiment to examine the effects of Littoraria trait variation on plant community structure and dynamics in a tritrophic salt marsh food web. Littoraria from different host plant species varied across a suite of morphological and behavioral traits. These consumer trait differences interacted with plant community composition and predator presence to affect overall plant stem height, as well as differentially alter the density and biomass of the two key plant species in this system. Whether due to genetic differences or phenotypic plasticity, trait differences between consumer types had significant ecological consequences for the tritrophic marsh food web over seasonal time scales. By altering the cascading effects of the top predator on plant community structure and dynamics, consumer differences may generate a feedback over longer time scales, which in turn influences the degree of trait divergence in subsequent consumer populations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Consumer trait variation influences tritrophic interactions in salt marsh communities

Hughes

Hanley

Orozco

et al. 2015

Ecology and Evolution

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“…The factors contributing to this observation include mechanical breakdown of wrack as a consequence of repeated drying-rewetting events brought about through solar radiation, morning dew and rain (Newell et al 1996, Vahatalo et al 1998), flocculation and sedimentation (Harrison 1989), removal of wrack through tidal currents and wave action (Orr et al 2005), as well as leaching and microbial decomposition of detritus and its fragmentation through feeding by detritivores (Newell & Bärlocher 1993, Zimmer et al 2002, 2004. Tidal events render the input of wrack to, and removal from, the wrackline a dynamic process that allows in situ decomposition through leaching and microbial and faunal beach dwellers for no more than 1 d in some instances (Orr et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species-specific decomposition rates of beach-cast wrack in Barkley Sound, British Columbia, Canada

Mews

Zimmer²,

Jelinski³

2006

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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The fate of subtidally drifting macrophytal detritus after its deposition ashore was studied based on short-term mass loss effects and species composition of beach-cast detritus. Different species of macroalgae and seagrass varied in both physical and microbial decay, as well as faunal decomposition rates. Their preferred status as food for detritivorous amphipods also varied. Thus, beach-cast detritus changed in species composition during detritus aging. Estimated turnover rates, based on daily input rates and mass loss rates, ranged from <1 d for Nereocystis luetkeana, Macrocystis integrifolia and Ulva spp. to roughly 30 d for Fucus spp. and Phyllospadix spp. Thus, the dynamics of nutrient fluxes within the marine-terrestrial ecotone depends not only on the spatial distribution and amount of beach-cast detritus, but also on its species composition.KEY WORDS: Marine-terrestrial ecotone · Beach-cast wrack · Decomposition · Macroalgae · Seagrass · Talitrid amphipods Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher

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“…Alternatively, the consumption of plant material, even in the absence of gut cellulase, could operate by enrichment of the substrate for further production of organic matter. Salt marshes are environments in which energy flux in the ecosystem is mainly based on the detritivorous chain (Zimmer et al, 2004). Crabs in high densities, such as those observed for N. granulata, grazing on plant material, play an important role in ecosystem as they transfer an high amount of the producers biomass to organic matter pool.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural diet of Neohelice granulata (Dana, 1851) (Crustacea, Varunidae) in two salt marshes of the estuarine region of the Lagoa dos Patos lagoon

Barutot

D’Incao

Fonseca

2011

Braz. arch. biol. technol.

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Salt marsh litter and detritivores: A closer look at redundancy

Cited by 58 publications

References 61 publications

Consumer trait variation influences tritrophic interactions in salt marsh communities

Consumer trait variation influences tritrophic interactions in salt marsh communities

Species-specific decomposition rates of beach-cast wrack in Barkley Sound, British Columbia, Canada

Natural diet of Neohelice granulata (Dana, 1851) (Crustacea, Varunidae) in two salt marshes of the estuarine region of the Lagoa dos Patos lagoon

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