21 research outputs found
Ecosystem engineers in the world coasts: case studies and conceptual linkages
Research on physical ecosystem engineering-i.e., the structural modification of environments by organisms-has flourished during the last two decades. At present, the importance of physical ecosystem engineers for the biodiversity and the functioning of ecosystems is well recognized by scientists. This Special Issue contains fifteen papers that illustrate the diversity of physical ecosystem engineering processes that occur in the world coastal habitats-from coastal dunes to the shallow subtidal zone. It includes 2 reviews comparing ecosystem engineering attributes and impacts across taxa and 13 case studies that inform our general understanding of the variation in engineering impacts, compound engineering effects, novel engineering interactions, and engineered structural legacies.Fil: Gutierrez, Jorge Luis Ceferino. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro CientÃfico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de GeologÃa de Costas y del Cuaternario. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones CientÃficas. Instituto de GeologÃa de Costas y del Cuaternario; Argentina. Estación Biológica Las Brusquitas. Grupo de Investigación y Educación en Temas Ambientales; Argentin
Does rock type account for variation in mussel attachment strength? A test with Brachidontes rodriguezii in the southwestern Atlantic
Mussel attachment strength varies in space and time, frequently in association with variations in wave exposure. Yet, it remains uninvestigated whether different rock types can contribute to variation in mussel attachment. Here we compared the attachment strength of the mussel Brachidontes rodriguezii between soft and hard intertidal rock substrates that are typical of coastal Buenos Aires Province, Argentina: Pampean loess cemented by calcium carbonate and orthoquartzite, respectively. Overall comparisons of mussel attachment across natural platforms of either rock type (10 loess sites and 4 orthoquartzite sites) indicated stronger mussel attachment to orthoquartzite. However, mussel attachment strength did not differ when compared across natural loess platforms and introduced orthoquartzite blocks (i.e., groins and revetments) occurring within the same site. Mussels attaching to loess showed more byssal threads than those attaching to orthoquartzite at the same site. These findings suggest, first, that rock type does not influence mussel attachment strength in our study system, secondly, that overall differences in mussel attachment strength with rock type across natural platforms in our study range are due to confounding influences of co-varying factors (e.g., wave exposure) and, finally, that mussels can increase byssus production to counteract potential substrate failure when attaching to soft, friable rock. The latter likely explains the ability of mussels to maintain relatively stable cover across rocks of contrasting hardness.Fil: Gutierrez, Jorge Luis Ceferino. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de BiologÃa; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro CientÃfico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Bagur, MarÃa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Arribas, Lorena Pilar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro CientÃfico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de BiologÃa de Organismos Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Palomo, Maria Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentin
Competencia entre mitÃlidos en el intermareal rocoso de La LoberÃa, RÃo Negro, Argentina
Competitive interactions between individuals from a single or different species can regulate population densities and individual growth. Two mussel species, Brachidontes rodriguezii and Perumytilus purpuratus coexist in the rocky intertidal zone of La LoberÃa, RÃo Negro Province, Argentina. The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of intra- and interspecific competition growth and mortality of both bivalve species. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the intra- and interspecific competition using asbestos cement plates of 10 x 10 cm varying mussel densities. The width of P. purpuratus showed a significant increase in presence of B. rodriguezii. There also was a non-significant trend toward decreasing B. rodriguezii size with increasing density of conspecifics and when coexisting with P. purpuratus. Mortality of B. rodriguezii and P. purpuratus did not differ significantly among treatments. Limited supply of P. purpuratus larvae or local tidal conditions that differentially affect each species could be leading to weak competition between both mussel species, thus allowing their coexistence.Las interacciones competitivas entre individuos de una misma o distintas especies pueden regular las densidades poblacionales y el crecimiento individual. Dos especies de mitÃlidos, Brachidontes rodriguezii y Perumytilus purpuratus, coexisten en el intermareal rocoso de La LoberÃa, provincia de RÃo Negro, Argentina. El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar el efecto de la competencia intra- e interespecÃfica sobre el crecimiento y la mortalidad de ambas especies de bivalvos. Se realizó un experimento para evaluar la competencia intra- e interespecÃfica utilizando placas de fibrocemento de 10 x 10 cm variando las densidades de mitÃlidos. El ancho de P. purpuratus mostró un aumento significativo ante la presencia de B. rodriguezii. Se observó también una tendencia no significativa hacia la disminución de tallas de B. rodriguezii al aumentar la densidad de coespecÃficos y al coexistir con P. purpuratus. La mortalidad de B. rodriguezii y P. purpuratus no mostró diferencias significativas entre tratamientos. Un limitado arribo de larvas de P. purpuratus o condiciones locales del intermareal que benefician diferencialmente a las especies podrÃan llevar a que los efectos de competencia entre estas sean débiles, haciendo posible la coexistencia.Fil: Arribas, Lorena Pilar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Bagur Creta, Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Soria, Sabrina Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Gutierrez, Jorge Luis Ceferino. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Estación Biológica Las Brusquitas. Grupo de Investigación y Educación en Temas Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Palomo, Maria Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentina. Estación Biológica Las Brusquitas. Grupo de Investigación y Educación en Temas Ambientales; Argentin
Dátiles de mar: Mejillones que perforan las rocas costeras
A diferencia de sus famosos homónimos producidos por palmeras, los dátiles de mar son animales. Se trata de unos moluscos bivalvos poco conocidos que miden unos pocos centÃmetros y se distinguen por su capacidad de horadar cavidades en rocas calizas de la zona intermareal. Viven en ellas protegidos de predadores, del embate de olas y de la desecación que los amenaza cuando se retiran las aguas. No perforan las rocas en forma mecánica sino quÃmica, pues secretan un ácido que disuelve el carbonato de calcio. Su acción hace que a menudo se los considere perjudiciales, aunque también contribuyen al incremento de la biodiversidad del ambiente costero. Una especie de ellos, llamada Lithophaga patagonica, es muy abundante en las costas argentinas.Fil: Bagur Creta, Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ; ArgentinaFil: Palomo, Maria Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ; ArgentinaFil: Arribas, Lorena Pilar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Gutierrez, Jorge Luis Ceferino. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas; Argentin
Cirripedios invasores aceleran la recuperación de bancos de mejillines nativos
El mejillÃn, Brachidontes rodriguezii, es un bivalvo epibentónico que ocupa hasta el 90% de la superficie en la zona media de los intermareales rocosos bonaerenses. El cirripedio, Balanus glandula, es una especie no nativa detectada en la década del 60 en Mar del Plata y que se ha expandido a lo largo de la costa argentina. La cobertura de los mejillines suele ser discontinua en las costas rocosas, ya que el desprendimiento causado por la acción de las olas y temperaturas extremas. Es en estos parches de roca expuesta donde los cirripedios reclutan mayormente. En este trabajo se evaluó experimentalmente el rol del cirripedio sobre la sucesión de especies tras la remoción experimental de la cubierta de mejillines en el intermareal rocoso de Playa Grande (Mar del Plata, 38°01' S-57°31' O). Con tal fin, se removió la cobertura del mejillÃn en doce áreas cuadrangulares de 25 x 25 cm 5 semanas antes del reclutamiento de cirripedios. Una vez que reclutaron, se removieron todos los reclutas en la mitad de las unidades y se las mantuvo sin cirripedios, mientras queen el resto de las unidades se permitió el desarrollo de los mismos. Tras 16 meses, se observó que la recolonización por mejillines fue mayor en los controles con cirripedios que en los tratamientos sin cirripedios. Los resultados indican que la presencia del cirripedio facilita el restablecimiento de los mejillines en las áreas donde hubo un desprendimiento.Fil: Soria, Sabrina Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Gutierrez, Jorge Luis Ceferino. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro CientÃfico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Palomo, Maria Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaXXIX Reunión Argentina de EcologÃaOnlineArgentinaAsociacion Argentina de EcologÃ
A facultative mutualism between habitat-forming species enhances the resistance of rocky shore communities to heat waves
Heat waves have increased in frequency, duration, and magnitude in recent decades, causing mass mortality events in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Arguably, mass mortalities of habitat-forming organisms – i.e., dominant sessile organisms that define habitats via their own physical structure – would be amongst the most dramatic impact of heat waves because of their negative, cascading consequences on their associated biodiversity. However, the resistance of habitat-forming organisms to heat waves can be enhanced if they associate with secondary habitat formers able to tolerate and modulate extreme heat levels. Here we show that a seaweed of the Porphyra/Pyropia (P/P) clade can shield primary habitat-forming mussels, Brachidontes rodriguezii, from the impacts of extreme temperatures in a southwestern Atlantic rocky intertidal shore. By means of P/P removal experiments and surveys, we illustrate that P/P cover (a) buffers temperatures in the understory mussel beds during daytime air exposure periods in the summer, (b) reduces mussel mortality and leads to increased mussel body condition during warm summer periods, and (c) can prevent mass mortality of mussels during the course of a heat wave. Additionally, by means of a mussel removal experiment we illustrate that mussel cover is critical for P/P establishment, which is in consonance with the remarkably higher P/P densities and cover observed in mussel beds relative to exposed rock surfaces across a ~70 km coastal range. Collectively, these findings reveal a facultative mutualism where mussels provide a favorable substrate for P/P colonization and P/P attenuates heat mediated mortality on mussels. The ability of P/P to enhance the resistance of mussel beds to extreme heat events and the occurrence of similar P/P-mussel associations during spring-summer at globally dispersed sites suggests a widespread importance of P/P for the stability of mussel beds and their associated communities under warming climates.Fil: Gutierrez, Jorge Luis Ceferino. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro CientÃfico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de GeologÃa de Costas y del Cuaternario. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones CientÃficas. Instituto de GeologÃa de Costas y del Cuaternario; Argentina. Estación Biológica las Brusquitas; ArgentinaFil: Bagur D'andrea, MarÃa Sol. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones CientÃficas; Argentina. Estación Biológica las Brusquitas; ArgentinaFil: Lorenzo, Rodrigo Antonio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones CientÃficas; Argentina. University Of Plymouth; Reino UnidoFil: Palomo, Maria Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentina. Estación Biológica las Brusquitas; Argentin
Wave action limits crowding in an intertidal mussel
Intraspecific competition for space is generally invoked as the chief process limiting crowding in sessile or highly sedentary marine invertebrates. However, the mechanisms by which high conspecific density induces individual removal or mortality, in turn restraining crowding in these organisms, generally remain uninvestigated. Here we illustrate that mussel crowding in a southwestern Atlantic rocky intertidal shore is limited by a combination of wave action and space limitation. Brachidontes rodriguezii mussel beds at this site occur primarily as a single layer of individuals because wave forces remove multilayered mussel hummocks quickly after they develop. Mussels in hummocks show lower attachment strength than those in the single-layered matrix. Accordingly, wave conditions associated with the passage of cold fronts (i.e. transition zones from warm air to cold air accompanied by moderate to strong winds and wave action, with 7 d average recurrence times based on historical weather data) cause detectable mussel dislodgment in a high proportion of hummocks but have virtually no impact on single-layered areas. Since wave action is the proximate cause of mussel dislodgment, upper limits to crowding in this species would not be fixed to a particular level of space occupation (i.e. as predictable from inter-individual interference alone) but would be variable in space and time depending on wave exposure. This example suggests a mechanism of population control where the impact of a physical factor on population size is larger at higher population density and supports early hypotheses about the occurrence of density-dependent population control by physical factors when the availability of safe sites is limiting.Fil: Gutierrez, Jorge Luis Ceferino. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas; Argentina. Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies; Estados UnidosFil: Palomo, Maria Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Bagur Creta, Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Arribas, Lorena Pilar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Soria, Sabrina Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentin
Enhanced weathering and erosion of a cohesive shore platform following the experimental removal of mussels
The organisms inhabiting intertidal platforms can affect their weathering and erosion rates. Research on biotic influences on platform integrity has traditionally emphasized the role of bioeroders (i.e., organisms that scrap or bore into platforms via mechanical and chemical means). Yet, recent studies illustrate that covers of sessile organisms on the surfaces of intertidal platforms can have bioprotective effects by reducing the efficacy of physical weathering and erosion agents. Eroding cliffs fronted by cohesive shore platforms are a pervasive feature along the continental Argentinean coastline (37–52°S). In this study, we investigated how mussel (Brachidontes rodriguezii) cover mediates weathering and erosion of a cohesive, consolidated silt platform at Playa Copacabana (5 km north of Miramar, Buenos Aires Province; 38° 14′ S, 57° 46′ W). By means of mussel removal experiments, we found that mussel cover attenuates variations in platform surface temperatures, enhances moisture retention during low tide, reduces rates of salt crystallization within the pores of the platform material, and attenuates hydrodynamic forcing on the platform surface. Mussel removal also led to a 10% decrease in surface hardness and a 2-mm reduction in platform height after 5 months. Collectively, our findings indicate that mussel beds limit substrate breakdown via heating-cooling, wetting-drying, and salt crystallization and provide some of the first experimental field evidence for the direct impacts of biotic cover on platform erosion. As intertidal platforms protect the cliffs behind from the hydraulic impact of waves, which may be enhanced with future sea-level rise, we posit that the protection of platforms by mussels indirectly moderates coastline retreat, especially on soft cohesive shores.Fil: Gonzalez, Juliana Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Coombes, Martin A.. University of Oxford; Reino UnidoFil: Palomo, Maria Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Isla, Federico Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro CientÃfico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Soria, Sabrina Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Gutierrez, Jorge Luis Ceferino. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro CientÃfico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de BiologÃa; Argentin
Invader to invader facilitation: ice plant mats prompt increased densities and grazing impacts of white garden snails in a Pampean coastal dune system
Non-native species can facilitate other non-native species via their effects on the physical environment. Here, I evaluate whether the ice plant, Carpobrotus edulis, prompts increased densities and grazing impacts of the white garden snail, Theba pisana, in coastal dunes of the Argentinean Pampas, where both species are non-native. Snail densities were higher in ice plant patches than in native graminoid patches over four seasonal samplings. Snail activity and grazing impacts on two co-occurring forbs (the native Hydrocotyle bonariensis and the non-native Calystegia soldanella) were also higher within ice plant patches. Experimental ice plant transplant into graminoid-dominated areas led to increased snail densities and grazing impacts, which demonstrates cause-effect relationships linking ice plant cover with increasing snail densities and grazing damage to forbs. The findings here suggest that ice plant mats provide suitable microclimatic conditions for T. pisana, and thereby facilitate greater snail numbers in ice plant patches leading to increased grazing rates on other plants. On that basis, it can be expected that the cumulative effect of both invaders on co-occurring plants would be larger than their individual effects.Fil: Gutierrez, Jorge Luis Ceferino. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro CientÃfico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; Argentin
Increased algal fouling on mussels with barnacle epibionts: a fouling cascade
If the external surfaces of epibionts are more suitable to other fouling species than those of their basibionts, a ‘fouling cascade’ might occur where epibionts facilitate secondary colonization by other epibionts. Here we evaluate whether the presence of epibiotic barnalces (Balanus glandula) influences the probability of mussel (Brachidontes rodriguezii) fouling by ephemeral red algae (Porphyra sp.) in a Southwestern Atlantic rocky shore. Mussels with barnacle epibionts showed a higher prevalence of Porphyra sp. fouling (32–40% depending on sampling date) than mussels without them (3–7%). Two lines of evidence indicate that barnacles facilitate Porphyra sp. fouling. First, most Porphyra sp. thalli in mussels with barnacle epibionts were attached to barnacle shells (75–92% of cases). Secondly, Porphyra sp. associated with mussels with barnacle epibionts in a proportion that significantly exceeded that expected under random co-occurrence. These results suggest the occurrence of a fouling cascade where barnacle epibiosis on mussels facilitates subsequent algal fouling. Recognizing the occurrence of such fouling cascades is important because they might explain the non-random aggregation of multiple epibiotic species onto a proportionally few individuals of the host species.Fil: Gutierrez, Jorge Luis Ceferino. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas; Argentina. Grupo de Investigación y Educación en Temas Ambientales ; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies; Estados UnidosFil: Palomo, Maria Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentina. Grupo de Investigación y Educación en Temas Ambientales ; Argentin