De Meester, Nele

Derycke, Sofie

Gingold, Ruth

Moens, Tom

Ghent University Academic Bibliography

Role of cryptic diversity in decomposition in cryptic species complex of L.marina DE MEESTER N.1, GINGOLD R.1, DERYCKE S.1 & MOENS T.1  1 Marine Biology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281/S8, 9000 Ghent   ABSTRACT  Decomposition is an important functional process, contributing to the conservation of the structure and functions of an ecosystem. Bacterial-feeding nematodes affect decomposition by feeding on microbes and regulating in this way the rate at which organic compounds are degraded. Moreover, bacterivorous nematodes can be considered as indicators of previous bacterial production and can in this way indicate changes in ecosystems. The role of biodiversity in this is still under discussion, but we can expect that changes in nematode diversity can lead to changes in bacterial diversity and in decomposition rates. The effect of cryptic diversity, i.e. genetic diversity in morphologically similar species, is still largely unknown but may be important for ecosystems in light of the redundancy hypothesis: if one species goes extinct, its role in the ecosystem can be taken over by another similar species.   Cryptic diversity is common and can for instance be found in the marine bacterivorous nematode Litoditis marina. In this species complex, at least ten cryptic species are found. A lab experiment was conducted to elucidate the effect of the cryptic diversity on decomposition rates. Four species (Pm I, Pm II, Pm III and Pm IV, co-occurring in the Westerschelde Estuary) were placed separately in microcosms together with macroalgae. In addition, the four cryptic species were also placed together in microcosms to study interaction and/or additive effects on decomposition rates. Every fifth day, nematode counts, weight loss of organic matter and enzymatic activities were measured for a total of 25 days.    Results of a previous experiment (De Meester et al, 2011) showed that interactions between the cryptic species are prominent, with Pm I and Pm III being the competitively stronger species. Moreover, small differences in population dynamics were found for Pm III and Pm IV at different salinities and differences in food preferences between the cryptic species are also present. Despite these differences, no clear differences in decomposition rates between the cryptic species in this experiment were found, but we are currently still processing samples. We can expect that interactions between the species may have an effect on the decomposition rates.    References: De Meester N,Derycke S,Bonte D,Moens T. 2011. Mar. Biol. 158: 2717-2726. 

Role of cryptic diversity in decomposition in cryptic species complex of L. marina

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Role of cryptic diversity in decomposition in cryptic species complex of L. marina

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