Sensory Landscape Impacts on Odor-mediated Predator-prey Interactions at Multiple Spatial Scales in Salt Marsh Communities PDF Download
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Author: Miranda L. Wilson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Predation (Biology)
Languages : en
Pages :
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This collection of research examines how changes in the sensory landscape, mediated by both odor and hydrodynamic properties, impact odor-mediated predator-prey interactions in salt marsh communities. I approached this research using an interdisciplinary framework that combined field and laboratory experimentation to address issues of scale and make connections between predator behavior and patterns of predation in the field. I explored a variety of interactions mediated by changes in the sensory landscape including; indirect effects of biotic structure on associated prey, predator responses to patches of prey with differing density and distribution, and dynamic interactions between predators and prey distributions. I found that biotic structure (oyster reefs [Crassostrea virginica]) has negative indirect effects on associated hard clam prey (Mercenaria mercenaria) through the addition of oyster reef odor cues that attract predators (blue crabs [Callinectes sapidus] and knobbed whelks [Busycon carica])and increase foraging success near the structural matrix. Variation in the structure of patch-scale prey odor plumes created by multiple prey results in predator-specific patterns of predation as a function of patch density and distribution which are mediated by differences in predator sensory ability. There is a potential negative feedback loop between blue crab predators and hard clam prey distributions; clam patches assume random within-patch distributions after exposure to blue crab predators, making the detection of patches by future blue crab predators more difficult. Sensory landscapes are also mediated by water flow, which transports prey odor plumes downstream to predators. Characterization of water flow in small-scale estuary systems indicates that values of turbulent flow parameters are highly context specific and depend on both tidal type (spring, neap, normal) and site. Wind and tidal range seem to be good predictors for wave components and turbulent components of fluctuating flow parameters, respectively, although the strength of their predictive ability is dependent on time scale. Modifications of the sensory landscape through changes in structurally-induced turbulence, mixing of individual plumes from multiple prey, and bulk velocity and turbulence characteristics need to be considered when formulating predictions as to the impact of predators on naturally occurring prey populations in the field.
Author: Miranda L. Wilson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Predation (Biology)
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
This collection of research examines how changes in the sensory landscape, mediated by both odor and hydrodynamic properties, impact odor-mediated predator-prey interactions in salt marsh communities. I approached this research using an interdisciplinary framework that combined field and laboratory experimentation to address issues of scale and make connections between predator behavior and patterns of predation in the field. I explored a variety of interactions mediated by changes in the sensory landscape including; indirect effects of biotic structure on associated prey, predator responses to patches of prey with differing density and distribution, and dynamic interactions between predators and prey distributions. I found that biotic structure (oyster reefs [Crassostrea virginica]) has negative indirect effects on associated hard clam prey (Mercenaria mercenaria) through the addition of oyster reef odor cues that attract predators (blue crabs [Callinectes sapidus] and knobbed whelks [Busycon carica])and increase foraging success near the structural matrix. Variation in the structure of patch-scale prey odor plumes created by multiple prey results in predator-specific patterns of predation as a function of patch density and distribution which are mediated by differences in predator sensory ability. There is a potential negative feedback loop between blue crab predators and hard clam prey distributions; clam patches assume random within-patch distributions after exposure to blue crab predators, making the detection of patches by future blue crab predators more difficult. Sensory landscapes are also mediated by water flow, which transports prey odor plumes downstream to predators. Characterization of water flow in small-scale estuary systems indicates that values of turbulent flow parameters are highly context specific and depend on both tidal type (spring, neap, normal) and site. Wind and tidal range seem to be good predictors for wave components and turbulent components of fluctuating flow parameters, respectively, although the strength of their predictive ability is dependent on time scale. Modifications of the sensory landscape through changes in structurally-induced turbulence, mixing of individual plumes from multiple prey, and bulk velocity and turbulence characteristics need to be considered when formulating predictions as to the impact of predators on naturally occurring prey populations in the field.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780438289871
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages : 86
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Predators and omnivores shape community structure and function by consuming (i.e. consumptive effects; CEs) and 'scaring' (i.e. nonconsumptive effects; NCEs) prey. Thus, predicting the consequences of predator-prey interactions has been a major focus of ecological research for several decades. For instance, understanding the mechanism(s) by which predators induce trophic cascades (i.e. CEs vs. NCEs) is important because the nature of this indirect interaction can critically influence ecosystem-level processes such as energy flow and nutrient cycling. Despite the vast literature on predator-prey interactions, few studies tested the role of predator and prey traits on the outcomes of these interactions. Recognizing this, I tested how predator traits [e.g. hunting mode (Chapter 1) and facultative omnivory (Chapter 2 & 3)] and prey traits [e.g. habitat domain range (Chapter 1)] impact the outcome of predator-prey interactions in natural systems. In Chapter 1, I examined the trait-mediated indirect interaction (TMII) and total indirect interaction (TII) produced during interactions between an active, broad habitat domain range (BHDR) ladybeetle predator ( Naemia seriata) and its narrow habitat domain range (NHDR) prey (scale insects; Haliaspsis spartinae). I exposed scale insects to nonlethal and lethal ladybeetle predators in laboratory mesocosms for 15 weeks. I measured how these interactions indirectly impacted the growth of the scale insect's host plant (cordgrass; Spartina foliosa) and the population density of scale insects. Contrary to theoretical predictions based on these predator and prey traits, nonlethal ladybeetles did not induce TMIIs. However, lethal ladybeetles increased cordgrass total and root dry biomass by 36% and 44% (respectively), suggesting the presence of strong density-mediated indirect interactions (DMIIs). Additionally, both lethal and nonlethal ladybeetles reduced scale insect population density. My findings suggest that DMIIs, rather than TMIIs, can result from interactions between active, BHDR predators and NHDR prey. In Chapter 2, I used three primary experiments to assess the relationship between habitat use (based on the availability of animal and/or plant prey resources) and performance for an important insect omnivore (ladybeetles). First, I used field manipulations of resource availability (i.e. scale insects and cordgrass pollen) to examine the habitat use of ladybeetle predators. Second, I conducted a series of no-choice laboratory assays to compare the performance (fecundity and longevity) of ladybeetles on these different resources. Third, I quantified adult ladybeetle preference for olfactory cues from cordgrass with and without scale insects using a ytube olfactometer. In the field, adult ladybeetles selectively used plots containing scale insects. In the lab, diets containing scale insects maximized both adult and larval ladybeetle longevity, and adult fecundity. Adult ladybeetles were attracted to chemical cues associated with scale insects over distances of 10s of centimeters. Overall, my findings suggest that the habitat use and performance of ladybeetles are strongly linked, with ladybeetles preferentially using habitats that maximize their individual performance. Collectively, my dissertation suggests that the functional traits of predators and prey can provide useful insights into when, where, and how predators may exert top-down effects on ecological communities.
Author: Akana Noto
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 151
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Interactions among members of ecological communities often vary spatially in response to environmental differences. Yet interactions can also vary spatially as a result of biotic factors such as differences in species traits or variation in other species interactions. It is necessary to understand the conditions under which each of these drivers of variation has an effect in order to predict how species interactions will be affected both by changes in the environment and in biotic communities. In this thesis, I explore mechanisms that may cause species interactions to vary across space at local, regional and continental scales in salt marsh plant communities. Chapter 1 investigates the relationship between the environment (means and variability) and community diversity and stability in time-series data from the east and west coasts of North America. Chapter 2 experimentally investigates the effect of sea-level rise on species interactions within a marsh. Chapter 3 seeks to understand geographic variation in plant interactions among six sites spanning the California coast. Chapter 4 uses a common garden experiment to test whether spatial variation in species interactions are driven by differences among plant populations or the environment. Finally, Chapter 5 describes geographic patterns of variation in herbivore pressure to determine whether herbivory drives regional differences in interactions among plants. I found that changes in mean conditions, including sea level, can affect community diversity, stability and strength of species interactions. Environmental variability only affects community stability and diversity when it is relatively large, so increases in variability with climate change may cause plant community dynamics to become affected by both variability and means. Species interactions vary geographically along the west coast, but unlike on the east coast, do not show consistent trends with latitude. Rather, interaction strengths may differ due to trait variation among plant populations and differences in herbivore pressure. My thesis demonstrates that environmental conditions and local factors, including intraspecific phenotypic variation and herbivory, both determine the nature of species interactions in salt marshes, and that the west coast of North America shows geographic patterns in interactions that are distinct from those found on the east coast.
Author: Brian R. Silliman
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520258921
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 440
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"Human Impacts on Salt Marshes provides an excellent global synthesis of an important, underappreciated environmental problem and suggests solutions to the diverse threats affecting salt marshes."—Peter B. Moyle, University of California, Davis
Author: Michael Kevin Rasser
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Salt marshes provide critical ecosystem services, such as shoreline stabilization, biogeochemical cycling and habitat for wildlife, to much of the world's population living on the coasts. Emergent vascular plants are a critical component of these ecosystems. This study was a comprehensive effort to gain a better understanding of the ecology of salt marsh plants in the Nueces River delta on the south Texas coast. This knowledge is essential to understand the potential anthropogenic impacts on salt marshes, including sea-level rise, global warming, reduced freshwater inflow and coastal erosion. A combination of remote sensing analysis, field studies and experiments were used to allow analysis across spatial scales ranging from landscape patterns of vegetation to leaf level measurements of the dominant species. A novel method of image classification was developed using high-resolution multi-spectral imagery integrated with ancillary data to map the major plant communities at a landscape scale. This included a high marsh assemblage composed primarily of Spartina spartinae and a low marsh community dominated by Borrichia frutescens and Salicornia virginica. Geospatial analysis determined that the location of these plant communities was related to the distance from the tidal creek network and elevation. The B. frutescens and S. virginica assemblage was more abundant at lower elevations along the waters edge, making it vulnerable to loss from shoreline erosion. At a finer spatial scale, gradient analysis was utilized to examine the relationship between elevation, which creates environmental gradients in salt marshes, and species distribution. I discovered that elevation differences of less than 5 cm can influence both individual species and plant community distribution. One interesting finding was that the two dominant species, B. frutescens and S. virginica, share similar responses along an elevation gradient yet are observed growing in monotypic adjacent zones. I constructed a large reciprocal transplant experiment, using 160 plants at 4 sites throughout the marsh, to determine what causes the zonation between these two species. The results of this study found that S. virginica fared well wherever it was transplanted but was a weak competitor. B. frutescens survival was significantly lower in the S. virginica zone than in its own zone suggesting that abiotic factors are important in determining the zonation of this species. However, high spatial and temporal variability existed in environmental parameters such as salinity. This variability may have been caused by the semi-arid climate and irregular flooding typical in the Nueces Marsh. Therefore, I utilized a greenhouse experiment to directly test the importance of the two dominant physical factors in salt marshes, flooding and salinity. The results found that for B. frutescens the effects of flooding were not significant, however salinity at 30% reduced growth. Salinity did not influence growth of S. virginica. The greater ability of S. virginica to tolerate salinity stress has important implications because reduced freshwater inflow or climate change can increase porewater salinity, thus favoring the expansion of S. virginica, and altering the plant community structure.
Author: Brian Thomas Person
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Geese
Languages : en
Pages : 222
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"Herbivores influence, and often regulate energy flow. I investigated interactions between herbivory and the foods on which geese rely while nesting and rearing their broods on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in southwestern Alaska. In a captive Cackling Canada gosling (Branta Canadensis minima) experiment I decoupled the effects of seasonal declines in forage quality and availability on gosling development. An 11% decline in forage quality translated to goslings that were structurally smaller and 100 g lighter at 31 days of age. Forage availability had similar effects on gosling size, and the combined magnitude of these effects are similar to those observed in wild populations. I manipulated within-season grazing history of 'Carex subspathacea' swards within brood-rearing areas used by Black Brant geese (Branta bernicla nigricans). Spatial variation in forage quality and availability exceeded seasonal variation. Brant consumed over 95% of the annual aboveground production of these swards without any short- or apparent long-term effects on aboveground growth. Adding grazing pressure to 'C. ramenskii, ' or removing grazing pressure from 'C. subspathacea, ' resulted in a bi-directional shift in the morphology and nutritional characteristics of these sedges. The areal extent of 'C. subspathacea' increased 2 to 8% of the Tutakoke landscape with a concomitant decrease in 'C. ramenskii' meadows between 1991-1998. Brant have been increasing the carrying capacity of the Tutakoke River colony following a population decline in the early 1980's. The population has increased beginning in 1988, yet remains below historic numbers. Density-dependent effects on gosling growth accompanied the population increase initially. However, gosling mass has increased over the past decade due to herbivore-mediated increases in the areal extent of grazing lawns"--Leaves iii-iv.
Author: Robert Drew Sieg
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Marine chemical ecology
Languages : en
Pages :
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Herbivores and pathogens pose a consistent threat to plant productivity. In response, plants invest in structural and/or chemical defenses that minimize damage caused by these biotic stressors. In salt marshes along the Atlantic coast of the United States, a facultative mutualism between snails (Littoraria irrorata) and multiple species of fungi exert intense top-down control of the foundation grass species Spartina alterniflora. Since exposure to herbivores and pathogens are tightly coupled in this system, I investigated whether S. alterniflora utilizes chemical and/or structural defenses to deter both snails and fungi, and examined how plant defenses varied among S. alterniflora individuals and populations. I also assessed how other marsh plants prevent snails from establishing farms, and considered whether interspecific variation in plant chemical defenses influences marsh community structure. Initial experiments revealed that S. alterniflora chemical defenses inhibited L. irrorata and two fungi that snails commonly farm. A caging experiment determined that production of chemical defenses could not be induced in the presence of snails and fungi, nor relaxed in their absence. Through separations chemistry guided by ecological assays, I isolated two distinct classes of chemical defenses from short form S. alterniflora, one of which inhibited fungal growth and the other decreased plant palatability. In a community context, the chemical defenses produced by S. alterniflora were relatively weak compared to those of four other salt marsh plant species, which produced compounds that completely inhibited L. irrorata grazing and strongly hindered fungal growth in lab assays. Nutritional and structural differences among marsh plants did not influence feeding preferences, suggesting that plant secondary chemistry was the primary driver for food selection by snails. It appears that S. alterniflora produces weak chemical defenses that slow down or limit fungal growth and snail herbivory, and may compensate for tissue losses by producing new growth. In contrast, less abundant marsh plants express chemical defenses that completely inhibit fungal farming and deter snail grazing, but doing so may come at a cost to growth or competitive ability. As marsh dieback continues with rising herbivore densities and compounding abiotic stressors, the ecosystem services that salt marshes provide may be lost. Therefore, understanding how and under what conditions salt marsh plants resist losses to herbivores and pathogens will help predict which marsh communities are most likely to be threatened in the future. Initial experiments revealed that S. alterniflora chemical defenses inhibited L. irrorata and two fungi that snails commonly farm. A caging experiment determined that production of chemical defenses could not be induced in the presence of snails and fungi, nor relaxed in their absence. Through separations chemistry guided by ecological assays, I isolated two distinct classes of chemical defenses from short form S. alterniflora, one of which inhibited fungal growth and the other decreased plant palatability. In a community context, the chemical defenses produced by S. alterniflora were relatively weak compared to those of four other salt marsh plant species, which produced compounds that completely inhibited L. irrorata grazing and strongly hindered fungal growth in lab assays. Nutritional and structural differences among marsh plants did not influence feeding preferences, suggesting that differences in plant chemistry were the primary driver for food selection by snails. It appears that S. alterniflora produces weak chemical defenses that slow down or limit fungal growth and snail herbivory, and may compensate for tissue losses by producing new growth. In contrast, less abundant marsh plants express chemical defenses that completely inhibit fungal farming and deter snail grazing, but doing so may come at a cost to growth or competitive ability against S. alterniflora. As marsh dieback continues with rising herbivore densities and compounding abiotic stressors, the ecosystem services that salt marshes provide may be lost. Therefore, understanding how and under what conditions salt marsh plants resist losses to herbivores and pathogens will help predict which marsh communities are most likely to be threatened in the future.
Author: Daehyun Kim
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Biogeographic patterns across a landscape are developed by the interplay of environmental processes operating at different spatial and temporal scales. This research investigated dynamics of salt marsh vegetation on the Skallingen salt marsh in Denmark responding to environmental variations at large, medium, and fine scales along both spatial and temporal spectrums. At the broad scale, this research addressed the importance of wind-induced rise of the sea surface in such biogeographic changes. A new hypothetical chain was suggested: recent trends in the North Atlantic Oscillation index toward its positive phase have led to increased storminess and wind tides on the ocean surface, resulting in increased frequency, duration, and magnitude of submergence and, hence, waterlogging of marsh soils and plants, which has retarded ecological succession. At the mid-scale, spatial patterns of vegetation and environmental factors were examined across tidal creeks. Sites closer to tidal creeks, compared to marsh interiors, were characterized by the dominance of later-successional species, higher bulk density, and lower nutrient contents and electrical conductivity. This finding implies that locations near creeks have experienced a better drainage condition than the inner marshes, which eventually facilitated the establishment of later-successional plants that are intolerant to physical stress. At the micro-scale, this research examined how the extent and mode of facilitation and competition vary for different combinations of plant species along physical gradients. Both positive and negative relationships were spatially manifested to a greater degree on the low marsh than on the mid marsh. This insight extends our current knowledge of scale-dependent interactions beyond pioneer zones to higher zones. On the low marsh, different types of bivariate point pattern (i.e., clustered, random, and regular) were observed for different combinations of species even at similar spatial scales. This finding implies that it is difficult to generalize at which scales competition and facilitation occur. To conclude, this research stresses the need for a holistic approach in future investigations of salt marsh biogeography. For example, based on results of this current research, it would be meaningful to develop a comprehensive simulation model that incorporates salt marsh ecology, geomorphology, and hydrology observed across scales.
Author: Harold Mooney
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520278801
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 1008
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Book Description
This long-anticipated reference and sourcebook for CaliforniaÕs remarkable ecological abundance provides an integrated assessment of each major ecosystem typeÑits distribution, structure, function, and management. A comprehensive synthesis of our knowledge about this biologically diverse state, Ecosystems of California covers the state from oceans to mountaintops using multiple lenses: past and present, flora and fauna, aquatic and terrestrial, natural and managed. Each chapter evaluates natural processes for a specific ecosystem, describes drivers of change, and discusses how that ecosystem may be altered in the future. This book also explores the drivers of CaliforniaÕs ecological patterns and the history of the stateÕs various ecosystems, outlining how the challenges of climate change and invasive species and opportunities for regulation and stewardship could potentially affect the stateÕs ecosystems. The text explicitly incorporates both human impacts and conservation and restoration efforts and shows how ecosystems support human well-being. Edited by two esteemed ecosystem ecologists and with overviews by leading experts on each ecosystem, this definitive work will be indispensable for natural resource management and conservation professionals as well as for undergraduate or graduate students of CaliforniaÕs environment and curious naturalists.
Author: Charles J. Krebs
Publisher: Benjamin-Cummings Publishing Company
ISBN: 9780321068798
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 695
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Book Description
This best-selling majors ecology book continues to present ecology as a series of problems for readers to critically analyze. No other text presents analytical, quantitative, and statistical ecological information in an equally accessible style. Reflecting the way ecologists actually practice, the book emphasizes the role of experiments in testing ecological ideas and discusses many contemporary and controversial problems related to distribution and abundance. Throughout the book, Krebs thoroughly explains the application of mathematical concepts in ecology while reinforcing these concepts with research references, examples, and interesting end-of-chapter review questions. Thoroughly updated with new examples and references, the book now features a new full-color design and is accompanied by an art CD-ROM for instructors. The field package also includes The Ecology Action Guide, a guide that encourages readers to be environmentally responsible citizens, and a subscription to The Ecology Place (www.ecologyplace.com), a web site and CD-ROM that enables users to become virtual field ecologists by performing experiments such as estimating the number of mice on an imaginary island or restoring prairie land in Iowa. For college instructors and students.
