Habitat fragmentation has some impacts on aspects of ecosystem functioning in a sub-tropical seagrass bed

Habitat fragmentation impacts ecosystem functioning in many ways, including reducing the availability of suitable habitat for animals and altering resource dynamics. Fragmentation in seagrass ecosystems caused by propeller scarring is a major source of habitat loss, but little is known about how sca...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Marine environmental research Jg. 126; S. 95 - 108
Hauptverfasser: Sweatman, Jennifer L., Layman, Craig A., Fourqurean, James W.
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: England Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2017
Elsevier BV
Schlagworte:
Amphipod
Amphipoda
Animals
Aquatic crustaceans
Bahamas
Biomass
Community composition
community structure
Disturbance
Dynamics
Ecological function
Ecosystem
Ecosystems
Environmental impact
Environmental Monitoring
Epiphytes
Food-webs
Fragmentation
habitat destruction
Habitat fragmentation
Habitat loss
Habitats
Herbivores
Herbivory
Interactions
Lesions
Mineral nutrients
Phosphorus
Plant-herbivore interactions
Scars
Sea grasses
Seagrass
seagrasses
Stoichiometry
Studies
Tropical climate
Zosteraceae - physiology
Bahamas
Plant-herbivore interactions
Stoichiometry
Disturbance
Habitat fragmentation
Seagrass
Epiphytes
Food-webs
Amphipod
ISSN:0141-1136, 1879-0291, 1879-0291
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Habitat fragmentation impacts ecosystem functioning in many ways, including reducing the availability of suitable habitat for animals and altering resource dynamics. Fragmentation in seagrass ecosystems caused by propeller scarring is a major source of habitat loss, but little is known about how scars impact ecosystem functioning. Propeller scars were simulated in seagrass beds of Abaco, Bahamas, to explore potential impacts. To determine if plant-herbivore interactions were altered by fragmentation, amphipod grazers were excluded from half the experimental plots, and epiphyte biomass and community composition were compared between grazer control and exclusion plots. We found a shift from light limitation to phosphorus limitation at seagrass patch edges. Fragmentation did not impact top-down control on epiphyte biomass or community composition, despite reduced amphipod density in fragmented habitats. Seagrass and amphipod responses to propeller scarring suggest that severely scarred seagrass beds could be subject to changes in internal nutrient stores and amphipod distribution. •Propeller scars were simulated in continuous seagrass beds.•Seagrasses at fragment interiors show signs of light-limitation.•Amphipod density was reduced in seagrass fragments.•Amphipod community structure was not affected by fragmentation.•Top-down control by amphipods on epiphytes was not affected by fragmentation.
Bibliographie:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
content type line 23
ISSN:0141-1136
1879-0291
1879-0291
DOI:10.1016/j.marenvres.2017.02.003