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Complex Effects of Ecosystem Engineer Loss on Benthic Ecosystem Response to Detrital Macroalgae
Francesca Rossi1, Britta Gribsholt, Frederic Gazeau
1Laboratoire Ecologie des Systèmes marins côtiers, Université Montpellier 2, Montpellier, France.
Plos One
|June 28, 2013
Summary
The loss of lugworms, ecosystem engineers, can alter sediment stability and nutrient cycling. Their absence surprisingly protected macrofauna from negative impacts of algal enrichment, challenging previous stability assumptions.
Area of Science:
- Marine Ecology
- Ecosystem Engineering
- Benthic Ecology
Background:
- Ecosystem engineers significantly influence ecosystem functioning and stability.
- The loss of engineers like the lugworm Arenicola marina may alter ecosystem resilience to disturbances.
- Understanding these impacts is crucial for predicting ecosystem responses to environmental change.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how the exclusion of the lugworm Arenicola marina affects sediment biogeochemistry, microphytobenthos, and macrofauna in response to macroalgal detrital enrichment.
- To evaluate the role of this ecosystem engineer in maintaining ecosystem stability under nutrient enrichment scenarios.
Main Methods:
- A field manipulative experiment was conducted on an intertidal sandflat.
- Lugworm exclusion plots were established, with varying amounts of detrital Ulva added.
- Measurements included sediment organic carbon, porewater inorganic carbon, benthic respiration, microalgal biomass, macrofauna composition, and carbon mineralization rates.
Main Results:
- Lugworm exclusion did not significantly alter sediment organic carbon or benthic respiration but affected porewater carbon and microalgal biomass.
- Detrital enrichment counteracted some effects of lugworm exclusion on sediment properties.
- Macrofauna abundance and diversity collapsed at high enrichment levels only in the presence of lugworms.
Conclusions:
- The ecosystem engineering role of Arenicola marina in maintaining stability can be variable and context-dependent.
- Contrary to expectations, lugworm exclusion may sometimes buffer negative impacts of organic enrichment on associated fauna.
- This study highlights the complex interactions between ecosystem engineers, disturbance, and ecosystem stability.
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