Abstract
MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 628:105-123 (2019) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13076 Abiotic conditions are not sufficient to predict spatial and interannual variation in abundance of Ciona intestinalis in Nova Scotia, Canada K. J. Murphy1,4,*, D. Sephton2, K. Klein3,5, C. D. Bishop1, R. C. Wyeth1 1Department of Biology, St. Francis Xavier University, 2320 Notre Dame Ave., Antigonish, NS B2G 2W5, Canada 2Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, 1 Challenger Drive, Dartmouth, NS B2Y 4A2, Canada 3Clinical Trial and Biostatistics Unit, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, 300 Herston Road, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia 4Present address: Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, 20 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point, Hobart, TAS 7004, Australia 5Present address: Royal Automobile Club of Queensland Ltd, 2649 Logan Road, PO Box 4 Springwood, QLD 4127, Australia *Corresponding author: kimurphy@tcd.ie ABSTRACT: The vase tunicate Ciona intestinalis is an invasive sea squirt that poses several challenges for coastal marine ecosystems and human activities. Despite its widespread distribution, temporal and spatial variability in population abundances is high. We tested whether this variation could be explained by 4 abiotic variables: temperature, salinity, pH and water movement. We repeatedly measured these 4 variables and relative abundance of C. intestinalis at 11 sites along the Atlantic coastline of Nova Scotia, Canada, each month between May and October 2014 and 2015. Using nonlinear mixed-effects modelling, we found that salinity moderately explained abundance of C. intestinalis across sites in 2014, while in 2015 there were no strong associations between abundance and any measured abiotic variable. The combination of little explanatory power within years and inconsistency between years led us to conclude that none of the measured abiotic conditions was useful in predicting the abundance of C. intestinalis. This finding contrasts with previous studies in which temperature and salinity were effective at predicting the presence or absence of the species. Thus, we suggest that tolerances of these 2 factors may determine whether C. intestinalis can survive in a location, but that other factors predict the rate of population growth. Given that increased abundance exacerbates the negative effects of this invasive species, we advocate further study of alternative factors that lead to higher abundances of C. intestinalis, to help inform management decisions. KEY WORDS: Ascidian · Benthic invertebrate · Biofouling · Invasion biology · Longitudinal · Population dynamics · Tunicate · Sea squirt Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Murphy KJ, Sephton D, Klein K, Bishop CD, Wyeth RC (2019) Abiotic conditions are not sufficient to predict spatial and interannual variation in abundance of Ciona intestinalis in Nova Scotia, Canada. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 628:105-123. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13076 Export citation Mail this link - Contents Mailing Lists - RSS Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 628. Online publication date: October 10, 2019 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2019 Inter-Research.
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