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 451:75-92 (2012) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09587 Both below- and aboveground shoalgrass structure influence whelk predation on hard clams Seiji Goshima1,*, Charles H. Peterson2 1Faculty of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, Hakodate, Hokkaido 041-8611, Japan 2Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Morehead City, North Carolina 28557, USA *Email: goshima@fish.hokudai.ac.jp ABSTRACT: Seagrass introduces above- and belowground biogenic structure and complexity into otherwise relatively unstructured sand-flat habitat. Observation of burial depths by unmarked and ribbon-tagged knobbed whelks Busycon carica in sand and dense and sparse shoalgrass Halodule wrightii confirmed that shoalgrass structure inhibits whelk burrowing. Whelks showed a strong preference for sand-flat habitat during spring and summer, creating a partial refuge from whelk predation for hard clams Mercenaria mercenaria inside shoalgrass. By early autumn, shoalgrass blades sloughed off, reducing aboveground biomass by over 81%, leading to a massive invasion of seagrass habitat by whelks now exhibiting no habitat preference. The enhanced permeability of the seagrass bed coincided with the large decline in aboveground shoalgrass biomass, a measure of strength of the physical boundary contrast (BC). As shown by tethering whelks in sand, intact shoalgrass, and shoalgrass with aboveground structure removed by clipping, belowground vegetation played a stronger role than aboveground vegetation in limiting the efficiency of predation on hard clams. From summer into autumn, average daily production of empty shells of whelk-consumed hard clams increased, with some evidence of greater increases within seagrass habitat, implying a seasonal breakdown of the refuge function of seagrass. The mechanism by which a strong BC inhibits whelk entry into and use of seagrass habitat is unresolved, perhaps acting as a physical barrier to passage into seagrass or alternatively acting as a behavioral cue indicative of expectation of lower predation efficiency associated with intact but not with clipped seagrass. KEY WORDS: Habitat structure · Boundary contrast · Busycon carica · Mercenaria mercenaria · Halodule wrightii · Permeability · Temporal refuge · Seagrass Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Goshima S, Peterson CH (2012) Both below- and aboveground shoalgrass structure influence whelk predation on hard clams. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 451:75-92. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09587 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 451. Online publication date: April 11, 2012 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2012 Inter-Research.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
