Differences in the Feeding Ecology of Two Seagrass-Associated Snails

Abstract

Grazing by small epifauna on live seagrass leaves was formerly viewed as unimportant in controlling plant biomass and growth, instead researchers focused on the indirect benefits of small invertebrates that crop algal competitors. Recent evidence shows that the emerald nerite Smaragdia viridis preferentially ingests seagrass leaf tissue. In contrast, the button snail Modulus modulus feeds on epiphytes and periphyton coating the leaves. We conducted laboratory microcosm and field experiments to investigate how the different feeding preferences of these seagrass-associated snails affect turtlegrass Thalassia testudinum primary production. Data revealed that after 24 h S. viridis reduced foliar biomass (25%) and chlorophyll (30%) and injured the equivalent of 50% of daily seagrass growth per shoot. Conversely, M. modulus did not affect these variables. Our results emphasize that in subtropical seagrass communities not all small epifauna browse off leaf surfaces and some can have important direct negative impacts on their seagrass host.