Islands in a Sea of Mud: Insights From Terrestrial Island Theory for Community Assembly on Insular Marine Substrata.

Abstract

Most marine hard-bottom habitats are isolated, separated from other similar habitats by sand or mud flats, and can be considered analogous to terrestrial islands. The extensive scientific literature on terrestrial islands provides a theoretical framework for the analysis of isolated marine habitats. More individuals and higher species richness occur on larger marine substrata, a pattern that resembles terrestrial islands. However, while larger terrestrial islands have greater habitat diversity and productivity, the higher species richness on larger marine hard substrata can be explained by simple surface area and hydrodynamic phenomena: larger substrata extend further into the benthic boundary, exposing fauna to faster current and higher food supply. Marine island-like communities are also influenced by their distance to similar habitats, but investigations into the reproductive biology and dispersal ability of individual species are required for a more complete understanding of population connectivity. On terrestrial islands, nonrandom co-occurrence patterns have been attributed to interspecific competition, but while nonrandom co-occurrence patterns have been found for marine fauna, different mechanisms are responsible, including epibiontism. Major knowledge gaps for community assembly in isolated marine habitats include the degree of connectivity between isolated habitats, mechanisms of succession, and the extent of competition on hard substrata, particularly in the deep sea. Anthropogenic hard substrata of known age can be used opportunistically as "natural" laboratories to begin answering these questions.