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 348:71-83 (2007) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07091 Nutrient versus consumer control of community structure in a Chesapeake Bay eelgrass habitat James Grayland Douglass*, J. Emmett Duffy, Amanda C. Spivak, John Paul Richardson Virginia Institute of Marine Science and College of William & Mary School of Marine Science, PO Box 1346, Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062, USA *Email: james@vims.edu ABSTRACT: Nutrient loading can dramatically alter benthic communities and has been implicated in the worldwide decline of seagrass beds. Ongoing changes in food webs caused by overfishing could also contribute to seagrass decline. However, the interaction of these factors and the role of small invertebrate grazers in mediating them are poorly understood. We examined the relative impacts of nutrient loading and food web alteration on eelgrass Zostera marina L. community structure in Chesapeake Bay by manipulating nutrients, predatory crabs, and invertebrate grazers in field enclosures over 28 d in summer. Nutrient loading increased epiphyte accumulation early in the experiment, decreased eelgrass biomass, and reduced the abundance of the colonial tunicate Botryllus schlosseri. Grazers decreased epiphyte accumulation, altered the recruitment of sessile invertebrates, and sometimes damaged eelgrass via overgrazing. Crabs reduced the abundance of eelgrass, and changed the species composition and abundance of grazers and sessile invertebrates. On average, the impacts of food web alterations and nutrient loading were comparable in magnitude and tended to be additive, rather than interactive. However, the distinct responses of different taxa in the community to the experimental treatments indicated that food web structure interacted with both bottom-up and top-down forces to determine overall community organization. These results highlight the importance of incorporating food web dynamics into seagrass conservation and management efforts. KEY WORDS: Zostera marina · Top-down processes · Bottom-up processes · Mesograzers · Nutrient loading Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Douglass JG, Duffy JE, Spivak AC, Richardson JP (2007) Nutrient versus consumer control of community structure in a Chesapeake Bay eelgrass habitat. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 348:71-83. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07091Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 348. Online publication date: October 25, 2007 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2007 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.
