Abstract
Predicting and managing the potential economic, social, and ecological impacts of bioinvasions is a key goal of non-indigenous species (NIS) research worldwide. The marine fan worm, Sabella spallanzanii, is an ecosystem engineering NIS that forms dense filter-feeding canopies on hard substrata and large clumps of individuals in soft sediment habitats. In this study, we investigated the epifaunal assemblages associated with Sabella clumps of increasing size and complexity from soft-sediment benthic ecosystems in Auckland Harbour, New Zealand. The diversity and abundance of epifaunal taxa increased with clump size. Species accumulation curves suggest that with further increases in Sabella clump size, diversity will continue to increase. There were no differential effects on taxa related to feeding mode or motility despite the potential for Sabella to reduce food to suspension feeders (through competition) and increase food supply to deposit feeders (through biodeposition). Our results provide an example of local biodiversity enhancement by an NIS, though some of the species benefitting from Sabella were themselves non-indigenous or of uncertain origin (cryptogenic/indeterminate). Longer term studies of the impacts of Sabella on native biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, including on food webs, are important next steps.
Highlights
The establishment and spread of non-indigenous species (NIS) have had profound impacts on ecosystems worldwide, including effects on local habitat, biodiversity, and ecology
Taxa were grouped by feeding mode with 51 taxa classed as suspension feeders, 32 as deposit feeders, and 24 as predator/scavengers
This study gives an example of how an NIS can enhance biodiversity through provision of habitat in an area where other types of native biogenic habitat formers are relatively rare to absent
Summary
The establishment and spread of non-indigenous species (NIS) have had profound impacts on ecosystems worldwide, including effects on local habitat, biodiversity, and ecology. Biosecurity measures to limit species translocations have been adopted by global industries and governments, and plans for responding to newly detected NIS are in place in many countries [1,2,3]. These practices are laudable and should be expanded, given the potential for NIS to cause ecological and economic harm. Information on the effects of NIS on species assemblages and ecosystem functions is crucial for understanding their success as invaders and their potential for ecosystem impacts. With serial invaders (i.e., NIS that invade several disjunct areas outside their native range in succession), past impacts are often used as means of predicting future effects in a new locale, Diversity 2020, 12, 228; doi:10.3390/d12060228 www.mdpi.com/journal/diversity
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