Shipworms as a model for competition and coexistence in specialized habitats

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 461:95-105 (2012) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09823 Shipworms as a model for competition and coexistence in specialized habitats Hugh MacIntosh1,*, Rocky de Nys1, Steve Whalan1,2 1Centre for Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture, School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia 2Marine Ecology Research Centre, School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore, New South Wales 2480, Australia *Email: hugh.macintosh@my.jcu.edu.au ABSTRACT: Shipworms, a group of marine wood borers (Mollusca: Teredinidae), are a model group with which to examine metacommunities inhabiting patchy, ephemeral habitats. Multiple species and genera typically share and compete for the same discrete substrata, allowing for direct comparisons to be made between competitive strategies, without confounding by extraneous biological differences. Timber recruitment panels were used to quantify 2, 4, 6 and 12 mo abundances of tropical Australian shipworm species, recording 62075 individuals from 6 genera and 19 species. Species exhibit differing peak recruitment seasons and reproductive modes, with free-spawning, short-term brooding and long-term brooding occurring. However, despite a higher diversity of spawning species (58%) overall, abundance was strongly driven by the lower diversity of short-term brooding species (37%), comprising 95.7% of recruitment. Competition for habitat was high, with up to 1200 individuals per panel (~3 ind. cm–3), and widespread (40 to 90%) mortality in panels over 4 mo old. Results show that reproductive mode is a key contributor to recruitment success, with the constraints of a patchy, ephemeral habitat favoring a ‘middle of the road’ strategy of short duration larval brooding, most effectively balancing fecundity, larval retention, and dispersive ability. KEY WORDS: Competition · Coexistence · Metacommunities · Ephemeral habitat · Larval dispersal · Reproductive mode · Teredinidae Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: MacIntosh H, de Nys R, Whalan S (2012) Shipworms as a model for competition and coexistence in specialized habitats. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 461:95-105. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09823 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 461. Online publication date: August 08, 2012 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2012 Inter-Research.