Snail grazing facilitates growth of a bloom-forming alga

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 420:83-89 (2010) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08894 Snail grazing facilitates growth of a bloom-forming alga Michele Guidone1,*, Carol S. Thornber1, Emily Field1,2 1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881, USA 2Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, USA *Email: mguidone@my.uri.edu ABSTRACT: Herbivory often has a negative effect on plants. However, there is a growing number of examples, primarily in terrestrial ecosystems, where herbivory causes an increase in plant size, growth rate, and/or reproductive output. In marine ecosystems, the positive effects of herbivores on macroalgae are not as well studied, although limited evidence exists for herbivore-induced increases in macroalgal growth rates via 2 mechanisms: nutrient addition via grazer defecation, and epiphyte removal. In this study, we examined the effects of grazing by the mud snail Ilyanassa obsoleta on Ulva lactuca, the dominant bloom-forming macroalga in many New England estuaries. We found that the presence of I. obsoleta had a significant positive, rather than negative, effect on U. lactuca. Through caging experiments, we established that this positive effect was not due to fecal nutrient inputs from the snail. Similarly, snail contact in the absence of grazing did not affect U. lactuca growth rates. In contrast, grazing by I. obsoleta significantly reduced the microalgal cover on heavily fouled U. lactuca blades, indicating that snail herbivory of microalgal films likely facilitates U. lactuca growth. Our study demonstrates the surprising, positive effect that an abundant herbivore can have on the growth of a macroalgal bloom species. KEY WORDS: Facilitation · Compensation · Herbivory · Algal bloom · Ulva lactuca · Ilyanassa obsoleta Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Guidone M, Thornber CS, Field E (2010) Snail grazing facilitates growth of a bloom-forming alga. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 420:83-89. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08894 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 420. Online publication date: December 16, 2010 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2010 Inter-Research.