Species effects on ecosystem processes are modified by faunal responses to habitat composition.
Authors
Bulling, Mark T.Solan, Martin
Dyson, Kirstie E.
Hernandez-Milian, Gema
Luque, Patricia
Pierce, Graham J.
Raffaelli, D.
Paterson, David M.
White, Piran C. L.
Affiliation
University of York, Environment DepartmentIssue Date
2008-12
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Heterogeneity is a well-recognized feature of natural environments, and the spatial distribution and movement of individual species is primarily driven by resource requirements. In laboratory experiments designed to explore how different species drive ecosystem processes, such as nutrient release, habitat heterogeneity is often seen as something which must be rigorously controlled for. Most small experimental systems are therefore spatially homogeneous, and the link between environmental heterogeneity and its effects on the redistribution of individuals and species, and on ecosystem processes, has not been fully explored. In this paper, we used a mesocosm system to investigate the relationship between habitat composition, species movement and sediment nutrient release for each of four functionally contrasting species of marine benthic invertebrate macrofauna. For each species, various habitat configurations were generated by selectively enriching patches of sediment with macroalgae, a natural source of spatial variability in intertidal mudflats. We found that the direction and extent of faunal movement between patches differs with species identity, density and habitat composition. Combinations of these factors lead to concomitant changes in nutrient release, such that habitat composition effects are modified by species identity (in the case of NH4-N) and by species density (in the case of PO4-P). It is clear that failure to accommodate natural patterns of spatial heterogeneity in such studies may result in an incomplete understanding of system behaviour. This will be particularly important for future experiments designed to explore the effects of species richness on ecosystem processes, where the complex interactions reported here for single species may be compounded when species are brought together in multi-species combinations.Citation
Species effects on ecosystem processes are modified by faunal responses to habitat composition. 2008, 158 (3):511-20 OecologiaJournal
OecologiaDOI
10.1007/s00442-008-1160-5PubMed ID
18836748Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
0029-8549ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1007/s00442-008-1160-5
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