Habitat alteration and community-level effects of an invasive ecosystem engineer: a case study along the coast of NSW, Australia

Gallucci, F; Hutchings, P; Gribben, P; Fonseca, G

Habitat alteration and community-level effects of an invasive ecosystem engineer: a case study along the coast of NSW, Australia

Gallucci, F Hutchings, P Gribben, P Fonseca, G

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Publisher:: Inter Research
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Gallucci Fabiane et al. 2012, 'Habitat alteration and community-level effects of an invasive ecosystem engineer: a case study along the coast of NSW, Australia', Inter Research, vol. 449, pp. 95-U120.
Issue Date:: 2012

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Gallucci, F	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Hutchings, P	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Gribben, P	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Fonseca, G	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2012-10-12T03:33:31Z
dc.date.available	2012-10-12T03:33:31Z
dc.date.issued	2012	en_US
dc.identifier	2011002219	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Gallucci Fabiane et al. 2012, 'Habitat alteration and community-level effects of an invasive ecosystem engineer: a case study along the coast of NSW, Australia', Inter Research, vol. 449, pp. 95-U120.	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0171-8630	en_US
dc.identifier.other	C1	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/18185
dc.description.abstract	We investigated the effects of the habitat-modifying green algae Caulerpa taxifolia on meiobenthic communities along the coast of New South Wales, Australia. Samples were taken from unvegetated sediments, sediments underneath the native seagrass Zostera capricorni, and sediments invaded by C. taxifolia at 3 sites along the coast. Meiofaunal responses to invasion varied in type and magnitude depending on the site, ranging from a slight increase to a substantial reduction in meiofauna and nematode abundances and diversity. The multivariate structure of meiofauna communities and nematode assemblages, in particular, differed significantly in sediments invaded by C. taxifolia when compared to native habitats, but the magnitude of this dissimilarity differed between the sites. These differential responses of meiofauna to C. taxifolia were explained by different sediment redox potentials. Sediments with low redox potential showed significantly lower fauna abundances, lower numbers of meiofaunal taxa and nematode species and more distinct assemblages. The response of meiofauna to C. taxifolia also depended on spatial scale. Whereas significant loss of benthic biodiversity was observed locally at one of the sites, at the larger scale C. taxifolia promoted an overall increase in nematode species richness by favouring species that were absent from the native environments. Finally, we suggest there might be some time-lags associated with the impacts of C. taxifolia and point to the importance of considering the time since invasion when evaluating the impact of invasive species.	en_US
dc.publisher	Inter Research	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Marine Ecology Progress Series	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Verified OK	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps09547	en_US
dc.subject	Ecosystem engineer; Invasive species; Meiofauna; Nematodes; Caulerpa taxifolia; ALGA CAULERPA-TAXIFOLIA; INTRODUCED GREEN-ALGA; BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS; MUSCULISTA-SENHOUSIA; ZOSTERA-CAPRICORNI; NEMATODE COMMUNITY; EXOTIC MUSSEL; NATIVE FAUNA; SEDIMENTS; SEAGRASS	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Ecology	en_US
dc.title	Habitat alteration and community-level effects of an invasive ecosystem engineer: a case study along the coast of NSW, Australia	en_US
dc.type	Journal article
utslib.citation.volume	449	en_US
utslib.location	Germany	en_US
utslib.citation.startpage	95	en_US
utslib.citation.endpage	U120	en_US
utslib.identifier.org	SCI.Environmental Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	060200	en_US
utslib.percentage	50	en_US
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access

Abstract:

We investigated the effects of the habitat-modifying green algae Caulerpa taxifolia on meiobenthic communities along the coast of New South Wales, Australia. Samples were taken from unvegetated sediments, sediments underneath the native seagrass Zostera capricorni, and sediments invaded by C. taxifolia at 3 sites along the coast. Meiofaunal responses to invasion varied in type and magnitude depending on the site, ranging from a slight increase to a substantial reduction in meiofauna and nematode abundances and diversity. The multivariate structure of meiofauna communities and nematode assemblages, in particular, differed significantly in sediments invaded by C. taxifolia when compared to native habitats, but the magnitude of this dissimilarity differed between the sites. These differential responses of meiofauna to C. taxifolia were explained by different sediment redox potentials. Sediments with low redox potential showed significantly lower fauna abundances, lower numbers of meiofaunal taxa and nematode species and more distinct assemblages. The response of meiofauna to C. taxifolia also depended on spatial scale. Whereas significant loss of benthic biodiversity was observed locally at one of the sites, at the larger scale C. taxifolia promoted an overall increase in nematode species richness by favouring species that were absent from the native environments. Finally, we suggest there might be some time-lags associated with the impacts of C. taxifolia and point to the importance of considering the time since invasion when evaluating the impact of invasive species.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/18185