Crab bioturbation and herbivory reduce pre- and post-germination success of Sarcocornia perennis in bare patches of SW Atlantic salt marshes

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 400:55-61 (2010) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08440 Crab bioturbation and herbivory reduce pre- and post-germination success of Sarcocornia perennis in bare patches of SW Atlantic salt marshes Juan Alberti*, Mauricio Escapa, Pedro Daleo, Agustina Méndez Casariego, Oscar Iribarne Laboratorio de Ecología, Departamento de Biología (FCEyN), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, CC 573 Correo Central, B7600WAG, Mar del Plata, Argentina Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Rivadavia 1917, CP C1033AAJ, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina *Email: [e-mail] ABSTRACT: Colonization of bare patches is a key process during community development given that pioneers usually have positive and negative effects on the forthcoming species. A variety of biotic and abiotic factors influence the process of colonization of bare patches. In salt marshes, however, the emphasis has been on abiotic factors and plant–plant interactions, while comparatively little attention has been paid to the role of plant–animal interactions in the successful colonization by pioneer plants. Thus, the goal of the present study was to evaluate whether bioturbation and herbivory by the burrowing crab Neohelice (Chasmagnathus) granulata affected the number of seedlings of the pioneer plant Sarcocornia perennis in SW Atlantic salt marshes. To evaluate this, we conducted an experiment using exclosures deployed at different times (post-dispersal and post-germination). The results showed that post-germination exclosures had 62% fewer seedlings than post-dispersal exclosures but 8 times more than plots always accessible to crabs. We also used glass beads to experimentally evaluate the potential effect of crab bioturbation on seed availability, and we used 1 yr old transplants to evaluate whether herbivory could explain post-germination mortality. Crab bioturbation reduced the number of glass beads on the surface by 56%, and transplants were highly consumed when crabs were present. These results suggest that seed burial by bioturbation exerts a pre-germination control while herbivory exerts a post-germination control. The results also highlight the importance of considering biotic factors when analyzing the success of marsh plants colonizing bare surfaces. KEY WORDS: Bioturbation · Herbivory · Burrowing crabs · Neohelice granulata · Sarcocornia perennis · Salt marsh Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Alberti J, Escapa M, Daleo P, Méndez Casariego A, Iribarne O (2010) Crab bioturbation and herbivory reduce pre- and post-germination success of Sarcocornia perennis in bare patches of SW Atlantic salt marshes. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 400:55-61. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08440 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 400. Online publication date: February 11, 2010 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2010 Inter-Research.