MARINE PLANT-HERBIVORE INTERACTIONS: The Ecology of Chemical Defense

TLDR

Herbivory profoundly affects seaweed populations, especially on coral reefs where 60–97 % of production can be removed, and research has examined spatial and temporal escape strategies, tolerance mechanisms, and the role of morphology and chemistry in deterring grazers. Seaweeds must escape, deter, or tolerate herbivory to persist in marine communities.

Abstract

Herbivory has a profound effect on seaweeds in both temperate and tropical communities (11, 17, 21, 33, 43, 47, 80, 124). This is especially true on coral reefs where 60-97% (11, 42) of the total seaweed production may be removed by herbivores. To persist in marine communities, seaweeds must escape, deter, or tolerate herbivory. The ecological and evolutionary importance of spatial and temporal escapes has been extensively studied for seaweeds and adequately reviewed in the recent literature (33, 45, 47, 71, 80). The ability of seaweeds to tolerate herbivory has received limited attention. On coral reefs, rapidly growing filamentous algae are heavily grazed, but the algae quickly replace these losses and appear to be dependent upon herbivores to prevent their habitat from being overgrown by larger but less herbivoretolerant species (11, 71). Additionally, several seaweeds have spores or vegetative portions that can withstand gut passage; in some cases this significantly increases the growth rates of the newly settled spores (6, 122). These types of seaweeds may be considered herbivore tolerant. Although numerous seaweed characteristics can deter some herbivores, the effects of morphology and chemistry have been studied most thoroughly. The