Context-dependent effects of suspension feeding on intertidal ecosystem functioning

Species loss or gain can change ecosystem functions according to the ecological context (e.g. assemblage composition, habitat heterogeneity and disturbance regime). We document how the suspension-feeder cockle Cerastoderma edule (L.) affects some properties of intertidal sediments during macrofauna recovery after deliberately induced anoxia. Forty adult cockles were transplanted to each of 12 plots (25 × 25 cm) in 3 physically homogeneous patches (4 × 4 m). Two patches had recolonised for 4 or 7 mo (DJ and DM, respectively) and had a very similar number of species (DJ: 4.5 ± 0.3 and DM: 5 ± 0.0). The other patch (C) was natural sediment with a relatively high spe- cies diversity (6.5 ± 0.6). Species composition was different among the 3 patches (DJ < DM < C) and indicated an increasing number of individuals and functional groups in accordance with the duration of the recovery period (DJ < DM < C). Changes in abundance of the resident macrofauna, in total benthic mineralization rates (oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide release) and in the exchange of in- organic nitrogen at the sediment-water interface were compared between transplanted and undis- turbed plots. The functional response of the sediment ecosystem to the gain of C. edule varied among the patches. Following C. edule addition, ammonium release increased 3 to 4 times in the sediment which had been recolonising for 7 mo (DM), while uptake of nitrate decreased at similar levels in the other 2 patches (DJ and C). Effects were related to variations in the densities of 2 species, namely new recruits of the surface deposit-feeder Macoma balthica (≤5 mm) and the surface-detritivore and bio- irrigator Hediste diversicolor. Cockles caused a decrease in the densities of M. balthica (≤5 mm) and an increase in those of H. diversicolor, mainly in DM. Cockles also modified how densities of these species and of Heteromastus filiformis correlated to sediment-water exchanges of ammonium and oxygen. C. edule also enhanced oxygen uptake at all sites, mainly due to its specific respiration rate. Variability in the functional response among patches of habitat (e.g. context-dependence) resulted as a consequence of biotic interactions between the cockles and the resident infauna.

[1]  J. Middelburg,et al.  Human trampling as short-term disturbance on intertidal mudflats: effects on macrofauna biodiversity and population dynamics of bivalves , 2007, Marine biology.

[2]  C. Heip,et al.  Bioturbation: a fresh look at Darwin's last idea. , 2006, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[3]  Max Gibbs,et al.  Functional Role of Large Organisms in Intertidal Communities: Community Effects and Ecosystem Function , 2006, Ecosystems.

[4]  R. Marinelli,et al.  Macrofaunal modification of porewater advection: role of species function, species interaction, and kinetics , 2006 .

[5]  G. Pierce,et al.  How biodiversity affects ecosystem functioning: roles of infaunal species richness, identity and density in the marine benthos , 2006 .

[6]  Mary I. O'Connor,et al.  Cascading effects of predator diversity and omnivory in a marine food web , 2005 .

[7]  David A. Wardle,et al.  Effects of species and functional group loss on island ecosystem properties , 2005, Nature.

[8]  R. Rosenberg,et al.  Biodiversity of benthic invertebrates and organic matter processing in shallow marine sediments: an experimental study , 2005 .

[9]  F. Chapin,et al.  EFFECTS OF BIODIVERSITY ON ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING: A CONSENSUS OF CURRENT KNOWLEDGE , 2005 .

[10]  Bernhard Schmid,et al.  The value of biodiversity experiments , 2004 .

[11]  Pieter T. Visscher,et al.  The effects of infaunal biodiversity on biogeochemistry of coastal marine sediments , 2004 .

[12]  P. Herman,et al.  Interspecific and intraspecific variation of δC and δN in deposit‐ and suspension‐feeding bivalves (Macoma balthica and Cerastoderma edule): Evidence of ontogenetic changes in feeding mode of Macoma balthica , 2004 .

[13]  Owen L. Petchey,et al.  Integrating methods that investigate how complementarity influences ecosystem functioning , 2003 .

[14]  R. Marinelli,et al.  Evidence for density-dependent effects of infauna on sediment biogeochemistry and benthic–pelagic coupling in nearshore systems , 2003 .

[15]  Amy J. Symstad,et al.  Functional diversity revealed by removal experiments , 2003 .

[16]  M. Emmerson,et al.  Biodiversity and ecosystem processes in shallow coastal waters: an experimental approach , 2003 .

[17]  D. Raffaelli,et al.  Flow modifies the effect of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning: an in situ study of estuarine sediments , 2003 .

[18]  M. Huxham,et al.  Diversity, biomass and ecosystem processes in the marine benthos. , 2002 .

[19]  M. Palmer,et al.  DISTURBANCE MODERATES BIODIVERSITY-ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION RELATIONSHIPS: EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE FROM CADDISFLIES IN STREAM MESOCOSMS , 2002 .

[20]  J. Middelburg,et al.  Stable isotopes and biomarkers in microbial ecology. , 2002, FEMS microbiology ecology.

[21]  Martin Solan,et al.  Consistent patterns and the idiosyncratic effects of biodiversity in marine ecosystems , 2001, Nature.

[22]  Marti J. Anderson,et al.  A new method for non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance in ecology , 2001 .

[23]  M. Palmer,et al.  Linking species diversity to the functioning of ecosystems: on the importance of environmental context , 2000 .

[24]  F. Chapin,et al.  Consequences of changing biodiversity , 2000, Nature.

[25]  R. Drenner,et al.  Context-dependent effects of bluegill in experimental mesocosm communities , 2000, Oecologia.

[26]  Osman,et al.  Species Diversity and Invasion Resistance in a Marine Ecosystem. , 1999, Science.

[27]  P. Reich,et al.  The Influence of Functional Diversity and Composition on Ecosystem Processes , 1997 .

[28]  P. Legendre,et al.  SPECIES ASSEMBLAGES AND INDICATOR SPECIES:THE NEED FOR A FLEXIBLE ASYMMETRICAL APPROACH , 1997 .

[29]  R. O'Neill,et al.  The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital , 1997, Nature.

[30]  E. Flach.  The Influence of the Cockle, Cerastoderma edule, on the Macrozoobenthic Community of Tidal Flats in the Wadden Sea , 1996 .

[31]  T. Blackburn,et al.  Effect of Bioturbation by Nereis sp., Mya Arenaria and Cerastoderma sp. on nitrification and denitrification in estuarine sediments , 1995 .

[32]  J. Lawton,et al.  Declining biodiversity can alter the performance of ecosystems , 1994, Nature.

[33]  James E. Cloern,et al.  Trophic interactions and direct physical effects control phytoplankton biomass and production in an estuary , 1992 .

[34]  Per O.J. Hall,et al.  Rapid, small-volume, flow injection analysis for SCO2, and NH4+ in marine and freshwaters , 1992 .

[35]  K. Jensen,et al.  The importance of some epibenthic predators on the density of juvenile benthic macrofauna in the Danish Wadden Sea , 1985 .

[36]  S. Hurlbert.  Pseudoreplication and the Design of Ecological Field Experiments , 1984 .

[37]  B. Bayne,et al.  Seasonal changes in the physiology, reproductive condition and carbohydrate content of the cockle Cardium (=Cerastoderma) edule (Bivalvia: Cardiidae) , 1980 .

[38]  J. Hewitt,et al.  Conditional outcomes of facilitation by a habitat-modifying subtidal bivalve. , 2006, Ecology.

[39]  M. Loreau,et al.  Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning : synthesis and perspectives , 2002 .

[40]  C. Heip,et al.  Ecology of estuarine macrobenthos , 1999 .

[41]  P. Kamermans.  Similarity in food source and timing of feeding in deposit- and suspension-feeding bivalves , 1994 .

[42]  Carl André,et al.  Adult-larval interactions in the suspension-feeding bivalves Cerastoderma edule and Mya arenaria , 1991 .

[43]  W. Wilson.  Competition and Predation in Marine Soft-Sediment Communities , 1990 .

[44]  M. Loreau,et al.  Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: the Emergence of a Synthetic Ecological Framework , 2022 .