Universität zu Köln

Rubach, Anja, Hillebrand, Helmut ORCID: 0000-0001-7449-1613 and Eriksson, Britas Klemens ORCID: 0000-0003-4752-922X (2011). Understorey benthic microalgae and their consumers depend on habitat complexity and light in a microtidal coastal ecosystem. Aquat. Bot., 95 (3). S. 200 - 207. AMSTERDAM: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV. ISSN 0304-3770

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Abstract

Presence of habitat-forming macroalgae is supposed to mitigate effects of altered resources on benthic microalgae and their consumers. In a field experiment in a microtidal area of the Western Baltic Sea, we tested the interactive effects of nutrient enrichment, artificial shading, and habitat complexity on microalgal biomass and diversity as well as invertebrate abundance and richness. Habitat complexity comprised three levels, the presence of macroalgal canopy of Fucus vesiculosus, the presence of macroalgal propagules, and the absence of both (=control). Microalgal biomass (and richness) was significantly reduced by canopy presence (-88%, compared to control) and shading (-42%), with the highest biomass in the absence of both canopy and macroalgal propagules at ambient light. Within the microalgal assemblage, higher biomass was related to lower evenness (higher dominance). Density of two main invertebrate groups (snails and amphipods) strongly increased with canopy presence (on average from 53 to 154 individuals m(-2) stone area for snails, and from 234 to 1203 individuals m-2 for amphipods) and so did invertebrate richness (from 4.3 to 10.3). Additionally, snail density doubled with increasing light availability. The snail responses to light and canopy were independent, the former relating to higher availability of microalgal prey, the latter to more structure. Microalgal taxon richness and biomass decreased with increasing invertebrate richness and with density of snails and amphipods. Our experiment thus showed that the presence of habitat-forming macroalgae alters biomass and diversity across trophic levels in benthic coastal communities as well as their response to resource manipulations. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Rubach, Anja UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Hillebrand, Helmut UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0001-7449-1613 UNSPECIFIED Eriksson, Britas Klemens UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0003-4752-922X UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-488258
DOI:	10.1016/j.aquabot.2011.06.001
Journal or Publication Title:	Aquat. Bot.
Volume:	95
Number:	3
Page Range:	S. 200 - 207
Date:	2011
Publisher:	ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
Place of Publication:	AMSTERDAM
ISSN:	0304-3770
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language TOP-DOWN CONTROL; RESOURCE CONTROL; SPECIES-DIVERSITY; FUCUS-VESICULOSUS; PROPAGULE BANKS; BOTTOM-UP; AUTOTROPHIC BIOMASS; COMMUNITY STRUCTURE; ROCKY SHORES; AFFECT PREY Multiple languages Plant Sciences; Marine & Freshwater Biology Multiple languages
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/48825