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

Autor(es)

Gallucci, Fabiane ^{[1, 2]} ; Hutchings, Pat ^[2] ; Gribben, Paul ^[3] ; Fonseca, Gustavo ^{[1, 2]}

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Ctr Biol Marinha, BR-11600000 Sao Sebastiao - Brazil

^[2] Australian Museum, Sydney, NSW 2010 - Australia

^[3] Univ Technol Sydney, Sch Environm, Sydney, NSW 2007 - Australia

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: MARINE ECOLOGY-PROGRESS SERIES; v. 449, p. 95-U120, 2012.
• Citações Web of Science: 14

Resumo

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. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 10/12232-5 - Meiofauna marinha do estado de São Paulo: diversidade desconhecida e ameaçada
• Beneficiário: Fabiane Gallucci
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Jovens Pesquisadores