Seasonal regulation of herbivory and nutrient effects on macroalgal recruitment and succession in a Florida coral reef
Seasonal regulation of herbivory and nutrient effects on macroalgal recruitment and succession in a Florida coral reef
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佛罗里达珊瑚礁食草和营养对大型藻类补充和演替影响的季节性调节
作者：
A. Duran;L. Collado;D. Burkepile
草食和营养丰富是珊瑚礁大型藻类底栖生物动态的驱动因素；然而，它们的影响可能因季节而异。在这项研究中，我们评估了食草动物压力、营养物质可获得性和潜在的繁殖供应对佛罗里达珊瑚礁上大型藻类群落的季节性补充和演替的影响。每三个月更换一次的补充砖和在田间保存九个月的继承瓷砖是在正在进行的因子营养丰富-草食动物排除实验中建立的。正在进行的实验已经在不同的草食和营养处理中创造了非常不同的藻类群落。随着时间的推移，我们跟踪了藻类的补充、物种丰富度和物种丰富度。我们的结果表明，食草性和养分有效性对珊瑚礁大型藻类补充的影响存在季节性变化。在春季，当大型藻类物种丰富度和新兵丰度较高时，草食对大型藻类群落结构的控制似乎比营养对大型藻类群落结构的控制更大。相比之下，在较凉爽的季节，无论是草食还是营养丰富对大型藻类群落的补充瓷砖都没有影响。在正在进行的既定实验中，瓷砖上新兵的丰度与藻类的丰度呈正相关，这表明繁殖体的丰度可能对藻类的招募和早期演替有很大的影响。本研究的结果表明，丰富的草食性鱼类控制着大型藻类的补充和演替，特别是在大型藻类生长较快的温暖季节。然而，在较凉爽的季节，草食对藻类补充和群落动态的影响似乎较小。最终，我们的数据表明，珊瑚死亡的时间(例如，夏季和冬季的死亡)和底栖生物空间的释放可能会强烈影响在开阔空间定居的藻类的动态。
Herbivory and nutrient enrichment are drivers of benthic dynamics of coral reef macroalgae; however, their impact may vary seasonally. In this study we evaluated the effects of herbivore pressure, nutrient availability and potential propagule supply on seasonal recruitment and succession of macroalgal communities on a Florida coral reef. Recruitment tiles, replaced every three months, and succession tiles, kept in the field for nine months, were established in an ongoing factorial nutrient enrichment-herbivore exclusion experiment. The ongoing experiment had already created very different algal communities across the different herbivory and nutrient treatments. We tracked algal recruitment, species richness, and species abundance through time. Our results show seasonal variation in the effect of herbivory and nutrient availability on recruitment of coral reef macroalgae. In the spring, when there was higher macroalgal species richness and abundance of recruits, herbivory appeared to have more control on macroalgal community structure than did nutrients. In contrast, there was no effect of either herbivory or nutrient enrichment on macroalgal communities on recruitment tiles in cooler seasons. The abundance of recruits on tiles was positively correlated with the abundance of algal in the ongoing, established experiment, suggesting that propagule abundance is likely a strong influence on algal recruitment and early succession. Results of the present study suggest that abundant herbivorous fishes control recruitment and succession of macroalgae, particularly in the warm season when macroalgal growth is higher. However, herbivory appears less impactful on algal recruitment and community dynamics in cooler seasons. Ultimately, our data suggest that the timing of coral mortality (e.g., summer vs. winter mortality) and freeing of benthic space may strongly influence the dynamics of algae that colonize open space.
影响因子：
3.5
作者：
Ferrari, Renata;Gonzalez-Rivero, Manuel;Mumby, Peter J.
通讯作者：
Mumby, Peter J.