Incorporating Structural Response into the Prediction of Disturbance of a Competitive Dominant on Wave-Swept Rocky Shores

本项目将集中研究一种生态上重要的潮间带贻贝（Mytilus edulis）对波浪作用的结构反应。初步实验表明，贻贝的附着强度随季节变化，冬季达到峰值，夏季下降。这种依恋强度的循环可能代表了对波浪气候季节变化的塑性反应，或者，也可能反映了生殖和依恋之间能量资源分配的时间变化。实验室实验将确定贻贝对环境和代谢线索的反应以及线索和反应之间的时间滞后。此外，实地实验将测量施加在贻贝身上的力的季节性变化，以及它们的附着强度和繁殖条件。总之，这些实验将允许贻贝干扰率的预测，可以通过实地干扰测量来验证。这项研究将提供一个详细的机制，使这个物种主宰波浪？冲刷海岸，并将提高预测这种生态上重要物种的干扰率的能力。此外，这项研究允许预测贻贝对任何未来波浪气候变化的定量响应。鉴于目前的证据表明，在不久的将来，波浪暴露的增加可能是普遍的，这些估计可能对预测气候变化的生态后果的能力形成有价值的测试。

This project will focus on the study of the structural response to wave action of an ecologically important intertidal mussel, Mytilus edulis. Preliminary experiments have demonstrated mussel attachment strength varies seasonally, peaking in winter and declining in summer. This cycle in attachment strength may represent a plastic response to seasonal shifts in wave climate, or alternatively, may reflect temporal shifts in the allocation of energetic resources between reproduction and attachment. Laboratory experiments will determine the environmental and metabolic cues to which mussels respond and the time lag between cue and response. In addition, field experiments will measure the seasonal variability of the forces imposed on mussels, and of their attachment strength and reproductive condition. Together, these experiments will allow for predictions of the rate of disturbance of mussels that can be verified with measurements of disturbance in the field.This study will provide a detailed understanding of the mechanics which allow this species to dominate wave?swept shores, and will enhance the ability to predict the rate of disturbance of this ecologically important species. Furthermore, this study allows for the prediction of the quantitative response of mussels to any future shifts in wave climate. Given current evidence that increases in wave exposure may be common in the near future, these estimations are likely to form a valuable test of the ability to predict the ecological consequences of climate change.