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Behavioural interactions between ecosystem engineers control community species richness
Author(s) -
Gribben Paul E.,
Byers James E.,
Clements Michael,
McKenzie Louise A.,
Steinberg Peter D.,
Wright Jeffrey T.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01366.x
Subject(s) - ecosystem engineer , species richness , ecology , epibiont , ecosystem , abundance (ecology) , habitat , biology , trophic cascade , facilitation , introduced species , community , community structure , food web , crustacean , neuroscience
Behavioural interactions between ecosystem engineers may strongly influence community structure. We tested whether an invasive ecosystem engineer, the alga Caulerpa taxifolia , indirectly facilitated community diversity by modifying the behaviour of a native ecosystem engineer, the clam Anadara trapezia , in southeastern Australia . In this study, clams in Caulerpa ‐invaded sediments partially unburied themselves, extending >30% of their shell surface above the sediment, providing rare, hard substrata for colonization. Consequently, clams in Caulerpa had significantly higher diversity and abundance of epibiota compared with clams in unvegetated sediments. To isolate the role of clam burial depth from direct habitat influences or differential predation by habitat, we manipulated clam burial depth, predator exposure and habitat ( Caulerpa or unvegetated) in an orthogonal experiment. Burial depth overwhelmingly influenced epibiont species richness and abundance, resulting in a behaviourally mediated facilitation cascade. That Caulerpa controls epibiont communities by altering Anadara burial depths illustrates that even subtle behavioural responses of one ecosystem engineer to another can drive extensive community‐wide facilitation.