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INCREASING INTRASPECIFIC DIVERSITY ENHANCES SETTLING SUCCESS IN A MARINE INVERTEBRATE
Author(s) -
Gamfeldt Lars,
Wallén Johan,
Jonsson Per R.,
Berntsson Kent M.,
Havenhand Jon N.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.1890/05-0377
Subject(s) - intraspecific competition , ecology , biology , genetic diversity , species richness , invertebrate , facilitation , ecosystem , population , sociology , demography , neuroscience
Theoretical and empirical research during the last decade suggests that increasing species richness often enhances ecosystem processes such as productivity, nutrient cycling, or resistance to disturbance. By analogous reasoning, it can be hypothesized that genetic diversity within species will have equivalent effects; however, this hypothesis has rarely been tested. We present experimental support for the positive effects of intraspecific diversity on a key trait: larval settlement in a marine invertebrate, the barnacle Balanus improvisus . Varying within‐species diversity levels of an animal over nine experiments, we found increasing larval settlement with increasing diversity (one, two, or three parental broods). Possible mechanisms explaining this pattern include: (1) facilitation of gregarious response through the presence of founder genotypes, and (2) ensuring genetic complementarity to increase future reproductive potential. Our results indicate that changing intraspecific genetic diversity could have hitherto unrecognized community‐scale implications for larval recruitment and space occupancy.