Transcript
Page 1: Community context mediates the top-down vs. bottom-up effects of grazers on rocky shores

Ecology, 95(6), 2014, pp. 1458–1463� 2014 by the Ecological Society of America

Community context mediates the top-down vs. bottom-up effectsof grazers on rocky shores

MATTHEW E. S. BRACKEN,1,3 RENEE E. DOLECAL,2,4 AND JEREMY D. LONG2

1Marine Science Center, Northeastern University, 430 Nahant Road, Nahant, Massachusetts 01908 USA2Department of Biology and Coastal and Marine Institute Laboratory, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego,

California 92182 USA

Abstract. Interactions between grazers and autotrophs are complex, including both top-down consumptive and bottom-up facilitative effects of grazers. Thus, in addition toconsuming autotrophs, herbivores can also enhance autotroph biomass by recycling limitingnutrients, thereby increasing nutrient availability. Here, we evaluated these consumptive andfacilitative interactions between snails (Littorina littorea) and seaweeds (Fucus vesiculosus andUlva lactuca) on a rocky shore. We partitioned herbivores’ total effects on seaweeds into theirconsumptive and facilitative effects and evaluated how community context (the presence ofanother seaweed species) modified the effects of Littorina on a focal seaweed species. Ulva, themore palatable species, enhanced the facilitative effects of Littorina on Fucus. Ulva did notmodify the consumptive effect of Littorina on Fucus. Taken together, the consumptive andfacilitative effects of snails on Fucus in the presence of Ulva balanced each other, resulting inno net effect of Littorina on Fucus. In contrast, the only effect of Fucus on Ulva was to enhanceconsumptive effects of Littorina on Ulva. Our results highlight the necessity of consideringboth consumptive and facilitative effects of herbivores on multiple autotroph species in orderto gain a mechanistic understanding of grazers’ top-down and bottom-up roles in structuringcommunities.

Key words: ammonium; bottom-up; Fucus; grazers; herbivory; Littorina; nutrients; rocky intertidal;seaweeds; snails; top-down; Ulva.

INTRODUCTION

Consumption by herbivores and the availability of

limiting nutrients simultaneously determine the abun-

dance of primary producers (Hunter and Price 1992,

Burkepile and Hay 2006, Gruner et al. 2008). Because

humans profoundly impact both consumers (Duffy

2003) and nutrients (Vitousek et al. 1997), understand-

ing the relative importance of top-down (i.e., consumer)

and bottom-up (i.e., nutrient) effects on primary

producers is essential for predicting the consequences

of these anthropogenic changes. Such predictions are

currently complicated because herbivores and nutrients

can have interactive, noninteractive, and additive effects

on producer biomass (Burkepile and Hay 2006, Gruner

et al. 2008). However, interactive effects of nutrients and

herbivores on autotrophs appear to be rare based on a

recent synthesis of nearly 200 factorial manipulations of

grazers and nutrients (Gruner et al. 2008).

If the effects of nutrient enrichment and consumer

loss on primary production are additive, then predicting

the responses of producer diversity and productivity to

environmental change will be much more straightfor-

ward. However, the loss of consumers not only modifies

‘‘traditional’’ top-down consumptive processes, it can

also alter nutrient availability due to both inhibitory and

facilitative effects of consumers on autotrophs’ access to

limiting nutrients. For example, herbivores can inhibit

access to nutrients by selectively consuming tissues or

structures that are disproportionately responsible for

nutrient uptake by plants and seaweeds (Brown 1994,

Bracken and Stachowicz 2007). And herbivores can

facilitate nutrient availability by releasing nitrogen and/

or phosphorus in their waste products, enhancing

growth of plants and phytoplankton (McNaughton et

al. 1997, Sterner 1986, Vanni 2002). If nutrients are

recycled by herbivores at a rate that allows production

to balance consumption (e.g., de Mazancourt et al.

1998), the interactive effect of herbivores and nutrients

on primary producers is effectively nullified and

responses of autotrophs to nutrient additions and

herbivore removals are qualitatively similar to simple

additivity (Gruner et al. 2008). The failure to account for

this top-down modification of bottom-up processes

(sensu Bracken and Stachowicz 2007) can limit a

mechanistic understanding of the roles of consumers

vs. nutrients in mediating primary production.

Manuscript received 11 November 2013; revised 20 February2014; accepted 7 March 2014. Corresponding Editor: P. D.Steinberg.

3 Present address: Department of Ecology and Evolution-ary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California92697-2525 USA. E-mail: [email protected]

4 Present address: San Diego State University ResearchFoundation, 5250 Campanile Drive, San Diego, California92182 USA.

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The effects of consumers and nutrients on primary

producers are also modified by the particular species

present in an ecosystem. For example, on rocky

shorelines, nutrient additions enhance growth of ephem-

eral species such as the green seaweed Ulva spp., but

only where herbivores are absent (Nielsen 2003).

Herbivores, such as the snail Littorina littorea, prefer

to eat Ulva (Lubchenco 1978, Dolecal and Long 2013),

which is competitively dominant in the absence of

grazers (Lubchenco 1978, 1983). Ulva, which is able to

rapidly take over space, limits growth and succession of

competitively inferior, but grazer-resistant, seaweeds

(e.g., Fucus vesiculosus) in the absence of Littorina.

However, because snails preferentially consume Ulva,

Fucus grows, and eventually dominates, in locations

where Littorina is abundant (Lubchenco 1978, 1983).

Thus, community context can alter the types and

strengths of interactions between species. In the case of

the seaweeds Ulva and Fucus, preferential grazing by

snails on the dominant species reduced competition

(Lubchenco 1983). In both marine and terrestrial

systems, grazers can shift the interaction between species

from competitive to facilitative. This shift occurs via the

acquisition of associational defenses against grazing that

are gained by palatable species due to their proximity to

unpalatable species (Hay 1986, Pfister and Hay 1988,

Barbosa et al. 2009).

Here, we combined these concepts to explore interac-

tions between grazers and seaweeds on a rocky shore.

Previous work suggests that community context can

shift the effects of herbivores from consumptive to

facilitative. For example, the intertidal snail Littorina

obtusata readily consumes the seaweed Fucus vesiculosus

when Fucus is offered alone. However, when included in

a diverse assemblage that also includes the preferred

seaweed Cladophora rupestris, Fucus benefits from the

presence of herbivores (Bracken and Low 2012).

Similarly, in a multispecies choice assay with both Fucus

and Ulva spp. present, Ulva was consumed, but Fucus

grew (Dolecal and Long 2013). We hypothesized that

community context (the presence of a more palatable

species) would enhance the facilitative effect of grazers

on a less palatable species.

We tested this hypothesis by evaluating the consump-

tive, facilitative, and total effect of the herbivorous snail

Littorina littorea on two common, co-occurring species

of intertidal seaweed, the relatively unpalatable Fucus

vesiculosus and the readily consumed Ulva lactuca

(Lubchenco 1978, Dolecal and Long 2013). We predict-

ed that the presence of Ulva would reduce the

consumptive effect and enhance the facilitative effect

of Littorina on Fucus, but that consumption of Ulva

would not be modified by the presence of Fucus. By

evaluating the effect of community context on the

facilitative and consumptive effects of consumers, we

highlight the complex relationships between species

composition, top-down processes, and bottom-up pro-

cesses in communities.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Collection and maintenance of organisms

The seaweeds Fucus vesiculosus L. (Heterokontophy-

ta, Phaeophyceae; hereafter Fucus) and Ulva lactuca L.

(Chlorophyta, Ulvophyceae; hereafter Ulva) and the

herbivorous snail Littorina littorea L. (Mollusca, Gas-

tropoda; hereafter Littorina) were collected in early June

of 2009 from the mid-intertidal zone (;1 m above mean

lower-low water), where they co-occur, at East Point,

Nahant, Massachusetts, USA (4282500700 N, 7085402200

W; Lubchenco 1978, Bracken and Low 2012, Dolecal

and Long 2013). Ambient ammonium concentrations,

measured at low tide adjacent to collection locations

averaged 1.0 lmol/L, ranging between 0.6 and 1.7 lmol/

L. By the first week in June, nitrate concentrations have

become depleted in nearshore waters adjacent to East

Point, averaging ,1 lmol/L, and concentrations typi-

cally remain low (,2 lmol/L) until September (Perini

and Bracken 2014). Prior to initiation of our experi-

ments, individuals were rinsed to remove epiphytes and

maintained for ,24 h in outdoor tanks plumbed with

raw seawater pumped directly from the adjacent cove.

Experimental mesocosms

Experimental units consisted of 0.7-L perforated

transparent plastic mesocosms placed in outdoor un-

shaded tanks plumbed with unfiltered running seawater

pumped directly from the ocean at East Point, Nahant.

We used a total of 150 mesocosms to accommodate our

experimental treatments. Each mesocosm was divided in

half by a plastic mesh screen (1.5 3 1.5 mm openings)

that separated the experimental ‘‘grazer present’’ side (in

chambers containing snails) from the ‘‘grazer barrier’’

side (Fig. 1A). Grazer present chambers contained four

Littorina individuals, which averaged a total of 5.1 6 0.1

g (shown are means 6 SE) of blotted wet snail mass in

each grazer present side. In chambers lacking snails (‘‘no

grazer’’ treatments; Fig. 1A), each side of each split

mesocosm was treated as a separate experimental unit

and was randomly matched to a mesocosm where snails

were present.

We quantified ammonium concentrations in each of

the experimental units by inserting an acid-washed glass

pipette into the mesocosm through one of the perfora-

tions and drawing up a 1-mL seawater sample. Samples

were immediately transported to the laboratory, where

ammonium concentrations were determined using the

phenol-hypochlorite method (Solorzano 1969). All

water samples were collected ;24 h after the start of

the experiment to allow sufficient time for experimental

treatments to create variation in ammonium concentra-

tions.

Seaweed tissue in each experimental unit was weighed

(wet mass) prior to the experiment and after three days,

and the change in seaweed mass in each half-mesocosm

experimental unit was calculated as follows:

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%G ¼ 100 3ðMf �MiÞ=Mi ð1Þ

where %G was growth as a percentage of initial mass,Mf

was the final mass, and Mi was the initial mass.

Mesocosms were used to evaluate and partition the

effects of grazers on seaweeds, including their consump-

tive effects, nonconsumptive (facilitative) effects, and

total effects (i.e., combining consumptive and facilitative

effects). Our approach was analogous to recent work

that has partitioned total effects of predators on prey

into consumptive and nonconsumptive (e.g., fear-medi-

ated) effects (Matassa and Trussell 2011). Consumptive

effects (CE) were evaluated by comparing growth of

seaweeds in the side of each mesocosm containing snails

(grazer present, %GGP) with growth in the side without

snails (grazer barrier, %GGB; Fig. 1A). Facilitative

effects associated with ammonium excretion by snails

were present on both sides of the mesh, so the difference

would be attributable solely to consumption:

CE ¼ %GGP �%GGB: ð2Þ

These comparisons were made in paired fashion on a

mesocosm-by-mesocosm basis, and negative values

indicated consumption. Similarly, facilitative effects

(FE) were determined by comparing growth of seaweeds

in the side of the snail-containing mesocosms without

snails (%GGB) with growth in the mesocosms without

snails (no grazer, %GNG; Fig. 1A):

FE ¼ %GGB �%GNG: ð3Þ

Positive values of FE indicated facilitation. Finally,

total effects (TE) were calculated as the difference

between the growth of seaweeds in the side of snail-

containing mesocosms with snails (%GGP) and those

lacking snails entirely (%GNG; Fig. 1A):

TE ¼ %GGP �%GNG: ð4Þ

We evaluated the effect of community context by

comparing herbivore effects on each seaweed species

(i.e., Fucus and Ulva) in the presence and absence of the

other seaweed species. Thus, we evaluated herbivore

effects on Fucus alone, Fucus in the presence of Ulva,

Ulva alone, and Ulva in the presence of Fucus. We used a

combined additive and replacement-series design to

avoid confounding seaweed density and community

composition (Byrnes and Stachowicz 2009). Thus, we

crossed our three grazing treatments (grazer present,

grazer barrier, and no grazer; Fig. 1A) with five seaweed

treatments, each of which was included on both sides of

a given split mesocosm: (1) low-biomass Fucus (initial

blotted wet biomass in each half-mesocosm unit, 0.515

6 0.003 g), (2) low-biomass Ulva (0.507 6 0.003 g), (3)

Fucus þ Ulva (1.024 6 0.005 g, evenly divided between

the two species), (4) high-biomass Fucus (1.016 6 0.003

g), and (5) high-biomass Ulva (1.004 6 0.004 g) for a

total of 15 different experimental treatments. In

treatments containing both Fucus and Ulva, both

seaweed species were present on both sides of each split

mesocosm. We quantified seaweed growth in n ¼ 20

experimental units for each ‘‘grazing treatment’’ 3

‘‘seaweed treatment’’ combination, evaluating responses

of seaweeds in 300 experimental units.

Statistical analyses

We analyzed all of our data using general linear

models (PROC GLM in SAS version 9.2; SAS Institute

2008; see Appendix) after verifying that the data met the

assumptions of normality and homogeneity of variances.

Initial seaweed biomass (i.e., low vs. high biomass) was

included as a fixed categorical factor in all statistical

models to account for differences in seaweed biomass in

the five seaweed treatments. Ammonium concentrations

FIG. 1. Partitioning the consumptive and facilitative effectsof grazers (snails, Littorina littorea) on intertidal seaweeds(Fucus vesiculosus and Ulva lactuca). (A) Our experimentaldesign included three treatments: (1) in grazer present (GP)treatments, snails could consume and facilitate seaweeds; (2) ingrazer barrier (GB) treatments, nitrogen excreted by snailsreadily diffused across the mesh barrier, so snails couldfacilitate, but could not consume, seaweeds; and (3) in nograzer (NG) treatments, snails could neither consume norfacilitate seaweeds. By comparing these treatments, we calcu-lated the consumptive effects (CE), facilitative effects (FE), andtotal effects (TE) of herbivores. (B) Ammonium concentrationsin grazer present and grazer barrier treatments were twice ashigh as those in no grazer treatments. Letters above the barsindicate statistically significant differences after Tukey adjust-ment. Values are means 6 SE.

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in experimental mesocosms were evaluated as a function

of grazer treatment (i.e., grazer present, grazer barrier,

or no grazer), seaweed species treatment (i.e., Fucus,

Ulva, or Fucus þ Ulva), and their interaction, after

accounting for the initial seaweed biomass in each

experimental unit (i.e., low or high) as a factor in the

statistical model. Thus, we evaluated ammonium con-

centrations in the different grazer treatments after

accounting for the species present and the total seaweed

biomass.

The two sides of each mesocosm containing snails

(i.e., grazer present and grazer barrier treatments) were

paired to account for nonindependence, and analyses

were conducted on the difference (CE). Each mesocosm

containing snails was randomly paired with a half-

mesocosm that lacked snails (no grazer treatment) for

calculation of facilitative (FE) and total (TE) effects of

herbivores. For each seaweed species (i.e., Ulva or

Fucus), consumptive, facilitative, and total effects were

analyzed separately as functions of the other seaweed

species (present or absent) and the biomass treatment

(low or high). This model allowed us to evaluate how the

presence of Ulva modified herbivore effects on Fucus,

and vice versa, after accounting for biomass.

RESULTS

Ammonium concentrations in the experimental units

varied with seaweed biomass (F1, 288 ¼ 3.8, P ¼ 0.051),

species composition (F2, 288 ¼ 3.1, P ¼ 0.045), and

especially grazer treatment (F2, 288 ¼ 24.5, P , 0.001);

the effect of grazer treatment on concentration was not

dependent on species composition (grazer 3 species

interaction: F4, 288 ¼ 1.4, P ¼ 0.223). Ammonium

concentrations did not differ between grazer present

and grazer barrier treatments, suggesting that ammoni-

um readily diffused across the mesh barrier (P ¼ 0.571

after Tukey adjustment). Ammonium concentrations in

grazer present and grazer barrier treatments averaged

2.1 6 0.1 lmol/L and were twice as high as concentra-

tions in no grazer treatments, which averaged 1.0 6 0.1

lmol/L (P , 0.001 after Tukey adjustment; Fig. 1B).

After accounting for biomass and grazer treatment,

ammonium concentrations were highest in experimental

units containing both Fucus and Ulva (2.0 6 0.1 lmol/

L), intermediate in units containing only Fucus (1.7 6

0.1 lmol/L), and lowest in units containing only Ulva

(1.5 6 0.1 lmol/L).

We evaluated the consumptive (CE), facilitative (FE),

and total (TE) effects of snails on Fucus by comparing

Fucus growth in the different grazer treatments in the

presence and absence of Ulva, after accounting for

biomass. The initial total seaweed biomass in each

chamber did not affect the consumptive, facilitative, or

total effect of grazers on Fucus growth (P . 0.115 in all

cases). Consumption of Fucus was not affected by the

presence of Ulva (F1,57¼ 0.1, P¼ 0.781). The presence of

Ulva affected the facilitative effect of snails on Fucus

(F1,57 ¼ 5.7, P ¼ 0.021); facilitation only occurred when

Ulva was present (Ulva absent, P¼ 0.524; Ulva present,

P ¼ 0.021; Fig. 2A). The presence of Ulva modified the

total effect of herbivores on Fucus growth (F1,57¼ 4.0, P

¼0.049). In particular, an overall negative effect of snails

on Fucus was only evident when Ulva was absent (Ulva

absent, P , 0.001; Ulva present, P ¼ 0.835; Fig. 2A).

Consumptive effects on Ulva were strong (Fucus

absent, P , 0.001; Fucus present, P , 0.001; Fig. 2B),

modified by Fucus (F1,57¼ 8.7, P¼ 0.005; Fig. 2B), and

affected by biomass (F1,57 ¼ 27.6, P , 0.001). After

accounting for biomass, the presence of Fucus enhanced

the negative consumptive effect of snails on Ulva (Fig.

2B). Consumptive effects were greater on Ulva in low-

biomass treatments. Facilitative effects were negligible

(Fucus absent, P ¼ 0.390; Fucus present, P ¼ 0.879),

unmodified by the presence of Fucus (F1,57 ¼ 0.3, P ¼0.574; Fig. 2B), and unaffected by biomass (F1,57 , 0.1,

P ¼ 0.903). Overall, snails reduced Ulva mass (Fucus

absent, P , 0.001; Fucus present, P , 0.001), and those

patterns were unaffected by the presence of Fucus (F1,57

¼ 2.7, P¼ 0.107; Fig. 2B). The total herbivore effect on

Ulva growth was greater (i.e., more negative) for

FIG. 2. Consumption and facilitation of seaweeds bygrazers. Panels illustrate effects of the presence (plus sign) orabsence (minus sign) of a second seaweed species on theconsumptive (CE), facilitative (FE), and total (TE) effects ofsnails on a focal seaweed species. The response variable is thechange in the mass of the focal seaweed species; positive valuesindicate growth and negative values indicate consumption.Panels show (A) effects on Fucus mass and (B) effects on Ulvamass. Values are least-squares means 6 SE, after accountingfor biomass. P values are for comparisons of the mass of thetarget species in the presence and absence of the other species.Asterisks indicate whether least-squares means differ from zero.

* P , 0.05; *** P , 0.001.

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individuals in low-biomass treatments (F1,57¼ 15.5, P ,

0.001).

DISCUSSION

We hypothesized that the presence of a more

palatable species would modify the effect of grazers on

a less palatable species. Specifically, we predicted that

the presence of Ulva, which is more readily consumed

than Fucus (Fig. 2), would reduce the negative con-

sumptive effect and enhance the positive facilitative

effect of Littorina on Fucus. Our results were partly

consistent with this prediction. Whereas the consump-

tive effect of snails on Fucus was not modified by the

presence of Ulva, the facilitative effect of snails on Fucus

was enhanced by Ulva (Fig. 2A). The presence of Ulva

therefore modified the total herbivore effect on Fucus,

changing it from negative (with Ulva absent) to

negligible (with Ulva present).

Ammonium concentrations in our experimental

chambers depended on both grazer treatment and algal

species composition. Not surprisingly, ammonium

concentrations were higher in both grazer present and

grazer barrier treatments than they were in no grazer

treatments. The increase in ammonium concentrations

associated with grazers in our experimental treatments

was within the natural variability in ammonium

concentrations at the site where we collected the

seaweeds and grazers (see Materials and methods) and

similar to consumer-mediated increases in other inter-

tidal locations (Pfister et al. 2007, Aquilino et al. 2009).

A similar level of local-scale nutrient recycling by

consumers can enhance seaweed growth in the field,

even on wave-swept rocky shores (Aquilino et al. 2009).

The variation in ammonium concentrations associat-

ed with the different seaweed assemblages was consistent

with the palatability and ammonium uptake rates of

Ulva and Fucus. Ammonium concentrations were lowest

in treatments containing only Ulva, the seaweed species

with the higher demand for nitrogen (Pedersen and

Borum 1997), intermediate in treatments containing

only Fucus, the species with the lower demand for

nitrogen (Pedersen and Borum 1997), and highest in

treatments containing both Ulva and Fucus. We suspect

that the higher ammonium concentrations in this mixed

algal assemblage is due to the combination of a highly

palatable alga, which provides a more accessible source

of nitrogen to the grazers, and a less palatable alga with

a lower demand for nitrogen. Based on low nitrogen

availability in the nearshore ocean prior to and during

our experiments, both Ulva and Fucus should have

benefitted from nitrogen recycling by Littorina, but Ulva

is an order of magnitude less effective, on a per-gram

basis, than Fucus in converting added nitrogen into

biomass (Pedersen and Borum 1997). This lower

efficiency likely explains the lack of a facilitative effect

of Littorina on Ulva.

Facilitation of autotrophs via nitrogen recycling by

herbivores is an important interaction in many ecosys-

tems, including enhancement of phytoplankton growth

by zooplankton in both freshwater (Sterner 1986, Vanni

2002) and marine (Dugdale and Goering 1967) ecosys-

tems and enhancement of freshwater plant (Flint and

Goldman 1975) and seaweed (Guidone et al. 2012)

production by grazers. Grazer-mediated nutrient recy-

cling is also important in terrestrial systems, including

facilitation of plants due to nitrogen deposition by

ungulate grazers (Day and Detling 1990, McNaughton

et al. 1997). Here, we expand on these perspectives to

partition the top-down and bottom-up effects of grazers

and demonstrate that community context (the presence

of a more palatable food source) can mediate the

importance of grazer-mediated nutrient facilitation.

The majority of past experiments that have evaluated

the effects of herbivores have examined total herbivore

effects (Gruner et al. 2008, Poore et al. 2012), which, as

we show here, include both consumptive and facilitative

effects. Traditionally, herbivore effects on primary

producers were assumed to be negative (Lubchenco

and Gaines 1981), but more recent work highlights a

much larger range of herbivore effects across marine

systems (Poore et al. 2012). The failure to partition total

herbivore effects into both consumptive and noncon-

sumptive components limits our understanding of the

effects that herbivores can have on primary producers.

In fact, Bruno et al. (2003) suggest that one of the

reasons that facilitative interactions are understudied

relative to competition and consumption may be

because in some cases, like the one we describe here,

species’ positive and negative effects balance each other,

resulting in a net interaction that is not obviously

facilitative.

Furthermore, our work highlights the importance of

community context in mediating consumer-driven nu-

trient recycling. The presence of a readily consumed

species (Ulva) enhanced nutrient recycling, benefitted a

second, less palatable species (Fucus), and resulted in a

minimal net effect of herbivory on that species. We

propose that a mechanistic understanding of herbivore

effects, which include both consumption and facilita-

tion, requires manipulations that partition the herbi-

vores’ top-down and bottom-up effects. This is

especially important in experiments that evaluate

community-level effects of herbivores, where the pres-

ence of more palatable producer species can shift the

effects of herbivores from consumptive to facilitative.

Understanding the roles that consumers and nutrients

play in mediating community structure requires ac-

knowledgment that grazers play both top-down and

bottom-up roles, acting as both consumers of biomass

and sources of limiting nutrients.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank T. Lemos Esken for research assistance and twoanonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the manuscript.This work was supported by the National Science Foundation(OCE-0961364 to M. E. S. Bracken and G. Trussell, OCE-0825846 to J. D. Long and G. Trussell, and 0963010 to G.

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Trussell et al. as part of the Academic Research InfrastructureRecovery and Reinvestment Program). This is contributionnumber 309 of the Northeastern University Marine ScienceCenter.

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SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

Appendix

Tables showing output from general linear models (Ecological Archives E095-128-A1).

June 2014 1463GRAZERS’ TOP-DOWN AND BOTTOM-UP EFFECTSR

eports


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