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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Seagrass Deterrence To Mesograzer Herbivory: Evidence From Mesocosm Experiments And Feeding Preference Trials, Latina Steele, John F. Valentine
Seagrass Deterrence To Mesograzer Herbivory: Evidence From Mesocosm Experiments And Feeding Preference Trials, Latina Steele, John F. Valentine
Biology Faculty Publications
Two laboratory experiments documented the effects of mesograzers (i.e. the gastropod Crepidula ustulatulina and the isopod Paracerceis caudata) on phenolic acid and condensed tannin production in 2 regionally abundant seagrasses—Thalassia testudinum (turtlegrass) and Halodule wrightii (shoalgrass). Subsequent paired choice experiments tested the hypothesis that phenolic acids and condensed tannins produced by these seagrasses deter mesograzer feeding. At the scale of the shoot, grazing by gastropods and isopods led to ~40 to 50% decreases in concentrations of some phenolic acids and ~20% decreases in condensed tannins in turtlegrass leaves. At a more refined spatial scale, concentrations of 2 of these compounds …
Idiosyncratic Responses Of Seagrass Phenolic Production Following Sea Urchin Grazing, Latina Steele, John F. Valentine
Idiosyncratic Responses Of Seagrass Phenolic Production Following Sea Urchin Grazing, Latina Steele, John F. Valentine
Biology Faculty Publications
While chemical defenses can determine plant persistence in terrestrial ecosystems and some marine macroalgae, their role in determining seagrass persistence in areas of intense grazing is unknown. As a first step toward determining if concentrations of feeding deterrents in seagrasses increase following herbivore attacks, we conducted 4 experiments using a common macrograzer (sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus) and 2 phylogenetically divergent seagrass species (Thalassia testudinum and Halodule wrightii). Macrograzer impacts on production of phenolic acids and condensed tannins varied somewhat idiosyncratically with season, urchin density, and distance from urchin damage. In general, phenolic concentrations were higher in both turtlegrass and shoalgrass …