Herbivory on the Invasive Alga Caulerpa cylindracea: The Role of Omnivorous Fishes
Herbivory has long been considered an important component of biotic resistance against macroalgae invasions in marine habitats. However, most of the studies on herbivory of invasive algae refer only to consumption by strictly herbivorous organisms, whereas consumption by omnivorous species has been...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.702492/full |
| _version_ | 1818642630372753408 |
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| author | Jorge Santamaría Fiona Tomas Enric Ballesteros Emma Cebrian |
| author_facet | Jorge Santamaría Fiona Tomas Enric Ballesteros Emma Cebrian |
| author_sort | Jorge Santamaría |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Herbivory has long been considered an important component of biotic resistance against macroalgae invasions in marine habitats. However, most of the studies on herbivory of invasive algae refer only to consumption by strictly herbivorous organisms, whereas consumption by omnivorous species has been largely ignored and rarely quantified. In this study, we assess whether the commonest omnivorous sparid species in the Mediterranean Sea are consuming the highly invasive alga, Caulerpa cylindracea, and determine both, its importance in their diet and their electivity toward it as a source of food. Our results confirm that three of the four fish species studied regularly consume C. cylindracea, but in most cases, the importance of C. cylindracea in the diet is low. Indeed, the low electivity values indicate that all species avoid feeding on the invasive alga and that it is probably consumed accidentally. However, despite animals and detritus being the main food for these sparid species, several individual specimens were found to have consumed high amounts of C. cylindracea. This suggests a potential role that these fish species, being really abundant in shallow rocky bottoms, may play in controlling, to some extent, the abundance of the invader. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T23:46:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bde93fee15ee47b79763398809191c28 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T23:46:07Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-bde93fee15ee47b79763398809191c282022-12-21T22:11:29ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452021-08-01810.3389/fmars.2021.702492702492Herbivory on the Invasive Alga Caulerpa cylindracea: The Role of Omnivorous FishesJorge Santamaría0Fiona Tomas1Enric Ballesteros2Emma Cebrian3Marine Resources and Biodiversity Research Group (GRMAR), Institute of Aquatic Ecology, University of Girona, Girona, SpainDepartment of Marine Ecology and Resources – Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados (IMEDEA), Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB) – Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Esporles, SpainCentre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEAB-CSIC), Blanes, SpainCentre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEAB-CSIC), Blanes, SpainHerbivory has long been considered an important component of biotic resistance against macroalgae invasions in marine habitats. However, most of the studies on herbivory of invasive algae refer only to consumption by strictly herbivorous organisms, whereas consumption by omnivorous species has been largely ignored and rarely quantified. In this study, we assess whether the commonest omnivorous sparid species in the Mediterranean Sea are consuming the highly invasive alga, Caulerpa cylindracea, and determine both, its importance in their diet and their electivity toward it as a source of food. Our results confirm that three of the four fish species studied regularly consume C. cylindracea, but in most cases, the importance of C. cylindracea in the diet is low. Indeed, the low electivity values indicate that all species avoid feeding on the invasive alga and that it is probably consumed accidentally. However, despite animals and detritus being the main food for these sparid species, several individual specimens were found to have consumed high amounts of C. cylindracea. This suggests a potential role that these fish species, being really abundant in shallow rocky bottoms, may play in controlling, to some extent, the abundance of the invader.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.702492/fullinvasive speciesfish-alga interactiongrazingbiotic controlMediterranean SeaSparidae |
| spellingShingle | Jorge Santamaría Fiona Tomas Enric Ballesteros Emma Cebrian Herbivory on the Invasive Alga Caulerpa cylindracea: The Role of Omnivorous Fishes Frontiers in Marine Science invasive species fish-alga interaction grazing biotic control Mediterranean Sea Sparidae |
| title | Herbivory on the Invasive Alga Caulerpa cylindracea: The Role of Omnivorous Fishes |
| title_full | Herbivory on the Invasive Alga Caulerpa cylindracea: The Role of Omnivorous Fishes |
| title_fullStr | Herbivory on the Invasive Alga Caulerpa cylindracea: The Role of Omnivorous Fishes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Herbivory on the Invasive Alga Caulerpa cylindracea: The Role of Omnivorous Fishes |
| title_short | Herbivory on the Invasive Alga Caulerpa cylindracea: The Role of Omnivorous Fishes |
| title_sort | herbivory on the invasive alga caulerpa cylindracea the role of omnivorous fishes |
| topic | invasive species fish-alga interaction grazing biotic control Mediterranean Sea Sparidae |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.702492/full |
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