Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2440/79177
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Type: Journal article
Title: Asymmetric patterns of recovery in two habitat forming seagrass species following simulated overgrazing by urchins
Author: Burnell, O.
Connell, S.
Irving, A.
Russell, B.
Citation: Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 2013; 448:114-120
Publisher: Elsevier Science BV
Issue Date: 2013
ISSN: 0022-0981
1879-1697
Statement of
Responsibility: 
Owen W. Burnell, Sean D. Connell, Andrew D. Irving, Bayden D. Russell
Abstract: The persistence of seagrass meadows reflects variation in factors that influence their productivity and consumption. Sea urchins (Amblypneustes pallidus) can over-graze seagrass (Amphibolis antarctica) to create sparse meadows in South Australia, but this effect is not observed in adjacent Posidonia sinuosa meadows despite greater densities of inhabiting urchins. To test the effect of urchin grazing on seagrass biomass, we elevated the density of urchins in meadows of A. antarctica and P. sinuosa and quantified seagrass decline. Urchins removed similar amounts of biomass from both seagrass species, but the loss of leaf meristems was 11-times greater in A. antarctica than in P. sinuosa. In a second experiment to assess the recovery of seagrass, we simulated urchin grazing by clipping seagrass to mimic impacts measured in the first experiment, as well as completely removing all above ground biomass in one treatment. Following simulated grazing, P. sinuosa showed a rapid trajectory toward recovery, while A. antarctica meadows continued to decline relative to control treatments. While both A. antarctica and P. sinuosa were susceptible to heavy grazing loss, consumption of the exposed meristems of A. antarctica appears to reduce its capacity to recover, which may increase its vulnerability to long-term habitat phase-shifts and associated cascading ecosystem changes. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.
Keywords: Amphibolis antarctica
Habitat loss
Herbivory
Meristem
Phase-shift
Posidonia sinuosa
Rights: Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jembe.2013.07.003
Grant ID: ARC
Published version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2013.07.003
Appears in Collections:Aurora harvest
Earth and Environmental Sciences publications
Environment Institute publications

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