AI Article Synopsis
- Foundation species, like mussels, play a key role in boosting biodiversity and ecosystem functions, but the impact of their patch configuration is not fully understood.
- In a 6-month field study in a southeastern US salt marsh, researchers manipulated the size and arrangement of mussel patches to see how these factors influenced ecological outcomes.
- Results showed that clustering mussels led to greater ecological benefits, highlighting the importance of patch size and shape in supporting biodiversity and overall ecosystem health.
Article Abstract
Foundation species enhance biodiversity and multifunctionality across many systems; however, whether foundation species patch configuration mediates their ecological effects is unknown. In a 6-month field experiment, we test which attributes of foundation species patch configuration - i.e. patch size, total patch area, perimeter, area-perimeter ratio, or connectivity - control biodiversity, stability and multifunctionality by adding a standardised density of mussel foundation species in patches of 1, 5, 10, 30, 60, 90 or 180 individuals to a southeastern US salt marsh. Over 67% of response variables increased with clustering of mussels, responses that were driven by increases in area-perimeter ratio (33%), decreases in perimeter (29%), or increases in patch size (5%), suggesting sensitivity to external stressors and/or dependence on foundation species-derived niche availability and segregation. Thus, mussel configuration - by controlling the relative distribution of multidimensional patch interior and edge niche space - critically modulates this foundation species' effects on ecosystem structure, stability and function.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.13146 | DOI Listing |
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