Submerged vegetation complexity modifies benthic infauna communities: the hidden role of the belowground system |
| |
| Authors: | Vanessa González‐Ortiz Luis Gonzalo Egea Rocio Jiménez‐Ramos Francisco Moreno‐Marín José Lucas Pérez‐Lloréns Tjeerd Bouma Fernando Brun |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar (CEI?MAR), Universidad de Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain;2. Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Yerseke, the Netherlands |
| |
| Abstract: | Marine plants provide a variety of functions with high economic and ecological values in ecosystems. The above‐ (AG) and below‐ground (BG) systems increase the structural complexity of plants, which also enhance faunal abundance and diversity. The ecological role of the AG compartment in structuring inter‐tidal macrobenthic communities has been widely studied; however, this is not the case for the BG compartment. This study addressed the effects of variation in vegetation complexity (in both AG and BG systems) on associated macrobenthic infauna with respect to abundance, species richness, composition, weight and body type. To achieve this aim, a field experiment using artificial vegetation mimics was carried out using replicated treatments with different AG‐BG complexity ratios. We found a significant increase in the density and the number of taxa of macrobenthic infaunal species in plots with vegetation mimics compared with unvegetated areas, regardless of either AG or BG complexity. This effect was found even when AG parts were not present (i.e. when only BG parts were used). Furthermore, a positive relationship between structural complexity and diversity was recorded. Variation in one or both plant compartments was strongly related to diversity changes in the associated macrobenthic infauna. In conclusion, our experimental set‐up provides the first evidence that the BG compartment is at least as important as the AG compartment in controlling diversity in inter‐tidal vegetated areas because it was able to strongly affect community structure even when the AG system was totally absent. |
| |
| Keywords: | Belowground system diversity infauna marine vegetation seagrasses |
|
|
