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Exploitation of rocky intertidal grazers: population status and potential impacts on community structure and functioning

Exploitation of rocky intertidal grazers: population status and potential impacts on community structure and functioning
Exploitation of rocky intertidal grazers: population status and potential impacts on community structure and functioning
A wide range of anthropogenic activities are impacting the ecology of coastal areas. Exploitation of marine resources is one such activity, which, through cascading trophic effects, can have influences well beyond that of the target species. We investigated the mid-rocky-shore community structure of the Azores archipelago, a seldom-studied habitat, where there is a local tradition of exploiting limpets, the main intertidal grazers. The limpet population structure differed among islands, and there was an inverse relationship between the abundance of larger limpets and the human population per coastal perimeter, but not the associated catch data. At small scales of resolution (quadrats), there was a negative relationship between the cover of algae and limpets and a positive relationship between barnacles and limpets. These relationships were also apparent at the larger scale of islands as a function of the gradient of exploitation. Our results show how natural habitat fragmentation may be useful where the experimental testing of a hypothesis is not possible, and provide evidence for the trophic cascading effects of limpet exploitation at landscape scales.
Harvesting, Exploitation index, Patella candei, Patella aspera, Population structure, Community structure, Fragmented habitats, Islands
1864-7782
1-10
Martins, G.M.
e58970f9-089c-4881-b8af-deaf2987d042
Jenkins, S.R.
f160f172-4162-4e5b-bf70-9048d9e7ec8d
Hawkins, S.J.
758fe1c1-30cd-4ed1-bb65-2471dc7c11fa
Neto, A.I.
7a08ec05-25c4-4b5b-9fa2-ce291196aee6
Thompson, R.C.
d632e905-6f51-49a0-9426-13c42c3d0a18
Martins, G.M.
e58970f9-089c-4881-b8af-deaf2987d042
Jenkins, S.R.
f160f172-4162-4e5b-bf70-9048d9e7ec8d
Hawkins, S.J.
758fe1c1-30cd-4ed1-bb65-2471dc7c11fa
Neto, A.I.
7a08ec05-25c4-4b5b-9fa2-ce291196aee6
Thompson, R.C.
d632e905-6f51-49a0-9426-13c42c3d0a18

Martins, G.M., Jenkins, S.R., Hawkins, S.J., Neto, A.I. and Thompson, R.C. (2008) Exploitation of rocky intertidal grazers: population status and potential impacts on community structure and functioning. Aquatic Biology, 3, 1-10. (doi:10.3354/ab00072).

Record type: Article

Abstract

A wide range of anthropogenic activities are impacting the ecology of coastal areas. Exploitation of marine resources is one such activity, which, through cascading trophic effects, can have influences well beyond that of the target species. We investigated the mid-rocky-shore community structure of the Azores archipelago, a seldom-studied habitat, where there is a local tradition of exploiting limpets, the main intertidal grazers. The limpet population structure differed among islands, and there was an inverse relationship between the abundance of larger limpets and the human population per coastal perimeter, but not the associated catch data. At small scales of resolution (quadrats), there was a negative relationship between the cover of algae and limpets and a positive relationship between barnacles and limpets. These relationships were also apparent at the larger scale of islands as a function of the gradient of exploitation. Our results show how natural habitat fragmentation may be useful where the experimental testing of a hypothesis is not possible, and provide evidence for the trophic cascading effects of limpet exploitation at landscape scales.

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Published date: 2008
Keywords: Harvesting, Exploitation index, Patella candei, Patella aspera, Population structure, Community structure, Fragmented habitats, Islands

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 187921
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/187921
ISSN: 1864-7782
PURE UUID: 006282b6-0818-499f-af33-613eaed5619c

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Date deposited: 18 May 2011 16:09
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 03:28

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Contributors

Author: G.M. Martins
Author: S.R. Jenkins
Author: S.J. Hawkins
Author: A.I. Neto
Author: R.C. Thompson

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