Canopy interactions and physical stress gradients in subtidal communities

Species interactions are integral drivers of community structure and can change from competitive to facilitative with increasing environmental stress. In subtidal marine ecosystems, however, interactions along physical stress gradients have seldom been tested. We observed seaweed canopy interactions...

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Main Authors: Bennett, Scott, Wernberg, T., de Bettignies, T., Kendrick, G., Anderson, R., Bolton, J., Rodgers, K., Shears, N., Leclerc, J., Lévêque, L., Davoult, D., Christie, H.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/36538
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author Bennett, Scott
Wernberg, T.
de Bettignies, T.
Kendrick, G.
Anderson, R.
Bolton, J.
Rodgers, K.
Shears, N.
Leclerc, J.
Lévêque, L.
Davoult, D.
Christie, H.
author_facet Bennett, Scott
Wernberg, T.
de Bettignies, T.
Kendrick, G.
Anderson, R.
Bolton, J.
Rodgers, K.
Shears, N.
Leclerc, J.
Lévêque, L.
Davoult, D.
Christie, H.
author_sort Bennett, Scott
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Species interactions are integral drivers of community structure and can change from competitive to facilitative with increasing environmental stress. In subtidal marine ecosystems, however, interactions along physical stress gradients have seldom been tested. We observed seaweed canopy interactions across depth and latitudinal gradients to test whether light and temperature stress structured interaction patterns. We also quantified interspecific and intraspecific interactions among nine subtidal canopy seaweed species across three continents to examine the general nature of interactions in subtidal systems under low consumer pressure. We reveal that positive and neutral interactions are widespread throughout global seaweed communities and the nature of interactions can change from competitive to facilitative with increasing light stress in shallow marine systems. These findings provide support for the stress gradient hypothesis within subtidal seaweed communities and highlight the importance of canopy interactions for the maintenance of subtidal marine habitats experiencing environmental stress.
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format Journal Article
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T08:46:08Z
publishDate 2015
publisher Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-365382017-09-13T15:29:12Z Canopy interactions and physical stress gradients in subtidal communities Bennett, Scott Wernberg, T. de Bettignies, T. Kendrick, G. Anderson, R. Bolton, J. Rodgers, K. Shears, N. Leclerc, J. Lévêque, L. Davoult, D. Christie, H. Species interactions are integral drivers of community structure and can change from competitive to facilitative with increasing environmental stress. In subtidal marine ecosystems, however, interactions along physical stress gradients have seldom been tested. We observed seaweed canopy interactions across depth and latitudinal gradients to test whether light and temperature stress structured interaction patterns. We also quantified interspecific and intraspecific interactions among nine subtidal canopy seaweed species across three continents to examine the general nature of interactions in subtidal systems under low consumer pressure. We reveal that positive and neutral interactions are widespread throughout global seaweed communities and the nature of interactions can change from competitive to facilitative with increasing light stress in shallow marine systems. These findings provide support for the stress gradient hypothesis within subtidal seaweed communities and highlight the importance of canopy interactions for the maintenance of subtidal marine habitats experiencing environmental stress. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/36538 10.1111/ele.12446 Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. restricted
spellingShingle Bennett, Scott
Wernberg, T.
de Bettignies, T.
Kendrick, G.
Anderson, R.
Bolton, J.
Rodgers, K.
Shears, N.
Leclerc, J.
Lévêque, L.
Davoult, D.
Christie, H.
Canopy interactions and physical stress gradients in subtidal communities
title Canopy interactions and physical stress gradients in subtidal communities
title_full Canopy interactions and physical stress gradients in subtidal communities
title_fullStr Canopy interactions and physical stress gradients in subtidal communities
title_full_unstemmed Canopy interactions and physical stress gradients in subtidal communities
title_short Canopy interactions and physical stress gradients in subtidal communities
title_sort canopy interactions and physical stress gradients in subtidal communities
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/36538