Efectos de la herbivoría de la lapa Siphonaria lessoni Blainville, 1824 (Gastropoda) sobre la comunidad asociada a Brachidontes rodriguezii (dOrbigny, 1846) (Bivalvia)
- Autores: Mariana Adami
- Localización: Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, ISSN-e 1853-0400, ISSN 1514-5158, Vol. 10, Nº. 2, 2008, págs. 309-317
- Idioma: español
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Resumen
The effects of grazing activity by the limpet Siphonaria lessoni Blainville, 1824(Gastropoda) on the Brachidontes rodriguezii (dOrbigny, 1846) (Bivalvia) community. Understandinghow biodiversity influences and modifies ecosystem processes depends on our knowledge of the roles of theindividual species. In the intertidal rocky shore communities, the molluscs are the main grazers and amongthem are found the pulmonate limpet Siphonaria lessoni. Here it was used a manipulative field experiment totest community responses to the deletion of the grazing from the mid-intertidal zone on warm-temperate rockyshores of Buenos Aires Provinces (Southwestern Atlantic). S. lessoni was removed from four plots (20 x 20 cm)by a five months period (summer-autumn), in order to analyze the grazing effect on the intertidal assemblagesdominated by the mytilid Brachidontes rodriguezii. It was compared the specific richness, biomass and productionbetween limpet removing plots and controls plots. After the mentioned time, in the limpet removing plotsthe biomass average of the algae assemblages was fifty times higher than in controls plots. Specific richness ofspecies assemblages of mussels did not show significant variation between treatments. Community structureassociated to B. rodriguezii did not show significant variation between treatments. In accordance with theseason of year when this experiment was performed, the results suggest that the biomass of epibenthic algae ofB. rodriguezzi community was regulated by the grazing activity of the limpet S. lessoni.
