Hurricanes temporarily weaken human-ecosystem linkages in estuaries.

Intense disturbances such as hurricanes may drastically affect ecosystems, producing both acute and long-term changes along coastlines. By disrupting human activities (e.g., fishing), hurricanes can provide an opportunity to quantify the effects of these activities on coastal ecosystems. We performed predator-exclusion experiments on oyster reefs in 2016, one-year before a category-4 hurricane ("Harvey") and again in 2018 one-year post-hurricane where the storm made landfall. Additionally, we examined 8 years (2011-2018) of fisheries-independent data to gauge how fishing pressure and fish populations were affected by the storm in three locations that varied in storm impacts. In the month following Hurricane Harvey, fishing effort dropped by 90% in the area with wind and flooding damage, and predatory fish species commonly targeted by anglers were 300% more abundant than the year prior to the hurricane. The locations without damage to fishing infrastructure did not experience declines in fishing pressure or changes in fish abundance, regardless of flooding disturbance. Reef fish and invertebrate communities directly affected by the storm were significantly different after the hurricane and were ~ 30% more diverse. With low fishing pressure, sportfish CPUE were 1.7-6.9 × higher immediately after the hurricane. Intermediate consumers, such as crabs that prey on oysters, were 45% less abundant and 10% smaller. These results indicate that hurricanes can temporarily disrupt human-ecosystem linkages and reconstitute top-down control by sportfish in estuarine food webs. Disturbance events that interrupt or weaken those interactions may yield indirect ecological benefits and provide insights into the effects of human activities on food webs.

Common fear molecules induce defensive responses in marine prey across trophic levels.

Predator-prey interactions are a key feature of ecosystems and often chemically mediated, whereby individuals detect molecules in their environment that inform whether they should attack or defend. These molecules are largely unidentified, and their discovery is important for determining their ecological role in complex trophic systems. Homarine and trigonelline are two previously identified blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) urinary metabolites that cause mud crabs (Panopeus herbstii) to seek refuge, but it was unknown whether these molecules influence other species within this oyster reef system. In the current study, homarine, trigonelline, and blue crab urine were tested on juvenile oysters (Crassostrea virginica) to ascertain if the same molecules known to alter mud crab behavior also affect juvenile oyster morphology, thus mediating interactions between a generalist predator, a mesopredator, and a basal prey species. Oyster juveniles strengthened their shells in response to blue crab urine and when exposed to homarine and trigonelline in combination, especially at higher concentrations. This study builds upon previous work to pinpoint specific molecules from a generalist predator's urine that induce defensive responses in two marine prey from different taxa and trophic levels, supporting the hypothesis that common fear molecules exist in ecological systems.

Induced defenses as a management tool: Shaping individuals to their environment.

Many prey species can adjust morphology to reduce predation risk in response to predator cues. Enhancing prey defenses using predator cues may improve survival of cultivated species and enhance species restoration efforts, but assessment of such benefits at industrially relevant scales is needed. We examined how raising a model foundation species, oysters (Crassostrea virginica), under commercial hatchery conditions with cues from two common predator species can improve survival across a variety of predator regimes and environmental conditions. Oysters responded to predators by growing stronger shells than controls, but had subtle variations in shell characteristics depending on the predator species. Predator-induced changes significantly increased oyster survival up to 600% and survivorship was maximized when cue source was matched with local predator regime. Overall, our findings demonstrate the utility of using predator cues to enhance the survival of target species across landscapes and highlight the opportunity to employ nontoxic methods to control pest-based mortality.

The impacts of mangrove range expansion on wetland ecosystem services in the southeastern United States: Current understanding, knowledge gaps, and emerging research needs.

Climate change is transforming ecosystems and affecting ecosystem goods and services. Along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts of the southeastern United States, the frequency and intensity of extreme freeze events greatly influence whether coastal wetlands are dominated by freeze-sensitive woody plants (mangrove forests) or freeze-tolerant grass-like plants (salt marshes). In response to warming winters, mangroves have been expanding and displacing salt marshes at varying degrees of severity in parts of north Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. As winter warming accelerates, mangrove range expansion is expected to increasingly modify wetland ecosystem structure and function. Because there are differences in the ecological and societal benefits that salt marshes and mangroves provide, coastal environmental managers are challenged to anticipate the effects of mangrove expansion on critical wetland ecosystem services, including those related to carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, storm protection, erosion reduction, water purification, fisheries support, and recreation. Mangrove range expansion may also affect wetland stability in the face of extreme climatic events and rising sea levels. Here, we review the current understanding of the effects of mangrove range expansion and displacement of salt marshes on wetland ecosystem services in the southeastern United States. We also identify critical knowledge gaps and emerging research needs regarding the ecological and societal implications of salt marsh displacement by expanding mangrove forests. One consistent theme throughout our review is that there are ecological trade-offs for consideration by coastal managers. Mangrove expansion and marsh displacement can produce beneficial changes in some ecosystem services, while simultaneously producing detrimental changes in other services. Thus, there can be local-scale differences in perceptions of the impacts of mangrove expansion into salt marshes. For very specific local reasons, some individuals may see mangrove expansion as a positive change to be embraced, while others may see mangrove expansion as a negative change to be constrained.

Dazed, confused, and then hungry: pesticides alter predator-prey interactions of estuarine organisms.

Like predators, contaminant stressors such as pesticides may have large and interacting effects on natural communities by removing species or altering behaviors and species interactions. Yet, few studies in estuarine systems have evaluated the effects of a single, low-dose exposure to pesticides on key predators. Here, we investigated the effects of a common pyrethroid (resmethrin) + synergist (piperonyl butoxide; PBO) mixture used for mosquito abatement on two life stages (adult and juvenile) of an important invertebrate estuarine predator, prey, and fishery species: the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus). The effects of resmethrin with PBO (Res-PBO) were assessed using behavioral and mesocosm experiments to link effects on individuals with changes in predator-prey interactions: (1) In static non-renewal exposures, crabs exposed to 1:3, 10:30, or 100:300 µg l-1 Res-PBO or PBO-alone had increased mortality and reduced locomotor ability within 1-12 h, with higher effects in adults than juveniles. (2) In mesocosms, sublethal exposure to 1:3 µg l-1 Res-PBO altered abult and juvnile foraging ability by  lowering the ability of adult crabs to cannibalize juvenile crabs but increasing juvenile crab foraging rates. Juvenile crabs were also more vulnerable to predation following pesticide exposure. Thus, a single, sublethal exposure to low, environmentally occurring pesticide concentrations reduced blue crab survivorship and locomotor functioning, and altered predator-prey interactions by changing foraging rates and increasing vulnerability to predators. Pesticide stressors may therefore play an important but underestimated role in shaping coastal ecosystems in which invertebrate predators are important and may contribute to U.S. blue crab population declines.

Organophosphate Pesticides Alter Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus) Behavior in Single and Consecutive Exposures.

Insecticide effects on nontarget organisms most commonly involve measuring mortality after single exposures. We examined sublethal effects of consecutive exposures of malathion, an organophosphate insecticide used for mosquito abatement, on the behavior of blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus). We measured righting time (i.e., time to return upright when placed upside down), eyestalk reflexes, foraging ability, and response to predation risk in three malathion treatments of 50 µg/L that varied in duration: (1) static exposure for 96 h followed by a second exposure for 96 h, (2) static exposure for 96 h followed by transfer to pesticide-free water for 96 h, (3) control without malathion for 192 h. Malathion significantly increased crabs' righting time 45 ± 23%, but righting time was not different from controls after crabs were placed in malathion-free water for 96 h. Normal eyestalk reflexes significantly declined 50 ± 15% in adults and 75 ± 40% in juveniles. Malathion affected foraging ability; blue crabs sought food more frequently, even in the presence of alarm cues from injured crabs but were less able to locate food after malathion exposure. Thus malathion, at environmentally occurring concentrations, interfered with blue crabs' neuromuscular function, inhibited their ability to forage, and caused them to ignore predation risk when foraging. However, two exposures to malathion did not increase mortality nor further impair behavior, and behavior was not different than controls crabs when placed in seawater without insecticides for 96 h, suggesting sublethal impairment from malathion was reversible.

The sensory ecology of nonconsumptive predator effects.

Nonconsumptive effects (NCEs) have been shown to occur in numerous systems and are regarded as important mechanisms by which predation structures natural communities. Sensory ecology-that is, the processes governing the production, propagation, and masking of cues by ambient noise-provides insights into the strength of NCEs as functions of the environment and modes of information transfer. We discuss how properties of predators are used by prey to encode threat, how the environment affects cue propagation, and the role of single sensory processes versus multimodal sensory processes. We discuss why the present body of literature documents the potential for strong NCEs but does not allow us to easily determine how this potential is expressed in nature or what factors or environments produce strong versus weak NCEs. Many of these difficulties stem from a body of literature in which certain sensory environments and modalities may be disproportionately represented and in which experimental methodologies are designed to show the existence of NCEs. We present a general framework for examining NCEs to identify the factors controlling the number of prey that respond to predator cues and discuss how the properties of predators, prey, and the environment may determine prey perceptive range and the duration and frequency of cue production. We suggest how understanding these relationships provides a schema for determining where, when, why, and how NCEs are important in producing direct and cascading effects in natural communities.

Biogeographic variation in behavioral and morphological responses to predation risk.

The expression of prey antipredator defenses is often related to ambient consumer pressure, and prey express greater defenses under intense consumer pressure. Predation is generally greater at lower latitudes, and antipredator defenses often display a biogeographic pattern. Predation pressure may also vary significantly between habitats within latitudes, making biogeographic patterns difficult to distinguish. Furthermore, invasive predators may also influence the expression of prey defenses in ecological time. The purpose of this study was to determine how these factors influence the strength of antipredator responses. To assess patterns in prey antipredator defenses based upon geographic range (north vs. south), habitat type (wave-protected vs. wave-exposed shores), and invasive predators, we examined how native rock (Cancer irroratus) and invasive green (Carcinus maenas) crab predators influence the behavioral and morphological defenses of dogwhelk (Nucella lapillus) prey from habitats that differ in wave exposure across an ~230 km range within the Gulf of Maine. The expression of behavioral and morphological antipredatory responses varied according to wave exposure, geographic location, and predator species. Dogwhelks from areas with an established history with green crabs exhibited the largest behavioral and morphological antipredator responses to green crabs. Dogwhelk behavioral responses to rock crabs did not vary between habitats or geographic regions, although morphological responses were greater further south where predation pressure was greatest. These findings suggest that dogwhelk responses to invasive and native predators vary according to geographic location and habitat, and are strongly affected by ambient predation pressure due to the invasion history of an exotic predator.

Intraspecific variation influences natural settlement of eastern oysters.

As populations decline, their intraspecific diversity also diminishes. Population decline may be exacerbated if a decrease in intraspecific diversity also reduces important ecological functions that maintain population numbers. Oyster reefs are severely overharvested, declining by ~85 % worldwide. We tested how increasing within-species diversity of eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) using transplants would affect recruitment of oyster larvae, a key function necessary to maintain future populations. If harvesting reduces population numbers, within-species diversity, and connectivity, then oysters may lose the ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions as well as incur lower levels of recruitment that may hasten their decline. Results from laboratory and field studies indicated that oyster larvae use chemical cues from adult oysters and not from associated fouling communities to select settlement sites. To test how increasing within-species diversity of oysters affected recruitment, we collected oysters from three distinct bay systems in Texas, USA, and compared natural settlement in treatments where all oysters were from a single bay to a mixture of all three bays. Significantly greater recruitment occurred in mixed treatments in 2010, 2011, and 2012 even though oyster recruitment varied by order of magnitude during this time. The net biodiversity effect was positive in all 3 years, indicating that increased recruitment in mixed treatments can be greater than the additive effect of the single bay treatments. Losing intraspecific diversity may reduce recruitment and lead to further declines in oyster populations, illustrating the need for understanding how intraspecific diversity influences ecological functions.

Predator signaling of multiple prey on different trophic levels structures trophic cascades.

The capacity of an apex predator to produce nonconsumptive effects (NCEs) in multiple prey trophic levels can create considerable complexity in nonconsumptive cascading interactions, but these effects are poorly studied. We examined such effects in a model food web where the apex predator (blue crabs) releases chemical cues in urine that affect both the intermediate consumer (mud crabs seek shelter) and the basal prey (oysters are induced to grow stronger shells). Shelter availability and predator presence were manipulated in a laboratory experiment to identify patterns in species interactions. Then, experimentally induced and uninduced oysters were planted across high-quality and low-quality habitats with varying levels of shelter availability and habitat heterogeneity to determine the consistency of these patterns in the field. Oyster shell thickening in response to blue crab chemical cues generally protected oysters from mud crab predation in both the laboratory and in field environments that differed in predation intensity, structural complexity, habitat heterogeneity, and predator composition. However, NCEs on the intermediate predator (greater use of refugia) opposed the NCEs on oyster prey in the interior of oyster reefs while still providing survival advantages to basal prey on reef edges and bare substrates. Thus, the combined effects of changing movement patterns of intermediate predators and morphological defenses of basal prey create complex, but predictable, patterns of NCEs across landscapes and ecotones that vary in structural complexity. Generalist predators that feed on multiple trophic levels are ubiquitous, and their potential effects on NCEs propagating simultaneously to different trophic levels must be quantified to understand the role of NCEs in food webs.

Barnacles as biological flow indicators.

Hydrodynamic stress shapes the flora and fauna that exist in wave-swept environments, alters species interactions, and can become the primary community structuring agent. Yet, hydrodynamics can be difficult to quantify because instrumentation is expensive, some methods are unreliable, and accurately measuring spatial and temporal differences can be difficult. Here, we explored the utility of barnacles as potential biological flow-indicators. Barnacles, nearly ubiquitous within estuarine environments, have demonstrated notable phenotypic plasticity in the dimensions of their feeding appendages (cirri) and genitalia in response to flow. In high flow, barnacles have shorter, stockier cirri with shorter setae; in low flow, barnacles have longer, thinner cirri with longer setae. By measuring the relative differences in cirral dimensions, comparative differences in flow among locations can be quantified. We tested our hypothesis that ivory barnacles (Amphibalanus eburneus) could be useful biological flow indicators in two experiments. First, we performed reciprocal transplants of A. eburneus between wave protected and wave exposed areas to assess changes in morphology over 4 weeks as well as if changes dissipated when barnacles were relocated to a different wave habitat. Then, in a second study, we transplanted barnacles into low (<5 cm/s) and high flow (>25 cm/s) environments that were largely free of waves and shielded half of the transplanted barnacles to lessen flow speed. In both experiments, barnacles had significant differences in cirral morphologies across high and low flow sites. Transplanting barnacles revealed phenotypic changes occur within two weeks and can be reversed. Further, ameliorating flow within sites did not affect barnacle morphologies in low flow but had pronounced effects in high flow environments, suggesting that flow velocity was the primary driver of barnacle morphology in our experiment. These results highlight the utility of barnacles as cheap, accessible, and biologically relevant indicators of flow that can be useful for relative comparisons of flow differences among sites.

Drift macroalgal distribution in northern Gulf of Mexico seagrass meadows.

Drift macroalgae, often found in clumps or mats adjacent to or within seagrass beds, can increase the value of seagrass beds as habitat for nekton via added food resources and structural complexity. But, as algal biomass increases, it can also decrease light availability, inhibit faunal movements, smother benthic communities, and contribute to hypoxia, all of which can reduce nekton abundance. We quantified the abundance and distribution of drift macroalgae within seagrass meadows dominated by turtle grass Thalassia testudinum across the northern Gulf of Mexico and compared seagrass characteristics to macroalgal biomass and distribution. Drift macroalgae were most abundant in areas with higher seagrass shoot densities and intermediate canopy heights. We did not find significant relationships between algal biomass and point measures of salinity, temperature, or depth. The macroalgal genera Laurencia and Gracilaria were present across the study region, Agardhiella and Digenia were collected in the western Gulf of Mexico, and Acanthophora was collected in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Our survey revealed drift algae to be abundant and widespread throughout seagrass meadows in the northern Gulf of Mexico, which likely influences the habitat value of seagrass ecosystems.

A general pattern of trade-offs between ecosystem resistance and resilience to tropical cyclones.

Tropical cyclones drive coastal ecosystem dynamics, and their frequency, intensity, and spatial distribution are predicted to shift with climate change. Patterns of resistance and resilience were synthesized for 4138 ecosystem time series from n = 26 storms occurring between 1985 and 2018 in the Northern Hemisphere to predict how coastal ecosystems will respond to future disturbance regimes. Data were grouped by ecosystems (fresh water, salt water, terrestrial, and wetland) and response categories (biogeochemistry, hydrography, mobile biota, sedentary fauna, and vascular plants). We observed a repeated pattern of trade-offs between resistance and resilience across analyses. These patterns are likely the outcomes of evolutionary adaptation, they conform to disturbance theories, and they indicate that consistent rules may govern ecosystem susceptibility to tropical cyclones.

Hydrodynamic sensory stressors produce nonlinear predation patterns.

Predators often have large effects on community structure, but these effects can be minimized in habitats subjected to intense physical stress. For example, predators exert large effects on rocky intertidal communities on wave-protected shores but are usually absent from wave-swept shores where hydrodynamic forces prevent them from foraging effectively. The physical environment also can affect predation levels when stressors are not severe enough to be physically risky. In these situations, environmental conditions may constrain a predator's ability to locate prey and alleviate predation pressure. Yet, stress models of community structure have rarely considered the implications of such sensory or behavioral stressors, particularly when the sensory abilities of both predators and prey are affected by the same types of environmental conditions. Ecologists may classify certain environmental conditions as refuges if they impede predator foraging, but these conditions may not actually decrease predation levels if they simultaneously increase prey vulnerability to consumers. Using blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) and hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) as a model system, we investigated the relationship between predation intensity and environmental stress in the form of hydrodynamics (i.e., flow velocity and turbulence). Blue crabs and hard clams are less responsive to each other in faster, more turbulent flows, but studies exploring how flow modulates the outcomes of crab-clam interactions in the field are lacking. We manipulated turbulence within field sites and compared predation levels within and between sites that differed in flow velocity and turbulence. Our results suggest that blue crabs are most effective foragers in flows with intermediate velocities and turbulence levels. Although these conditions are not ideal for blue crabs, lab studies indicate that they also compromise the ability of clams to detect and react to approaching crabs and, thereby, increase clam vulnerability to predators. Our results suggest that environmental stresses on perception (sensory stressors) may not cause a steady decay in predation rates when they simultaneously affect the behaviors of both predators and prey. Moreover, the relative contribution of lethal vs. nonlethal predator effects in communities also may be influenced by environmental forces that enhance the predator-avoidance abilities of prey or the foraging efficiency of predators.

Storms promote ecosystem resilience by alleviating fishing.

Marine ecosystems face numerous challenges from natural and anthropogenic sources. For example, excessive rainfall from storms rapidly lowers salinity, which can destroy coastal foundation species and their associated fauna [1], while fishing can alter coastal food webs, reduce biodiversity, and lower ecosystem resilience [2]. Concurrently, mass disruptions to fishing activity are common following disasters such as hurricanes, oil spills, and tsunamis, which may lead to increased populations of harvested species [3]. However, our understanding of how these disturbances interact to affect communities remains limited. We examined effects on estuarine communities following fishing disruptions and salinity changes caused by a tropical cyclone. Our results indicate that recreational fishing had large effects on fish populations that cascaded down the food web. Further, although destructive, hurricanes and other disturbances that simultaneously curtail human activities may promote recovery. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

Eastern Oysters Crassostrea virginica Produce Plastic Morphological Defenses in Response to Crab Predators Despite Resource Limitation.

Many prey react to predation risk by altering their phenotype to reduce their chances of being consumed but incur reductions in growth and fecundity when reacting to predators. To determine when to produce defenses, prey collect information and evaluate the costs and benefits of defense induction. Resource availability can affect prey ability and willingness to incur defense costs. When resources are scarce, defenses may suffer disproportionate decreases in energy allocation if defenses would further reduce prey access to resources or if resources are needed to maintain metabolic functions. We tested the effects of predation risk and resource availability on plastic defenses in eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica and present novel findings that oysters continued to produce defended shells in response to predators when resources were limited, even though they grew smaller, lighter shells when deprived of food in control conditions. Predation risk affected all three tested shell metrics (area, weight, and strength), but food availability did not. Although low food levels often limit expression of predator defenses, predator cues caused oysters to build shells that were larger and heavier, with a similar trend for shell strength, in treatments with both low and high food levels, suggesting that predation is an important pressure in this system. The differences between predator and control treatments were greater under conditions of low food availability, and thus, resource availability may influence interpretations of plastic responses to predators.

Predatory blue crabs induce stronger nonconsumptive effects in eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica than scavenging blue crabs.

By influencing critical prey traits such as foraging or habitat selection, predators can affect entire ecosystems, but the nature of cues that trigger prey reactions to predators are not well understood. Predators may scavenge to supplement their energetic needs and scavenging frequency may vary among individuals within a species due to preferences and prey availability. Yet prey reactions to consumers that are primarily scavengers versus those that are active foragers have not been investigated, even though variation in prey reactions to scavengers or predators might influence cascading nonconsumptive effects in food webs. Oysters Crassostrea virginica react to crab predators by growing stronger shells. We exposed oysters to exudates from crabs fed live oysters or fed aged oyster tissue to simulate scavenging, and to controls without crab cues. Oysters grew stronger shells when exposed to either crab exudate, but their shells were significantly stronger when crabs were fed live oysters. The stronger response to predators than scavengers could be due to inherent differences in diet cues representative of reduced risk in the presence of scavengers or to degradation of conspecific alarm cues in aged treatments, which may mask risk from potential predators subsisting by scavenging.

Clamming up: environmental forces diminish the perceptive ability of bivalve prey.

The lethal and nonlethal impacts of predators in marine systems are often mediated via reciprocal detection of waterborne chemical signals between consumers and prey. Local flow environments can enhance or impair the chemoreception ability of consumers, but the effect of hydrodynamics on detection of predation risk by prey has not been investigated. Using clams as our model organism, we investigated two specific questions: (1) Can clams decrease their mortality by responding to predators? (2) Do fluid forces affect the ability of clams to detect approaching predators? Previous research has documented a decrease in clam feeding (pumping) in response to a neighboring predator. We determined the benefits of this behavior to survivorship by placing clams in the field with knobbed whelk or blue crab predators caged nearby and compared mortality between these clams and clams near a cage-only control. Significantly more clams survived in areas containing a caged predator, suggesting that predator-induced alterations in feeding reduce clam mortality in the field. We ascertained the effect of fluid forces on clam perception of predators in a laboratory flume by comparing the feeding (pumping) behavior of clams in response to crabs and whelks in flows of 3 and 11 cm/s. Clams pumped significantly less in the presence of predators, but their reaction to blue crabs diminished in the higher velocity flow, while their response to whelks remained constant in both flows. Thus, clam reactive distance to blue crabs was affected by fluid forces, but hydrodynamic effects on clam perceptive distance was predator specific. After predators were removed, clams exposed to whelks took significantly longer to resume feeding than those exposed to blue crabs. Our results suggest that prey perception of predators can be altered by physical forces. Prey detection of predators is the underlying mechanism for trait-mediated indirect interactions (TMIIs), and recent research has documented the importance of TMIIs to community structure. Since physical forces can influence prey perception, the prevalence of TMIIs in communities may, in part, be related to the sensory ability of prey, physical forces in the environment that impact sensory performance, and the type of predator detected.

Turbidity interferes with foraging success of visual but not chemosensory predators.

Predation can significantly affect prey populations and communities, but predator effects can be attenuated when abiotic conditions interfere with foraging activities. In estuarine communities, turbidity can affect species richness and abundance and is changing in many areas because of coastal development. Many fish species are less efficient foragers in turbid waters, and previous research revealed that in elevated turbidity, fish are less abundant whereas crabs and shrimp are more abundant. We hypothesized that turbidity altered predatory interactions in estuaries by interfering with visually-foraging predators and prey but not with organisms relying on chemoreception. We measured the effects of turbidity on the predation rates of two model predators: a visual predator (pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides) and a chemosensory predator (blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus) in clear and turbid water (0 and ∼100 nephelometric turbidity units). Feeding assays were conducted with two prey items, mud crabs (Panopeus spp.) that rely heavily on chemoreception to detect predators, and brown shrimp (Farfantepenaus aztecus) that use both chemical and visual cues for predator detection. Because turbidity reduced pinfish foraging on both mud crabs and shrimp, the changes in predation rates are likely driven by turbidity attenuating fish foraging ability and not by affecting prey vulnerability to fish consumers. Blue crab foraging was unaffected by turbidity, and blue crabs were able to successfully consume nearly all mud crab and shrimp prey. Turbidity can influence predator-prey interactions by reducing the feeding efficiency of visual predators, providing a competitive advantage to chemosensory predators, and altering top-down control in food webs.

Changes in seagrass species composition in northwestern Gulf of Mexico estuaries: effects on associated seagrass fauna.

The objective of this study was to measure the communities associated with different seagrass species to predict how shifts in seagrass species composition may affect associated fauna. In the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, coverage of the historically dominant shoal grass (Halodule wrightii) is decreasing, while coverage of manatee grass (Syringodium filiforme) and turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) is increasing. We conducted a survey of fishes, crabs, and shrimp in monospecific beds of shoal, manatee, and turtle grass habitats of South Texas, USA to assess how changes in sea grass species composition would affect associated fauna. We measured seagrass parameters including shoot density, above ground biomass, epiphyte type, and epiphyte abundance to investigate relationships between faunal abundance and these seagrass parameters. We observed significant differences in communities among three seagrass species, even though these organisms are highly motile and could easily travel among the different seagrasses. Results showed species specific relationships among several different characteristics of the seagrass community and individual species abundance. More work is needed to discern the drivers of the complex relationships between individual seagrass species and their associated fauna.