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Rocky shores as tractable test systems for experimental ecology
- Stephen J. Hawkins, Kathryn E. Pack, Kieran Hyder, Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi, Stuart R. Jenkins
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- Journal:
- Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom / Volume 100 / Issue 7 / November 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 24 November 2020, pp. 1017-1041
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- Article
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Rocky shore ecology has been studied for a long time, starting with qualitative descriptions and becoming more quantitative and experimental over time. Some of the earliest manipulative experimental ecological studies were undertaken on rocky shores. Many, over time, have made considerable contributions to ecological theory, especially highlighting the importance of biological interactions at the community level. The suitability of rocky shores as convenient test systems for ecological experimentation is outlined. Here we consider contributions from rocky shores to the emerging concepts of supply-side ecology, the roles of competition, predation and grazing, disturbance and succession and positive interactions in structuring communities along environmental gradients. We then address alternative stable states, relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and bottom-up and top-down control of ecosystems. We briefly consider the feedback and synergies between ecological concepts and experimental work on rocky shores, whilst still emphasizing the traditional values of marine natural history upheld in JMBA since its first publication. The importance of rigorous experimental designs championed by Underwood and co-workers is emphasized. Recent progress taking advantage of new technologies and emerging approaches is considered. We illustrate how experimental studies have shown the importance of biological interactions in modulating species and assemblage-level responses to climate change and informed conservation and management of coastal ecosystems.
Chapter 2 - The Intertidal Zone of the North-East Atlantic Region
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- By Stephen J. Hawkins, Kathryn E. Pack, Louise B. Firth, Nova Mieszkowska, Ally J. Evans, Gustavo M. Martins, Per Åberg, Leoni C. Adams, Francisco Arenas, Diana M. Boaventura, Katrin Bohn, C. Debora G. Borges, João J. Castro, Ross A. Coleman, Tasman P. Crowe, Teresa Cruz, Mark S. Davies, Graham Epstein, João Faria, João G. Ferreira, Natalie J. Frost, John N. Griffin, ME Hanley, Roger J. H. Herbert, Kieran Hyder, Mark P. Johnson, Fernando P. Lima, Patricia Masterson-Algar, Pippa J. Moore, Paula S. Moschella, Gillian M. Notman, Federica G. Pannacciulli, Pedro A. Ribeiro, Antonio M. Santos, Ana C. F. Silva, Martin W. Skov, Heather Sugden, Maria Vale, Kringpaka Wangkulangkul, Edward J. G. Wort, Richard C. Thompson, Richard G. Hartnoll, Michael T. Burrows, Stuart R. Jenkins
- Edited by Stephen J. Hawkins, Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, Plymouth, Katrin Bohn, Louise B. Firth, University of Plymouth, Gray A. Williams, The University of Hong Kong
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- Book:
- Interactions in the Marine Benthos
- Published online:
- 07 September 2019
- Print publication:
- 29 August 2019, pp 7-46
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Summary
The rocky shores of the north-east Atlantic have been long studied. Our focus is from Gibraltar to Norway plus the Azores and Iceland. Phylogeographic processes shape biogeographic patterns of biodiversity. Long-term and broadscale studies have shown the responses of biota to past climate fluctuations and more recent anthropogenic climate change. Inter- and intra-specific species interactions along sharp local environmental gradients shape distributions and community structure and hence ecosystem functioning. Shifts in domination by fucoids in shelter to barnacles/mussels in exposure are mediated by grazing by patellid limpets. Further south fucoids become increasingly rare, with species disappearing or restricted to estuarine refuges, caused by greater desiccation and grazing pressure. Mesoscale processes influence bottom-up nutrient forcing and larval supply, hence affecting species abundance and distribution, and can be proximate factors setting range edges (e.g., the English Channel, the Iberian Peninsula). Impacts of invasive non-native species are reviewed. Knowledge gaps such as the work on rockpools and host–parasite dynamics are also outlined.