10.5061/DRYAD.JC6B0
Farina, Simone
Spanish National Research Council
Oltra, Aitana
Spanish National Research Council
Boada, Jordi
Spanish National Research Council
Bartumeus, Frederic
Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry Applications
Romero, Javier
University of Barcelona
Alcoverro, Teresa
Nature Conservation Foundation
Data from: Generation and maintenance of predation hotspots of a
functionally important herbivore in a patchy habitat mosaic
Dryad
dataset
2018
Paracentrotus lividus
patch dynamics
predation risk
2018-07-28T00:00:00Z
2018-07-28T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12985
20447 bytes
1
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
1. By modifying how critical ecosystem functions are distributed across
the landscape, the spatial configuration and characteristics of patches
can play a strong role in structuring communities. In strongly
predator-controlled ecosystems, this patchy distribution of function can
have complex downstream consequences, subjecting some areas to
disproportionately high rates of predation, leaving other areas
susceptible to herbivore outbreaks. 2. In this study we assess how spatial
attributes at patch and landscape scales potentially influence the spatial
and temporal distribution of predation on a functionally important
herbivore in a patchy Mediterranean marine macrophyte community
characterized by strong top-down control. 3. We experimentally tracked how
predation risk of tethered sea urchins varied across space over a 10-day
period in a patchy seagrass meadow. We related these patterns with patch
and landscape-level attributes across the habitat mosaic. 4. At the level
of the patch, predation risk was highest in seagrass patches with low
canopies, without access to sheltering rocks. Scaling up to the landscape
mosaic however, predation risk increased in dense aggregations of patches
with high perimeter-to-area ratios close to rocky habitats. Predation
aggregated in spatially-explicit hotspots and coldspots that were
maintained through time. Interestingly, this pattern of predation risk
correlated well with the natural abundance of sea urchins. 5. Our results
show that spatial patch configuration can be a strong mediator of top
trophic functions in marine ecosystems, causing significant clumping in
the way predation – and therefore herbivory – are distributed across
space. Given the importance of top-down control for these shallow marine
ecosystems, it is crucial to incorporate landscape attributes in
understanding the impact of functionally important herbivores on highly
fragmented habitats.
dataset of Generation and maintenance of predation hotspots of a
functionally important herbivore in a patchy habitat mosaicData file
contains values for each patch of the accumulated predation rate after 5
days and 10 days of the experiment (response variable) and of the
attributes at patch and landscape levels (z-score of HSA) used as
predictor in the Multi-model averaging selection. Bold numbers evidence
patches where high aggregations of predation risk occurred (predation
hotspots).dataset.xlsx