10.5061/DRYAD.N386BB2
Vergés, Adriana
UNSW Sydney
Sydney Institute of Marine Science
Doropoulos, Christopher
UNSW Sydney
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
Czarnik, Rob
Edith Cowan University
McMahon, Kathryn
Edith Cowan University
Llonch, Nil
University of Barcelona
Poore, Alistair G. B.
Sydney Institute of Marine Science
UNSW Sydney
Data from: Latitudinal variation in seagrass herbivory: global patterns
and explanatory mechanisms
Dryad
dataset
2018
latitudinal gradient
Amphibolis antarctica
2018-09-26T18:01:49Z
2018-09-26T18:01:49Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12767
50944 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Aim: The aim was to quantify latitudinal patterns in seagrass–herbivore
interactions in the context of a warming climate. Location: We carried out
a global meta‐analysis combined with a field experiment across 1,700 km
and 12° of latitude in Western Australia. Time period: 1984–2014. Major
taxa studied: Seagrasses. Methods: We first synthesized the global
literature on herbivore exclusion experiments in seagrasses to test
whether differences in herbivore impacts are related to latitude and sea
surface temperature. We then quantified leaf production and consumption
rates in the field at nine meadows of the seagrass Amphibolis antarctica
across 1,700 km, from tropical to temperate latitudes. Seagrass biomass
and nutritional traits (nitrogen, C:N, phenolics) were also measured.
Results: Our meta‐analysis showed that herbivores had a similar net impact
on seagrasses across 37° of absolute latitude, and there was little
variation in herbivore exclusion effects at different temperatures. In the
field, rates of both production and consumption of seagrass were greatest
in the tropics and decreased with latitude. Seagrass nutritional quality
was lowest in the tropics, where fish removed c. 30% of primary
production. Consumption of the more nutritious temperate seagrasses was
lower overall but also highly variable and dominated by invertebrates.
Main conclusions: In tropical latitudes, faster growth rates compensated
for greater consumption of A. antarctica by herbivores. This resulted in
similar net impacts of herbivores across latitudes, because higher
latitude plants grew more slowly but also suffered less herbivory. This
match between consumption and production rates might explain the global
patterns derived from the literature, which show little latitudinal
variation in the effects of consumers on seagrasses. As ocean temperatures
continue to rise and overall herbivory levels are expected to increase in
temperate regions, the survival of seagrass meadows in higher latitudes
will depend on the ability of plants to increase growth at compensatory
rates.
Verges et al 2018 ALL DATACollected in the field on tagged shoots or using
25 x 25 cm2 quadrats (for density and biomass data)
Western Australia from Point Cloates (Ningaloo) to Bremer Bay