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Epiphyte response to in situ manipulation of nutrient availability and fish presence in a Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile meadow

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Abstract

Epiphytes are important components of the biomass and productivity of Posidonia oceanica meadows. Bottom-up mechanisms may promote epiphyte biomass through a bottom-up mechanism. At the same time, epiphytes represent an essential resource for higher trophic levels of seagrass food webs. Posidonia oceanica meadows host a diverse assemblage of fish that feed directly on the leaves, on the epiphytes, and on the mesograzers inhabiting the meadows. In this study, we experimentally evaluate the overall effect of fish community and increased water column nutrient availability on seagrass and the associated epiphytes. Our results show a large increase of epiphyte biomass in P. oceanica shoots after 2 months of nutrient addition. Increased nutrient concentrations also resulted in a reduction of shoot size. Fish exclusion did not affect epiphyte biomass under ambient or increased nutrient availability. Although herbivorous fish bites were present in 6% of the shoots, the percentage of shoots with fish bites did not respond to the higher leaf nutrient content found in the increased nutrient treatments. Consumption marks of gastropod herbivores in the leaves were present in 78% of the shoots; however, grazer activity did not modify the response of epiphytic biomass to nutrient addition. These results highlight the importance of nutrient impact in oligotrophic meadows, where bottom-up processes seem to be more relevant in the control of epiphyte and seagrass growth than top-down processes.

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Acknowledgments

Research funds were provided by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (project CTM2005-23775-E), by the Government of the Balearic Islands (project UGIZC) and by the European Commission (VII Framework Programme; Project Conflict CGL2008-958). I. Castejón-Silvo was supported by an I3P-FSE studentship awarded by Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. We thank Francisco Javier Medina Pons and Eduardo Infantes Oanes for their help during fieldwork; Miquel Ribas-Carbó (Department of Biology, University of the Balearic Islands) for facilitating the use of the ball mill; and Gabriel Martorell (Scientific & Techniques Services, University of the Balearic Islands) for his help in the analyses of nitrogen in epiphytes. We also thank Direcció General de Pesca (Govern de les Illes Balears) for granting us permission to perform this study inside the Palma Bay Marine Reserve, and Club Náutico S’Arenal for allowing us to use the club facilities, making our work easier.

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  1. Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Miquel Marques 21, 07190, Esporles, Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain

    Inés Castejón-Silvo, Jorge Terrados, Marta Domínguez & Beatriz Morales-Nin

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  1. Inés Castejón-Silvo
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  2. Jorge Terrados
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Correspondence to Inés Castejón-Silvo.

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Castejón-Silvo, I., Terrados, J., Domínguez, M. et al. Epiphyte response to in situ manipulation of nutrient availability and fish presence in a Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile meadow. Hydrobiologia 696, 159–170 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1190-1

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