IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcli/v10y2020i2d10.1038_s41558-019-0679-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Clam feeding plasticity reduces herbivore vulnerability to ocean warming and acidification

Author

Listed:
  • Carl Van Colen

    (Biology Department, Marine Biology Research Group, Ghent University)

  • Ee Zin Ong

    (Biology Department, Marine Biology Research Group, Ghent University
    University of Plymouth)

  • Mark Briffa

    (University of Plymouth)

  • David S. Wethey

    (University of South Carolina)

  • Emmanuel Abatih

    (Department of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics, Ghent University)

  • Tom Moens

    (Biology Department, Marine Biology Research Group, Ghent University)

  • Sarah A. Woodin

    (University of South Carolina)

Abstract

Ocean warming and acidification affect species populations, but how interactions within communities are affected and how this translates into ecosystem functioning and resilience remain poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that experimental ocean warming and acidification significantly alters the interaction network among porewater nutrients, primary producers, herbivores and burrowing invertebrates in a seafloor sediment community, and is linked to behavioural plasticity in the clam Scrobicularia plana. Warming and acidification induced a shift in the clam’s feeding mode from predominantly suspension feeding under ambient conditions to deposit feeding with cascading effects on nutrient supply to primary producers. Surface-dwelling invertebrates were more tolerant to warming and acidification in the presence of S. plana, most probably due to the stimulatory effect of the clam on their microalgal food resources. This study demonstrates that predictions of population resilience to climate change require consideration of non-lethal effects such as behavioural changes of key species.

Suggested Citation

  • Carl Van Colen & Ee Zin Ong & Mark Briffa & David S. Wethey & Emmanuel Abatih & Tom Moens & Sarah A. Woodin, 2020. "Clam feeding plasticity reduces herbivore vulnerability to ocean warming and acidification," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 10(2), pages 162-166, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcli:v:10:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1038_s41558-019-0679-2
    DOI: 10.1038/s41558-019-0679-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-019-0679-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41558-019-0679-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcli:v:10:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1038_s41558-019-0679-2. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.