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MEPS 160:209-215 (1997)
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Abstract
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Spatial structure on moderately exposed rocky shores: patch scales and the interactions between limpets and algae
Mark P. Johnson1,*, Michael T. Burrows2, Richard G. Hartnoll3, Stephen J. Hawkins1
1School of Biological Sciences, Division of Biodiversity and Ecology, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 7PX, United Kingdom
2Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory, PO Box 3, Oban, Argyll PA34 4AD, United Kingdom
3Port Erin Marine Laboratory, Port Erin, Isle of Man IM9 6JA, United Kingdom
*E-mail: m.p.johnson@soton.ac.uk
ABSTRACT: The spatial pattern of limpet grazing has been previously hypothesised to drive a mosaic of algal patches on moderately exposed shores in the northeast Atlantic. The presence of differently aged algal patches and spatial effects associated with limpets
were tested for using spatially referenced data sets. Algal and limpet occurrences in 0.01 m2 cells were recorded in a series of 25 m2 quadrats on shores on the Isle of Man. All sites showed small-scale spatial autocorrelation for
limpets and mature and juvenile algae. Hence the sites surveyed had an uneven distribution of limpets superimposed on a mosaic of differently aged patches of algae. The local density of limpets was related to the probability of a cell containing juvenile
algae in 7 of the 10 quadrats surveyed. Where they had an effect, limpets generally reduced the probability of juvenile algae being recorded locally, as would be predicted by the grazer-driven mosaic hypothesis.
KEY WORDS: Limpets · Algae · Spatial statistics · Mosaic · Grazing
Published in MEPS Vol.
160
(1997) on December 15
ISSN: 0171-8630.
Copyright © Inter-Research, Oldendorf/Luhe, 1997
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