Euendolithic Infestation of Mussel Shells Indirectly Improves the Thermal Buffering Offered by Mussel Beds to Associated Molluscs, but One Size Does Not Fit All
- Authors: Dievart, Alexia M , McQuaid, Christopher D , Zardi, Gerardo I , Nicastro, Katy R , Froneman, P William
- Date: 2023
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/465754 , vital:76638 , https://doi.org/10.3390/d15020239
- Description: Mussel beds form important intertidal matrices that provide thermal buffering to associated invertebrate communities, especially under stressful environmental conditions. Mussel shells are often colonized by photoautotrophic euendoliths, which have indirect conditional beneficial thermoregulatory effects on both solitary and aggregated mussels by increasing the albedo of the shell. We investigated whether euendolithic infestation of artificial mussel beds (Perna perna) influences the body temperatures of four associated mollusc species during simulated periods of emersion, using shell temperature obtained via non-invasive infrared thermography as a proxy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023
Congruence between fine-scale genetic breaks and dispersal potential in an estuarine seaweed across multiple transition zones:
- Authors: Nicastro, Katy R , Assis, Jorge , Serrão, Ester A , Pearson, Gareth A , Neiva, Joao , Valero, Myriam , Jacinto, Rita , Zardi, Gerardo I
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149873 , vital:38908 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1093/icesjms/fsz179
- Description: Genetic structure in biogeographical transition zones can be shaped by several factors including limited dispersal across barriers, admixture following secondary contact, differential selection, and mating incompatibility. A striking example is found in Northwest France and Northwest Spain, where the estuarine seaweed Fucus ceranoides L. exhibits sharp, regional genetic clustering. This pattern has been related to historical population fragmentation and divergence into distinct glacial refugia, followed by post-glacial expansion and secondary contact. The contemporary persistence of sharp ancient genetic breaks between nearby estuaries has been attributed to prior colonization effects (density barriers) but the effect of oceanographic barriers has not been tested. Here, through a combination of mesoscale sampling (15 consecutive populations) and population genetic data (mtIGS) in NW France, we define regional genetic disjunctions similar to those described in NW Iberia. Most importantly, using high resolution dispersal simulations for Brittany and Iberian populations, we provide evidence for a central role of contemporary hydrodynamics in maintaining genetic breaks across these two major biogeographic transition zones. Our findings further show the importance of a comprehensive understanding of oceanographic regimes in hydrodynamically complex coastal regions to explain the maintenance of sharp genetic breaks along continuously populated coastlines.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Microplastic leachates induce species-specific trait strengthening in intertidal mussels:
- Authors: Seuront, Laurent , Nicastro, Katy R , McQuaid, Christopher D , Zardi, Gerardo I
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/158200 , vital:40162 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1002/eap.2222. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.905qftthq
- Description: Plastic pollution is ubiquitous with increasing recognition of its direct effects on species’ fitness. Little is known, however, about its more subtle effects, including the influence of plastic pollution on the morphological, functional and behavioural traits of organisms that are central to their ability to withstand disturbances. Among the least obvious but most pernicious forms of plastic-associated pollution are the chemicals that leach from microplastics. Here, we investigate how such leachates influence species’ traits by assessing functional trait compensation across four species of intertidal mussels, through investigations of byssal thread production, movement and aggregation behaviour for mussels held in natural seawater or seawater contaminated by microplastic leachates.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Rejection of the genetic implications of the “Abundant Centre Hypothesis” in marine mussels
- Authors: Ntuli, Noxolo N , Nicastro, Katy R , Zardi, Gerardo I , Assis, Jorge , McQuaid, Christopher D , Teske, Peter R
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/444839 , vital:74302 , https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-57474-0
- Description: The ‘Abundant-Centre Hypothesis’ is a well-established but controversial hypothesis stating that the abundance of a species is highest at the centre of its range and decreases towards the edges, where conditions are unfavourable. As genetic diversity depends on population size, edge populations are expected to show lower intra-population genetic diversity than core populations, while showing high inter-population genetic divergence. Here, the genetic implications of the Abundant-Centre Hypothesis were tested on two coastal mussels from South Africa that disperse by means of planktonic larvae, the native Perna perna and the invasive Mytilus galloprovincialis. Genetic structure was found within P. perna, which, together with evidence from Lagrangian particle simulations, points to significant reductions in gene flow between sites. Despite this, the expected diversity pattern between centre and edge populations was not found for either species. We conclude that the genetic predictions of the Abundant-Centre Hypothesis are unlikely to be met by high-dispersal species with large population sizes, and may only become evident in species with much lower levels of connectivity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Small scale habitat effects on anthropogenic litter material and sources in a coastal lagoon system:
- Authors: Velez, Nadja , Nicastro, Katy R , McQuaid, Christopher D , Zardi, Gerardo I
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/160489 , vital:40450 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111689
- Description: Anthropogenic litter is ubiquitous throughout marine ecosystems, but its abundance and distribution are driven by complex interactions of distinct environmental factors and thus can be extremely heterogeneous. Here we compare the extent of anthropogenic litter pollution at a sheltered lagoon habitat and nearby open coast sites. Monthly surveys over a period of five months showed that both the types and sources of litter always differed significantly between lagoon and open coast sites.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Species-specific plastic accumulation in the sediment and canopy of coastal vegetated habitats:
- Authors: Cozzolino, Lorenzo , Nicastro, Katy R , Zardi, Gerardo I , de los Santos, Carmen B
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149410 , vital:38848 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138018
- Description: Plastic waste has become ubiquitous in ecosystems worldwide. Few, recent studies report evidence of coastal vegetated habitats acting as sink for plastics, yet assessments have been completed either for macro or microplastics and focussing on just one type of vegetated habitat.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Evidence for rangewide panmixia despite multiple barriers to dispersal in a marine mussel
- Authors: Lourenço, Carla R , Nicastro, Katy R , McQuaid, Christopher D , Chefaoui, Rosa M , Assis, Jorge , Taleb, Mohammed Z , Zardi, Gerardo I
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59952 , vital:27714 , doi:10.1038/s41598-017-10753-9
- Description: Oceanographic features shape the distributional and genetic patterns of marine species by interrupting or promoting connections among populations. Although general patterns commonly arise, distributional ranges and genetic structure are species-specific and do not always comply with the expected trends. By applying a multimarker genetic approach combined with Lagrangian particle simulations (LPS) we tested the hypothesis that oceanographic features along northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean shores influence dispersal potential and genetic structure of the intertidal mussel Perna perna. Additionally, by performing environmental niche modelling we assessed the potential and realized niche of P. perna along its entire native distributional range and the environmental factors that best explain its realized distribution. Perna perna showed evidence of panmixia across 4,000 km despite several oceanographic breaking points detected by LPS. This is probably the result of a combination of life history traits, continuous habitat availability and stepping-stone dynamics. Moreover, the niche modelling framework depicted minimum sea surface temperatures (SST) as the major factor shaping P. perna distributional range limits along its native areas. Forthcoming warming SST is expected to further change these limits and allow the species to expand its range polewards though this may be accompanied by retreat from warmer areas.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Two sides of the same coin: extinctions and originations across the Atlantic/Indian Ocean boundary as consequences of the same climate oscillation
- Authors: Teske, Peter R , Zardi, Gerardo I , McQuaid, Christopher D , Nicastro, Katy R
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/445547 , vital:74399 , https://doi.org/10.21425/F5FBG15591
- Description: Global climate change is correlated not only with variation in extinction rates, but also with speciation rates. However, few mechanisms have been proposed to explain how climate change may have driven the emergence of new evolutionary lineages that eventually became distinct species. Here, we discuss a model of range extension followed by divergence, in which the same climate oscillations that resulted in the extinction of coastal species across the Atlantic/Indian Ocean boundary in southwestern Africa also sowed the seeds of new biodiversity. We present evidence for range extensions and evolutionary divergence from both fossil and genetic data, but also point out the many challenges to the model that need to be addressed before its validity can be accepted.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Love thy neighbour : group properties of gaping behaviour in mussel aggregations
- Authors: Nicastro, Katy R , Zardi, Gerardo I , McQuaid, Christopher D , Pearson, Gareth A , Serrão, Ester A
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6841 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1010991
- Description: By associating closely with others to form a group, an animal can benefit from a number of advantages including reduced risk of predation, amelioration of environmental conditions, and increased reproductive success, but at the price of reduced resources. Although made up of individual members, an aggregation often displays novel effects that do not manifest at the level of the individual organism. Here we show that very simple behaviour in intertidal mussels shows new effects in dense aggregations but not in isolated individuals. Perna perna and Mytilus galloprovincialis are gaping (periodic valve movement during emersion) and non-gaping mussels respectively. P. perna gaping behaviour had no effect on body temperatures of isolated individuals, while it led to increased humidity and decreased temperatures in dense groups (beds). Gaping resulted in cooler body temperatures for P. perna than M. galloprovincialis when in aggregations, while solitary individuals exhibited the highest temperatures. Gradients of increasing body temperature were detected from the center to edges of beds, but M. galloprovincialis at the edge had the same temperature as isolated individuals. Furthermore, a field study showed that during periods of severe heat stress, mortality rates of mussels within beds of the gaping P. perna were lower than those of isolated individuals or within beds of M. galloprovincialis, highlighting the determinant role of gaping on fitness and group functioning. We demonstrate that new effects of very simple individual behaviour lead to amelioration of abiotic conditions at the aggregation level and that these effects increase mussel resistance to thermal stress.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Coastal topography drives genetic structure in marine mussels
- Authors: Nicastro, Katy R , Zardi, Gerardo I , McQuaid, Christopher D , Teske, Peter R , Barker, Nigel P
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/445634 , vital:74409 , https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07607
- Description: Understanding population connectivity is fundamental to ecology, and, for sedentary organisms, connectivity is achieved through larval dispersal. We tested whether coastal topography influences genetic structure in Perna perna mussels by comparing populations inside bays and on the open coast. Higher hydrodynamic stress on the open coast produces higher mortality and thus genetic turnover. Populations on the open coast had fewer private haplotypes and less genetic endemism than those inside bays. Gene flow analysis showed that bays act as source populations, with greater migration rates out of bays than into them. Differences in genetic structure on scales of 10s of kilometres show that coastal configuration strongly affects selection, larval dispersal and haplotype diversity.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2008
Effects of coastal topography on physiology, behaviour and genetics of indigenous (Perna perna) and invasive (Mytilus galloprovincialis) mussels
- Authors: Nicastro, Katy R
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Mussels -- Ecology -- South Africa , Perna -- Physiology -- South Africa , Perna -- Behavior -- South Africa , Mussels -- Behavior -- Environmental factors -- South Africa , Mussels -- Habitat -- South Africa , Mytilus galloprovincialis , Mytilus galloprovincialis -- Physiology -- South Africa , Mytilus galloprovincialis -- Behavior -- South Africa , Mytilus galloprovincialis -- Genetics -- South Africa , Coastal ecology -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5833 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008262
- Description: Organisms inhabit environments that have many dimensions, each of which can vary temporally and spatially. The spatial-temporal variations of environmental stressors and disturbances may have major but different effects on indigenous and invasive species, favouring either of them at different times and places. The invasive mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis invaded the South African coast 30 years ago and, on the south coast of South Africa, it now competes and co-exists with the indigenous Perna perna in the lower eulittoral zone (referred to here as the mussel zone) The invasive and indigenous species dominate the upper and the lower mussel zones respectively, while the two co-exist in the mid-zone. My results show that intertidal mussels experience, and respond to, spatial and temporal fluctuations of several biotic and abiotic stressors. The invasive and the indigenous species adopt different strategies when reacting to environmental factors and their physiological and behavioural responses vary in time and in different habitats as different pressures become of overriding importance. Attachment strength of both species decreased in summer and increased in winter, and was higher on the open coast than in bays for both species, showing a strong positive correlation with wave force in time and space. P. perna had significantly higher attachment strength than M. galloprovincialis but, contrary to previous studies, the difference in gonad index between the two species varied according to the habitat. In bay habitats, M. galloprovincialis had a higher maximum reproductive effort than P. perna, however, on the open coast, there was no significant difference between the two species, suggesting that for the invasive species wave action is a limiting factor not only in terms of the attachment strength but also of energy availability for reproductive tissue development. Major spawning events occurred during periods of low wave action while minor spawning coincided with periods of intense hydrodynamic stress. On the open coast, gonad index was negatively correlated with attachment strength for both species while, in bays, there was no correlation between these two factors for either. The two species also showed different behaviour. In the field, M. galloprovincialis moved significantly more than P. perna over a period of six months. The higher mobility of the invasive species was also confirmed in the laboratory where, in general, M. galloprovincialis formed clumps more readily than P. perna. Taken collectively, these results suggest that channelling more energy into attachment strength limits reproductive tissue development and that, while the indigenous species invests more in byssal production, the invasive species adopts a more dynamic strategy looking for aggregation or a safer arrangement. Higher endolithic infestation and a greater expression of heat shock proteins (Hsps) in mussel populations on the open coast than in bays indicate that this habitat is a more stressful environment not only in terms of wave action. Endolith damaged mussels had significantly lower attachment strengths and condition indices than clean mussels, probably due to the need to channel energy into shell repair. The constant shell repair and expression of Hsps typical of open coast populations are energetically demanding processes. These observations suggest that on the open coast, mussels are subjected to more severe energetic constraints than in bay habitats. Wave and sand stress fluctuated seasonally with the former having a greater effect on mussel mortality on the open coast and the latter a higher impact on bay populations. Overall, mussel mortality rates were higher on the open coast than in bays. My results show that populations on the open coast had fewer private haplotypes and less genetic endemism than those inside bays. Gene flow analysis showed the relatively stable bay habitats act as source populations with greater genetic migration rates out of bays than into them. These differences in genetic structure on scales of las of kilometers show that coastal configuration strongly affects selection, larval dispersal and haplotype diversity. Environmental gradients that are key factors in species distribution over large geographical scales can also be responsible for micro-scale distributions. My results show that M. galloprovincialis colonizes the upper mussel zone where temperature is high, but is less tolerant to this stressor and has to maintain a high expression of Hsps. This suggests that temperature is probably a limiting factor in its invasion towards the sub-tropical east coast. There are inter- and intra-specific differences in responses to the environment which highlight the efforts of M. galloprovincialis and P. perna to optimize resource utilization for survival and reproduction. Determining these differences is crucial to understanding patterns of co-existence between competing indigenous and invasive species.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Sand stress as a non-determinant of habitat segregation of indigenous (Perna perna) and invasive (Mytilus galloprovincialis) mussels in South Africa
- Authors: Zardi, Gerardo I , Nicastro, Katy R , Porri, Francesca , McQuaid, Christopher D
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6946 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011974
- Description: Periodical sand inundation influences diversity and distribution of intertidal species throughout the world. This study investigates the effect of sand stress on survival and on habitat segregation of the two dominant mussel species living in South Africa, the invasive Mytilus galloprovincialis and the indigenous Perna perna. P. perna occupies a lower intertidal zone which, monthly surveys over 1.5 years showed, is covered by sand for longer periods than the higher M. galloprovincialis zone. Despite this, when buried under sand, P. perna mortality rates were significantly higher than those of M. galloprovincialis in both laboratory and in field experiments. Under anoxic condition, P. perna mortality rates were still significantly higher than those for M. galloprovincialis, but both species died later than when exposed to sand burial, underlining the importance of the physical action of sand on mussel internal organs. When buried, both species accumulate sediments within the shell valves while still alive, but the quantities are much greater for P. perna. This suggests that P. perna gills are more severely damaged by sand abrasion and could explain its higher mortality rates. M. galloprovincialis has longer labial palps than P. perna, indicating a higher particle sorting ability and consequently explaining its lower mortality rates when exposed to sand in suspension. Habitat segregation is often explained by physiological tolerances, but in this case, such explanations fail. Although sand stress strongly affects the survival of the two species, it does not explain their vertical zonation. Contrary to our expectations, the species that is less well adapted to cope with sand stress maintains dominance in a habitat where such stress is high.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006