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Lacuna vincta (Mollusca, Neotaenioglossa) herbivory on juvenile and adult Nereocystis luetkeana (Heterokontophyta, Laminariales)

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Abstract

Herbivory can be an important factor structuring coastal algal communities. Herbivores may preferentially graze particular algal species or tissue types. Mesograzers, despite their small size, can critically weaken kelp thalli and impact entire kelp beds. We propose that when kelp beds are composed of several kelp cohorts, mesograzers will selectively choose to inhabit younger plants and grazing activities will have a greater impact on younger plants. This study investigated the effects of grazing by the littorinid gastropod, Lacuna vincta, on different age classes of the bull kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana by (1) testing food preference of L. vincta on juvenile, first-year adult, and second-year adult Nereocystis blades in the laboratory, (2) determining substrate (blades of different ages) preference of L. vincta in the laboratory, and by (3) estimating in-situ herbivore abundances and densities on juvenile and adult Nereocystis. Results demonstrated that grazing by L. vincta produced greater damage on juvenile than older Nereocystis tissues. Although L. vincta did not select juvenile versus older kelps as substrate in the laboratory, in situ surveys showed that differences existed between age classes with higher L. vincta densities on juvenile than adult kelp. We conclude that at a local scale, L. vincta can be an important structuring factor in Nereocystis populations due to its high density and grazing ability.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the West Coast & Polar Regions Undersea Research Center (Global Undersea Research Unit). We thank Casey Debenham for his help as a dive buddy and the Kasitsna Bay Laboratory for their logistical support. We are grateful to Drs. Katrin Iken and Nora Foster for their precious comments on an earlier version of the manuscript and to the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve for their unfailing enthusiasm. We also greatly appreciate the valuable comments and constructive criticism from three anonymous reviewers.

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  1. University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA

    Heloise Chenelot & Brenda Konar

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  1. Heloise Chenelot
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Correspondence to Heloise Chenelot.

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Handling editor: K. Martens

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Chenelot, H., Konar, B. Lacuna vincta (Mollusca, Neotaenioglossa) herbivory on juvenile and adult Nereocystis luetkeana (Heterokontophyta, Laminariales). Hydrobiologia 583, 107–118 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-006-0484-6

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