Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Patterns Along Environmental Gradients

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Marine Hard Bottom Communities

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 206))

Abstract

Conspicuous zonational patterns have long attracted ecologists and physiologists to rocky shores and early studies stressed the role of strong environmental gradients as fundamental to the processes structuring communities.

Here, we review briefly some of the ways in which diversity patterns have been described and experimentally clarified in relation to environmental gradients. We limit the use of environmental gradients to gradual and continuous changes in abiotic variables. Given the important role that consumer pressure can play in diversity patterns, we also consider how changes in environmental conditions can influence biotic gradients by modulating the physiological performances of consumers. Through the analysis of recent case studies we draw attention to the knowledge gaps concerning spatial heterogeneity in rocky assemblages, to potential risks in interpreting patterns only in relation to obvious environmental gradients, and to approaches needed to deal with this issue in temperate rocky habitats.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 219.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Airoldi L (2003) The effects of sedimentation on rocky coast assemblages. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 41:161–236

    Google Scholar 

  • Airoldi L, Virgilio M (1998) Responses of turf-forming algae to spatial variations in the deposition of sediments. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 165:271–282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson MJ, Thompson AA (2004) Multivariate control charts for ecological and environmental monitoring. Ecol Appl 14:1921–1935

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson MJ, Ellingsen KE, McArdle BH (2006) Multivariate dispersion as a measure of beta diversity. Ecol Lett 9:683–693

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Andrew NL, Mapstone BD (1987) Sampling and the description of spatial pattern in marine ecology. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 25:39–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Balata D, Piazzi L, Benedetti-Cecchi L (2007) Sediment disturbance and loss of beta diversity on subtidal rocky reefs. Ecology 88:2455–2461

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bartsch I, Wiencke C, Bischof K, Buchholz CM, Buck BH, Eggert A, Feuerpfeil P, Hanelt D, Jacobsen S, Karez R, Karsten U, Molis M, Roleda MY, Schubert H, Schumann R, Valentin K, Weinberger F, Wiese J (2008) The genus Laminaria sensu lato: recent insights and developments. Eur J Phycol 43:1–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benedetti-Cecchi L (2001) Variability in abundance of algae and invertebrates at different spatial scales on rocky sea shores. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 215:79–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benedetti-Cecchi L (2004) Increasing accuracy of causal inference in experimental analyses of biodiversity. Funct Ecol 18:761–768

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benedetti-Cecchi L, Bertocci I, Vaselli S, Maggi E (2006) Temporal variance reverses the impact of high mean intensity of stress in climate change experiments. Ecology 87:2489–2499

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Benson KR (2002) The study of vertical zonation on rocky intertidal shores. A historical perspective. Integ Comp Biol 42:776–779

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bishop M, Underwood AJ, Archambault P (2002) Sewage and environmental impacts on rocky shores: necessity of identifying relevant spatial scales. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 236:121–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boero F, Bonsdorff E (2007) A conceptual framework for marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Mar Ecol 28 suppl 1:134–145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bussotti S, Terlizzi A, Fraschetti S, Belmonte G, Boero F (2006) Spatial and temporal variability of sessile benthos in shallow Mediterranean marine caves. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 325:109–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cerrano C, Bavestrello G, Bianchi CN, Cattaneo-Vietti R, Bava S, Moranti C, Morri C, Picco P, Sara G, Schiaparelli S, Siccardi A, Sponga F (2000) A catastrophic mass-mortality episode of gorgonians and other organisms in the Ligurian Sea (Northwestern Mediterranean), summer 1999. Ecol Lett 3:284–293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connell JH (1961) Effects of competition, predation by Thais lapillus and other factors on natural populations of the barnacle Balanus balanoides. Ecol Monogr 31:61–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connell JH (1978) Diversity in tropical rain forests and coral reefs: high diversity of trees and corals is maintained only in a nonequilibrium state. Science 199:1302–1310

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Connell SD (2005) Assembly and maintenance of subtidal habitat heterogeneity: synergistic effects of light penetration and sedimentation. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 289:53–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connolly SR, Roughgarden J (1999) Theory of marine communities: competition, predation, and recruitment strength. Ecol Monogr 69:277–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Constable AJ (1999) Ecology of benthic macro-invertebrates in soft-sediment environments: a review of progress towards quantitative models and predictions. Aust J Ecol 24:452–476

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crain CM, Bertness MD (2006) Ecosystem engineering across environmental gradients: implications for conservation and management. Bioscience 56:211–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dayton PK (1975) Experimental evaluation of ecological dominance in a rocky intertidal algal community. Ecol Monogr 45:137–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dayton PK (1985) Ecology of kelp communities. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 16:215–245

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denny M, Wethey D (2001) Physical processes that generate patterns in marine communities. In: Bertness MD, Gaines SD, Hay ME (eds) Marine community ecology. Sinauer, Sunderland, MA, pp 3–37

    Google Scholar 

  • Fraschetti S, Giangrande A, Terlizzi A, Boero F (2003) Pre- and post-settlement events in benthic community dynamics. Oceanol Acta 25:285–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fraschetti S, Terlizzi A, Benedetti-Cecchi L (2005) Patterns of distribution of rocky marine assemblages: evidence of relevant scales of variation. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 296:13–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaston KJ (2000) Global patterns in biodiversity. Nature 405:220–227

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harmelin JG (1985) Organisation spatiale des communautés sessiles des grottes sous-marines de Méditerranée. Rapp Comm Int Mer Médit 5:149–153

    Google Scholar 

  • Helmuth B (1999) Thermal biology of rocky intertidal mussels: quantifying body temperatures using climatological data. Ecology 80:15–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hooper DU, Chapin FS, Ewel JJ, Hector A, Inchausti P, Lavorel S, Lawton JH, Lodge DM, Loreau M, Naeem S, Schmid B, Setälä H, Symstad AJ, Vandermeer J, Wardle DA (2005) Effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning: a consensus of current knowledge. Ecol Monogr 75:3–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurlbert SH (1984) Pseudoreplication and the design of ecological experiments. Ecol Monogr 54:187–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Irving AD, Connell SD (2002) Interactive effects of sedimentation and microtopography on the abundance of subtidal turfing algae. Phycologia 41:517–522

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson JBC, Kirby MX, Berger WH, Bjorndal KA, Botsford LW, Bourque BJ, Bradbury RH, Cooke R, Erlandson J, Estes JA, Hughes TP, Kidwell S, Lange CB, Lenihan HS, Pandolfi JM, Peterson CH, Steneck RS, Tegner MJ, Warner RR (2001) Historical overfishing and the recent collapse of coastal ecosystems. Science 293:629–638

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kautsky N, Kautsky H, Kautsky U, Waern M (1986) Decreased depth penetration of Fucus vesiculosus (L.) since the 1940’s indicates eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 28:1–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keough MJ, Quinn GP (1998) Effects of periodic disturbances from trampling on rocky intertidal algal beds. Ecol Appl 8:141–161

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinlan BP, Gaines SD (2003) Propagule dispersal in marine and terrestrial environments: a community perspective. Ecology 84:2007–2020

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawton JH (1996) Patterns in ecology. Oikos 75:145–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levin SA (1992) The problem of pattern and scale in ecology. Ecology 73:1943–1967

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis JR (1964) The ecology of rocky shores. English University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Lilley SA, Schiel DR (2006) Community effects following the deletion of a habitat-forming alga from rocky marine shores. Oecologia 148:672–681

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Magurran AE (2004) Measuring biological diversity. Blackwell, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • May RM (1984) An overview: real and apparent patterns in community structure. In: Strong DR, Simberloff D, Abeler LG, Thistlef AB (eds) Ecological communities: conceptual issues and the evidence. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, pp 3–16

    Google Scholar 

  • McCoy ED, Bell SS (1991) Habitat structure: the evolution and diversification of a complex topic. In: Bell SS, McCoy ED, Mushinsky HR (eds) Habitat structure: the physical arrangement of objects in space. Chapman & Hall, London, pp 3–27

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Menge BA, Olson AM (1990) Role of scale and environmental factors in regulation of community structure. Trends Ecol Evol 5:52–57

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Menge BA, Sutherland JP (1987) Community regulation: variation disturbance, competition, and predation in relation to environmental stress and recruitment. Am Nat 130:730–757

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menge BA, Daley BA, Lubchenco J, Sanford E, Dahlhoff E, Halpin PM, Hudson G, Burnaford JL (1999) Top-down and bottom-up regulation of New Zealand rocky intertidal communities. Ecol Monogr 69:297–330

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naeem S (2002) Ecosystem consequences of biodiversity loss: the evolution of a paradigm. Ecology 83:1537–1552

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naranjo SA, Carballo JL, García-Gomez (1996) Effects of environmental stress on ascidian populations in Algeciras Bay (southern Spain): possible marine bioindicators? Mar Ecol Prog Ser 144:45–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paine RT (1966) Food web complexity and species diversity. Am Nat 100:65–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearse JS, Lockhart SJ (2004) Reproduction in cold water: paradigm changes in the 20th century and a role for cidaroid sea urchins. Deep-Sea Res II 51:1533–1549

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pérès JM (1982) Major benthic assemblages. In: Kinne OJ (ed) Marine Ecology, vol 5. Wiley, London, pp 373–508

    Google Scholar 

  • Pianka ER (1966) Latitudinal gradients in species diversity: a review of concepts. Am Nat 100:33–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pickett STA, White PS (1985) The ecology of natural disturbance and patch dynamics. Academic Press, Orlando, FL

    Google Scholar 

  • Quinn JF, Dunham AE (1983) On hypothesis testing in ecology and evolution. Am Nat 122:602–617

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reed DC, Foster MS (1984) The effects of canopy shading on algal recruitment and growth in a giant kelp forest. Ecology 5:937–948

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riedl R (1966) Biologie der Meereshöhlen. Paul Parey, Hamburg

    Google Scholar 

  • Rossi RE, Mulla DJ, Journel AG, Franz EH (1992) Geostatistical tools for modeling and interpreting ecological spatial dependence. Ecol Monogr 62:277–314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruiz GM, Fofonoff PW, Carlton JT, Wonham MJ, Hines AH (2000) Invasion of coastal marine communities in North America: apparent patterns, processes, and biases. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 31:481–531

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanford E (2002) Water temperature, predation, and the neglected role of physiological rate effects in rocky intertidal communities. Integ Comp Biol 42:881–891

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheibling RE (1986) Increased macroalgal abundance following mass mortalities of sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia. Oecologia 68:186–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schiel DR (2004) The structure and replenishment of rocky shore intertidal communities and biogeographic comparisons. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 300:309–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schiel DR, Foster MS (1986) The structure of subtidal algal stands in temperature waters. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 24:265–307

    Google Scholar 

  • Schiel DR, Foster MS (2006) The population biology of large brown seaweeds: ecological consequences of multiphase life histories in dynamic coastal environments. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 37:343–372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schiel DR, Taylor DI (1999) Effects of trampling on a rocky intertidal algal assemblage in southern New Zealand. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 235:213–235

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sousa WP (1984) Intertidal mosaics: patch size, propagule availability, and spatially variable patterns of succession. Ecology 65:1918–1935

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Southward AJ (1964) Limpet grazing and the control of vegetation on rocky shores. In: Crisp DJ (ed) Grazing in terrestrial and marine environments. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 265–273

    Google Scholar 

  • Steneck RS, Graham MH, Bourque BJ, Corbett D, Erlandson JM, Estes JA, Tegner MJ (2002) Kelp forest ecosystem: biodiversity, stability, resilience and their future. Environ Conserv 29:436–459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stephenson TA, Stephenson A (1949) The universal features of zonation between the tidemarks on rocky coasts. J Ecol 38:289–305

    Google Scholar 

  • Tegner MJ, Dayton PK (1991) Sea urchins, El Ninos, and the long term stability of Southern California kelp forest communities. Mar Ecol Progr Ser 77:49–63

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terlizzi A, Scuderi D, Fraschetti S, Guidetti P, Boero F (2003a) Molluscs on subtidal cliffs: patterns of spatial distribution. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 83:165–172

    Google Scholar 

  • Terlizzi A, Bevilacqua S, Fraschetti S, Boero F (2003b) Taxonomic sufficiency and the increasing insufficiency of taxonomic expertise. Mar Pollut Bull 46:544–560

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terlizzi A, Anderson MJ, Fraschetti S, Benedetti-Cecchi L (2007) Scales of spatial variation in Mediterranean subtidal sessile assemblages at different depths. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 332:25–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thrush SF, Dayton PK (2002) Disturbance to marine benthic habitats by trawling and dredging: implications for marine biodiversity Annu Rev Ecol Syst 33:449–473

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tissot BN (1995) Recruitment, growth, and survivorship of black abalone on Santa Cruz Island following mass mortality. Bull South Calif Acad Sci 94:179–189

    Google Scholar 

  • Underwood AJ (1978) The detection of non-random patterns of distribution of species along a gradient. Oecologia 36:317–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Underwood AJ (1981) An experimental evaluation of competition between three species of intertidal prosobranch gastropods. Oecologia 33:185–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Underwood AJ (2000) Experimental ecology on rocky intertidal habitats: what are we learning? J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 250:51–76

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Underwood AJ, Denley EJ (1984) Paradigms, explanations and generalizations in models for the structure of intertidal communities on rocky shores. In: Strong DR, Simberloff D, Abele LG, Thistle A (eds) Ecological communities: conceptual issues and the evidence. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, pp 151–180

    Google Scholar 

  • Underwood AJ, Petraitis PS (1993) Structure of intertidal assemblages in different locations: how can local processes be compared? In: Ricklefs R, Schutler D (eds) Species diversity in ecological communities. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, pp 38–51

    Google Scholar 

  • Underwood AJ, Chapman MG, Connell SD (2000) Observation in ecology: you can’t make progress on processes without understanding the patterns. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 250:97–115

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Walther GR, Post E, Convey P, Menzel A, Parmesank C, Beebee TJC, Fromentin JM, Hoegh-Guldberg O, Bairlein F (2002) Ecological responses to recent climate change. Nature 416:389–395

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Whittaker RH (1975) Communities and ecosystems. Macmillan, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Witman JD, Dayton PK (2001) Rocky subtidal communities. In: Bertness MD, Gaines SD, Hay ME (eds) Marine community ecology. Sinauer, Sunderland, MA, pp 339–366

    Google Scholar 

  • Wootton JT (2001) Local interactions predict large-scale pattern in empirically derived cellular automata. Nature 413:841–843

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wu J, Loucks OL (1995) From balance of nature to hierarchical patch dynamics: a paradigm shift in ecology. Q Rev Biol 70:439–466

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche ed Ambientali, Università del Salento, CoNISMa, 73100, Lecce, Italy

    Antonio Terlizzi

  2. Marine Ecology Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, 8140, Christchurch, New Zealand

    David R. Schiel

Authors
  1. Antonio Terlizzi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David R. Schiel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antonio Terlizzi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

    Rights and permissions

    Reprints and permissions

    Copyright information

    © 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

    About this chapter

    Cite this chapter

    Terlizzi, A., Schiel, D.R. (2009). Patterns Along Environmental Gradients. In: Wahl, M. (eds) Marine Hard Bottom Communities. Ecological Studies, vol 206. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/b76710_7

    Download citation

    Publish with us

    Policies and ethics

    Search

    Navigation