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Interaction between small-scale habitat properties and short-term temporal conditions on food web dynamics of a warm temperate intertidal rock pool ecosystem

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Abstract

The physical properties of habitats are crucial determinants of community structure with significant effects on food web dynamics. We examined the effects of rock pool physical properties (e.g. pool size, water depth) and short-term temporal (seasonal) change (e.g. temperature, nutrients) on food web structure at small spatial scales (c. 500 m) on the warm temperate coast of South Africa. Using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures, we characterised food web structure with Layman metrics and quantified food web size, defined as the total area in isotopic space occupied by consumer species. The effects of rock pool physical properties and seasonal changes on species counts and food web structure were evaluated using a Bayesian generalised linear mixed model approach. Substratum type, water depth, pool size, phosphate concentrations, salinity and temperature all influenced overall food web dynamics. A winter reduction of sand cover led to a more heterogeneous substratum and a significant increase in species counts, while consumer niche similarity decreased with increasing pool size in summer. The range of δ15N values, or trophic height, was negatively and positively affected by salinity and phosphate levels, respectively. Overall, the effects of pool physical properties on food web structure were moderated by seasonality.

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All data and material generated during the present study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF; Grant Number 64801). Tatenda Dalu is supported by the NRF Thuthuka (Grant Number 117700). We acknowledge and thank Grant Hall from the Stable Isotope Laboratory at the Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria who processed our stable isotope samples. Many thanks to Ticia Swanepoel for administrative and technical assistance, Agripa Ngorima, Isabel Micklem and Tiyisani Chavalala for assistance during sampling. We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and suggestions on this paper.

Funding

This work was funded by the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation of South Africa.

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  1. Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

    Molline N. C. Gusha & Christopher D. McQuaid

  2. School of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Mpumalanga, Nelspruit, 1200, South Africa

    Tatenda Dalu

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TD, CDM and MNCG conceptualised and designed the methodology; MNCG and TD collected the data; MNCG analysed the data and wrote the original draft; TD, CDM and MNCG reviewed and edited the drafts; CDM provided funding for the research. All authors gave final approval for publication.

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Correspondence to Molline N. C. Gusha.

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Gusha, M.N.C., Dalu, T. & McQuaid, C.D. Interaction between small-scale habitat properties and short-term temporal conditions on food web dynamics of a warm temperate intertidal rock pool ecosystem. Hydrobiologia 848, 1517–1533 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-021-04535-8

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