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Importance of the invasive macroalga Undaria pinnatifida as trophic subsidy for a beach consumer

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Abstract

Food webs on sandy beaches rely heavily on spatial subsidies of macroalgae and other detritus. Invasive macroalgal species are modifying many ecosystems worldwide, so the potential exists for them to alter the quantity and quality of food available to sandy beach consumers. We evaluated the suitability of the invasive kelp Undaria pinnatifida as a food for the talitrid amphipod Bellorchestia quoyana, an abundant consumer on sandy beaches in southern New Zealand. U. pinnatifida had similar gross nutritional and biomechanical properties to the three native macroalgal species (the kelps Macrocystis pyrifera and Durvillaea antarctica, and the green Ulva spp.). B. quoyana consumed U. pinnatifida at similar or higher rates than the native kelps in laboratory feeding assays (choice and no-choice assays with fresh tissues, and choice assays with tissue reconstituted into agar foods to remove structural properties). Our results indicate that U. pinnatifida is a usable alternative food source for B. quoyana and could, therefore, contribute to the local sandy beach food web. Understanding the role that invasive macroalgae play as a food source for beach consumers is essential to better comprehend how they may affect these subsidy-dependent ecosystems.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank Stuart Bell, Pamela Fernández Subriabre, Pablo Leal Sandoval, Maryse Wong-Ah-See, Liina Pajusalu, Fiona Nyhof, Ralf Reutenberg and Smita Ghosh for field and lab assistance. We also thank staff from the Campbell Microanalytical Laboratory and the Department of Food Science from the University of Otago for analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Botany Department, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand

    Rocío Suárez-Jiménez & Catriona L. Hurd

  2. Marine Science Department, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand

    Christopher D. Hepburn

  3. Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, School of Natural Science, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, 6027, Australia

    Glenn A. Hyndes

  4. Chemistry Department, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand

    Rebecca J. McLeod

  5. Leigh Marine Laboratory and Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Leigh, 0985, New Zealand

    Richard B. Taylor

  6. Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, 7001, Australia

    Catriona L. Hurd

Authors
  1. Rocío Suárez-Jiménez
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  2. Christopher D. Hepburn
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  3. Glenn A. Hyndes
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  4. Rebecca J. McLeod
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  5. Richard B. Taylor
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  6. Catriona L. Hurd
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Correspondence to Rocío Suárez-Jiménez.

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Funding

This study was funded by a Otago University Doctoral Scholarship to RSJ, Performance Based Research (PBRF) funding from the Department of Botany, University of Otago to CLH, a Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (FRST) subcontract to CLH from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd., Biodiversity and Biosecurity OBI (C01X0502) and a FRST Science and Technology Postdoctoral Fellowship to RJM (UOOX0814).

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

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Suárez-Jiménez, R., Hepburn, C.D., Hyndes, G.A. et al. Importance of the invasive macroalga Undaria pinnatifida as trophic subsidy for a beach consumer. Mar Biol 164, 113 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-017-3140-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-017-3140-y

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