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Seasonal Changes in situ Grazing of the Mesoherbivores Idotea baltica and Gammarus oceanicus on the Brown Algae Fucus vesiculosus and Pylaiella littoralis in the Central Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea

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An Erratum to this article was published on 20 June 2006

Abstract

The in situ grazing experiments were performed in the shallow water rocky habitat of the northern Baltic Sea during ice-free season 2002. In the experiments the effects of algal species and choice on the grazing of the mesoherbivores Idotea baltica (Pallas) and Gammarus oceanicus Segerstråle were tested. Salinity, temperature, concentration of nutrients in water and macroalgae and net production of macroalgae were considered as random effects in the analysis. The invertebrate feeding rate was mainly a function of the net photosynthetic activity of Pylaiella littoralis (L.) Kjellman and Fucus vesiculosus L. Feeding rate increased significantly with decreasing algal photosynthetic activity. When the two algal species were incubated together invertebrates fed primarily on P. littoralis. Low selectivity towards P. littoralis coincided with its high photosynthetic activity. The presence of F. vesiculosus did not modify the invertebrate feeding on P. littoralis. The results indicated that (1) the grazing on F. vesiculosus depended on the availability of P. littoralis, (2) the photosynthetic activity of algae explained the best the variation in grazing rate and (3) the grazers are not likely to control the early outbreak of filamentous algae in the northern Baltic Sea by avoiding young and photosynthetically active algae. The likely mechanism behind the relationship is that the increased photosynthetic activity of macroalgae coincides with their higher resistance to herbivory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu, Mäealuse 10a, 12618, Tallinn, Estonia

    Kotta Jonne, Orav-Kotta Helen, Paalme Tiina, Kotta Ilmar & Kukk Henn

  2. Tallinn Pedagogical University, Narva str. 25, 10120, Tallinn, Estonia

    Paalme Tiina & Kukk Henn

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  1. Kotta Jonne
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  2. Orav-Kotta Helen
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Correspondence to Kotta Jonne.

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An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10750-006-0251-8.

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Jonne, K., Helen, OK., Tiina, P. et al. Seasonal Changes in situ Grazing of the Mesoherbivores Idotea baltica and Gammarus oceanicus on the Brown Algae Fucus vesiculosus and Pylaiella littoralis in the Central Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea. Hydrobiologia 554, 117–125 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-005-1011-x

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