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The Intertidal Burrowing Crab Neohelice (=Chasmagnathus) granulata Positively Affects Foraging of Rodents in South Western Atlantic Salt Marshes

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Abstract

The role of positive and indirect interactions is often crucial in communities with intense abiotic stress such as salt marshes. The burrowing crab, Neohelice (=Chasmagnathus) granulata, is the dominant benthic macroinvertebrate of southwest Atlantic marshes (southern Brazil to Northern Argentinean Patagonia), having strong direct and indirect effects on marsh soil and, in consequence, on marsh vegetation and primary consumers. In this work, we investigate if this crab indirectly modifies habitat use by the granivorous rodents, Akodon azarae and Oligoryzomys flavescens, by increasing nutrient availability and thus enhancing seed production by the marsh plant Spartina densiflora. The study was conducted at the Mar Chiquita Coastal Lagoon, Argentina (37°32′ S). Rodent frequencies in S. densiflora were positively correlated with crab densities throughout the low and middle marsh. Additionally, the highest quality of S. densiflora and inflorescence density was recorded at the highest crab densities. Experimental manipulation of crab densities shows that N. granulata indirectly enhances the performance of S. densiflora (e.g., decreased fiber content and C/N ratios) and increases density of seeds. Moreover, N. granulata also facilitates S. densiflora seed availability to rodents by concentrating them in sediment mound at their burrows entrances. Experimental rodent exclusions showed that rodent species used S. densiflora seeds, a variable positively related to crab burrow density. Thus, our results show that N. granulata drives the granivorous rodent distribution and the intensity of seeds–rodent interaction trough facilitative and indirect interactions in marsh community.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank to L. Biondi, A. Baladron, G. Sanahuja, and J. Pascual for their field assistance, and G. Alvarez for laboratory assistance. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments, which greatly improved the manuscript. This project was supported by Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Fundación Antorchas (A-13900-13), ANPCyT (PICT 13527), CONICET (PIP 5669), Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (PICT No. 1-13527) all granted to O. O. Iribarne. A. D. Canepuccia, M. S. Fanjul, and M. E. Fanjul were supported by fellowships from the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina.

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  1. Departamento de Biología (FCEyN), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, CC 573 Correo Central, (B7600WA), Mar del Plata, Argentina

    Alejandro D. Canepuccia, Maria S. Fanjul, Eugenia Fanjul, Florencia Botto & Oscar O. Iribarne

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  1. Alejandro D. Canepuccia
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  2. Maria S. Fanjul
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Correspondence to Alejandro D. Canepuccia.

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Canepuccia, A.D., Fanjul, M.S., Fanjul, E. et al. The Intertidal Burrowing Crab Neohelice (=Chasmagnathus) granulata Positively Affects Foraging of Rodents in South Western Atlantic Salt Marshes. Estuaries and Coasts 31, 920–930 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-008-9076-1

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