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Conditional responses of organisms to habitat structure: an example from intertidal mudflats

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Abstract

Habitat structure is often assumed to be a predictor of habitat function. However, habitat structure may be insufficient to predict the functional significance of a habitat if the level of resources in the habitat is a consequence of the interaction between the habitat structure and physical or biological factors. In this study, we investigated whether depressions in tidal flat sediments generated by stout razor clams, Tagelus plebeius, affect the spatial patterns of pit digging by deposit-feeding burrowing crabs, Chasmagnathus granulata. The pits dug by crabs while feeding overlapped with clam siphon holes at a frequency higher than expected at random, and measurements of pit-digging by crabs integrated over several days indicated a higher frequency of feeding in the sediment of depressions. The daily frequency of pit-digging by crabs in depressions was positively related to the organic matter content of their sediments, but was significantly higher than the frequency of pit-digging away from clam siphon holes only after events of high bedload sediment transport, when the organic matter in the sediments of these depressions peaked. This example demonstrates the conditional nature of the relationship between habitat structure and function by illustrating how a physical process—bedload sediment transport—may introduce variation in the function that depressions play as feeding sites for burrowing crabs. Published information suggests that such conditional responses of organisms to habitat structure: (1) occur in a variety of habitats; (2) involve a variety of structures either of biotic or abiotic origin; and (3) are the consequence of either physical or biological controls that vary in importance according to the general mechanism through which habitat structure affect resources. This broad experimental evidence suggests that the accuracy of predictive models linking habitat structure and function can be improved by incorporating a mechanistic perspective that allows recognition of the potential for conditional responses of organisms to habitat structure.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Gabriela Palomo and Betina Lomovasky for field assistance and Pablo Ribeiro for statistical advice. This article benefited from the critical reading of Mark Bertness, Clive Jones, Gabriela Palomo, Charles Peterson, Pablo Ribeiro, Maria Uriarte, and two anonymous reviewers. This project was supported by grants from Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, CONICET, FONDECyT, and Fundación Antorchas. J.L.G. was supported by scholarships from CONICET and this article is part of his Doctoral thesis.

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  1. Jorge L. Gutiérrez

    Present address: Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Route 44A, Box AB, Millbrook, NY 12545, USA

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  1. Departamento de Biología (FCEyN), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, B7600WAG , Mar del Plata, Argentina

    Jorge L. Gutiérrez & Oscar O. Iribarne

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  1. Jorge L. Gutiérrez
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  2. Oscar O. Iribarne
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Correspondence to Jorge L. Gutiérrez.

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Gutiérrez, J.L., Iribarne, O.O. Conditional responses of organisms to habitat structure: an example from intertidal mudflats. Oecologia 139, 572–582 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1533-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1533-3

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