Mark Bertness: Facilitating Community Ecology Presented by: Laura Brown BIOL 7083

Background Born July 13, 1949 WA B.S. University of Puget Sound (psychology/chemistry) M.S. Western Washington University (Biology) Ph.D University of Maryland (evolutionary ecology) Geerat Vermeij

Tree Jonathan M. Levine Brian Silliman John Bruno ME!

Research Overview Consumer control of salt marshes Human impacts on coastal ecosystems Role of foundation species and positive interactions in community organization Climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems Historical states of impacted ecosystems

Cross section of a southern New England salt marsh illustrating the major vegetation zones and general results of this paper. Bertness M D et al., 2002 ©2002 by National Academy of Sciences Increasing Competition Increasing Physical Constraints

Spartina alterniflora Zone

Roots and rhizomes provide structural support Increases above ground biomass Soil drainage Soil oxidation reduction potential In situ decomposition of below- ground plant debris Facilitative Mutualism! Bertness 1985 TreatmentNumber of StemsBiomass (g) With Fiddlers23.1± ±2.5 Without Fiddlers13.3± ±1.8

Spartina patens Zone

Bertness 1991 Lower bound is set by environmental stress

Bertness 1991 Spartina patens Zone

Juncus gerardii Zone

Wrack!

Salicornia and Distichlis

Juncus Zone Initial colonizers Shade substrate Alleviate salt stress Bertness and Shumway 1993

Bertness 1992

Rocky Intertidal Bertness 1989

Community Structure Time Spatial heterogeneity Competition Predation Climatic stability Productivity Predation Hypothesis – Dominant predators keep species diversity high by reducing monopolizers Competition hypothesis – Highly diverse communities arise in environments that are stable and result from competition managed niches Menge and Sutherland 1976

Menge and Sutherland 1987

Community Structure Menge and Sutherland 1987

Positive interactions in communities Bertness and Callaway 1994 “Current concepts of the role of interspecific interactions in communities have been shaped by a profusion of experimental studies of interspecific competition over the past few decades. Evidence for the importance of positive interactions- facilitations- in community organization and dynamics has accrued to the point where it warrants formal inclusion into community ecology theory, as it has been in evolutionary biology.”

The greater influence between competition and positive interactions? Bertness and Callaway 1994

Facilitation Study TypeBenthics % MEPS % Facilitation Predation Propagule Supply Disturbance Competition Shaded = Facilitation Open = Competition Brooker et al., 2008

Bruno, Stachowicz and Bertness 2003 Facilitation Niche Concept S. alterniflora zone stabilization

Bruno, Stachowicz and Bertness 2003 Facilitation Niche Concept S. alterniflora zone stabilization Environmental Stress Desert shrubs reduce soil temp, but outcompete for shade

Bruno, Stachowicz and Bertness 2003 Facilitation Niche Concept S. alterniflora zone stabilization Environmental Stress Desert shrubs reduce soil temp, but outcompete for shade Invasibility with higher richness

Bruno, Stachowicz and Bertness 2003 Facilitation Niche Concept S. alterniflora zone stabilization Environmental Stress Desert shrubs reduce soil temp, but outcompete for shade Invasibility with higher richness Keystone species Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis Keystone species and species within those species

Facilitation

Community Structure Menge and Sutherland 1987

Facilitation IntraspecificInterspecific Bruno, Stachowicz and Bertness 2003

Conclusion CompetitionPredation Facilitation

Mark Bertness

Citations Bertness, M.D Fiddler crab regulation of Spartina alterniflora production on a New England salt marsh. Ecology 66: Bertness, M.D Intraspecific competition and facilitation in a northern acorn barnacle population. Ecology 70: Bertness, M.D Zonation of Spartina patens and Spartina alterniflora in a New England salt marsh. Ecology 72: Bertness, M.D Ecology of New England salt marsh. American Scientist 80: Bertness, M.D., P.J. Ewanchuk and B.R. Silliman Anthropogenic modification of New England salt marsh landscapes. 99: Bertness, M.D. and R. Callaway Positive interactions in communities. Tree 9: Bertness, M.D. and S.W. Shumway Competition and facilitation in marsh plants. The American Naturalist 142: Brooker, R.W. F.T. Maestre, R.M. Callaway, C.L.Lortie, L.A. Cavieres, G. Kunstler, P. Liancurt, K. Tielborger, J.M.J. Travis, F. Anthelme, C. Armas, L. Coll, E. Corcket, S. Delzon, E. Forey, Z. Kikvidze, J. olofsson, F. Pugnaire, C.L. Quiroz, P. Saccone, K. Schiffers, M. Seifan, B. Touzard, and R. Michalet Journal of Ecology 96: Bruno, J.F., J.J. Stachowicz, and M.D. Bertness Inclusion of facilitation into ecological theory. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 18: Menge, B.A. and J.P. Sutherland Species diversity gradients: synthesis of the roles of predation, competition, and temporal heterogeneity. The American Naturalist 110: Menge, B.A. and J.P. Sutherland Community regulation: variation in disturbance, competition, and predation in relation to environmental stress and recruitment. The American Naturalist 130: