Does the native predator Trophon geversianus exert top-down control on the invasive barnacle Balanus glandula on Patagonian rocky shores?
María José Pio A , María M. Mendez
B C G , David E. Galván D , Gregorio Bigatti B D E , Kaydee West F and Gregory S. Herbert F
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘Bernardino Rivadavia’ (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas), Avenida Angel Gallardo 470, Buenos Aires, C1405DJR, Argentina.
B Laboratorio de Reproducción y Biología Integrativa de Invertebrados Marinos (Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos, Centro Nacional Patagónico, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas), Bulevar Brown 2915, Puerto Madryn, U9120ACD, Argentina.
C Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco, Bulevar Brown 3700, Puerto Madryn, U9120ACD, Argentina.
D Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos (Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos, Centro Nacional Patagónico, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas), Bulevar Brown 2915, Puerto Madryn U9120ACD, Argentina.
E Universidad Espíritu Santo, Avenida Samborondón kilómetro 2.5, Samborondón, 092301, Ecuador.
F School of Geosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA.
G Corresponding author. Email: mendez@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar
Marine and Freshwater Research 70(11) 1552-1560 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF18420
Submitted: 1 November 2018 Accepted: 24 March 2019 Published: 30 May 2019
Abstract
Trophic interactions between the native gastropod predator Trophon geversianus and the invasive barnacle Balanus glandula may have facilitated the successful expansion of the barnacle along rocky intertidal coastlines in Argentina. In this study, through field observations and a stable isotope reconstruction of the diet of T. geversianus, we assessed whether and how frequently this drilling muricid gastropod consumes the invasive B. glandula on a Patagonian rocky shore. Field observations indicated that B. glandula and T. geversianus co-occur in the middle intertidal. Feeding observations and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope dietary reconstructions showed that T. geversianus readily and successfully consumes B. glandula, but at low rates (4% of diet) relative to native mussel prey, which compete with B. glandula for space. This study shows that T. geversianus exerts little top-down control on this invasive barnacle on Patagonian rocky shores. The success of B. glandula on these shores is plausibly enhanced directly by this weak interaction and indirectly by the preference of T. geversianus for native prey rather than the absence of predators or invader immunity from predation. The results of this study complement previous studies that have shown that tolerance to extreme desiccation stress in harsh intertidal environments is crucial for the establishment of B. glandula.
Additional keywords: environmental stress, indirect facilitation, invasive species, trophic interaction.
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