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Reproductive Strategies in Marine Invertebrates and the Structuring of Marine Animal Forests

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Marine Animal Forests

Abstract

Competition, predation, and facilitation mechanisms are the major drivers of biodiversity and community structure in marine benthic ecosystems. Habitat complexity is a determining factor of faunal richness and biodiversity in these communities. The structure of marine animal forests is originated by living three-dimensional aggregations of modular animals. The persistence of these systems through time relies on the growth of existing individuals and the recruitment of new ones. Therefore, the present and future health of these valuable ecosystems may depend on the reproductive success of a few vulnerable species which might often be accomplished only under strict or very narrow conditions. Reproductive patterns of ecosystem engineers play a crucial role in determining the structure, function, and distribution of all kinds of marine animal forests at different scales. The reproductive strategies of these habitat-forming species may vary considerably. Though most ecosystem-engineering species are, to some extent, able to reproduce asexually, their sexual reproductive strategies are diverse. Dispersal ability strategies are selected as an adaptation to spatial heterogeneity and habitat stability and are important factors for the resilience of the ecosystems. Dispersal traits are essential for both small-scale population structuring and connectivity among distant populations. Disturbed habitats may be promptly recolonized by species with long-distance dispersal capability, but recolonization by species with low dispersal capacity might limit the full restoration of a disturbed ecosystem, especially in fragmented habitats with reduced connectivity between patches. Due to the lack of knowledge on the reproductive cycles of many marine invertebrates, the response of animal forest ecosystems to global change is, in general, unpredictable.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to Rhian Waller, Georgios Tsounis, and the editors of this volume for critically reviewing our manuscript and helping to improve it. This review work has been funded by project ChallenGen CTM2013-48163 of the Spanish Government and by the 2014SGR336 grant from the Catalan Government. OSW is currently funded by project SeaDNA, NE/N005759/1 grant from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecosystems and Environment Research Centre, School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, Peel Building, The Crescent, Salford, M5 4WT, UK

    Owen S. Wangensteen

  2. Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Blanes (Girona), Spain

    Xavier Turon

  3. Department of Animal Biology and Institute for Research on Biodiversity (IRBio), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Creu Palacín

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  1. Owen S. Wangensteen
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  2. Xavier Turon
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  3. Creu Palacín
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Correspondence to Owen S. Wangensteen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst. Environmental Science & Technology Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain

    Sergio Rossi

  2. LECOB / Ocean Observatory CNRS / Pierre and Marie Curie University, Banyuls-sur-mer, France

    Lorenzo Bramanti

  3. Dept. Marine Biology & Oceanography, Institute of Marine Sciences, Barcelona, Spain

    Andrea Gori

  4. Balearic Oceanographic Centre Spanish Institute of Oceanography, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Covadonga Orejas Saco del Valle

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Wangensteen, O.S., Turon, X., Palacín, C. (2016). Reproductive Strategies in Marine Invertebrates and the Structuring of Marine Animal Forests. In: Rossi, S., Bramanti, L., Gori, A., Orejas Saco del Valle, C. (eds) Marine Animal Forests. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17001-5_52-1

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