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Ecological impacts of two non-indigenous macroalgae on an urban rocky intertidal shore

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Abstract

Non-indigenous marine species often change the abundance and diversity of native species in coastal ecosystems. On the SW Atlantic coast, the macroalgae Ahnfeltiopsis sp. (Rhodophyta, Phyllophoraceae) and Schizymenia dubyi (Rhodophyta, Schizymeniaceae) have invaded the intertidal rocky shore of Mar del Plata, Argentina (38°S, 57°W). To study the spread and ecological associations of these invasive species, algal abundance, biomass and biodiversity of benthic assemblages at three different tidal levels were examined during five years. Sparse Ahnfeltiopsis sp. thalli (3 % cover) were detected in February 2007 at the three tidal levels. By January 2011, its cover had increased to 11 %, while its biomass showed a 27-fold increase. S. dubyi was detected at the lower intertidal level in January 2010 with a cover of 2 %. By January 2011, it had increased to 5 % and spread to the other intertidal levels. The presence of these two non-indigenous algae modified the substrate and the structure and composition of the benthic assemblage. The constant increase in the algal biomass and presence along the intertidal suggest that the effect will be greater in the future. Moreover, the effects of these exotic algae could potentially displace Brachidontes rodriguezii—an important ecosystem engineer that creates microhabitat for a large number of organisms on these shores.

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Acknowledgments

The manuscript was enriched with the useful comments of two anonymous reviewers. We are grateful to M.G. Chapman for the comments on an early version of this article. This is a contribution to the program of GrIETA. We thank Eleonor Tietze and Diana Montemayor for field assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Grupo de Investigación y Educación en Temas Ambientales (GrIETA), Mar del Plata, Argentina

    María Gabriela Palomo

  2. Laboratorio de Ecosistemas Costeros, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” (MACN-CONICET), Av. Angel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    María Gabriela Palomo, María Bagur, Marina Quiroga & Sabrina Soria

  3. Marine Ecology Laboratories (A11), Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Ana Bugnot

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  1. María Gabriela Palomo
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Correspondence to María Gabriela Palomo.

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Funding

This study was partly funded by two CONICET grants (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; PIP 11220080100732 and 11220110100024) to MGP, by Census of Marine Life (NaGISA project) and by Total Foundation funds to the South American Research Group on Coastal Ecosystems (SARCE).

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All authors declared that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Responsible Editor: E. Briski.

Reviewed by J. C. Creed and an undisclosed expert.

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Invasive Species.

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Palomo, M.G., Bagur, M., Quiroga, M. et al. Ecological impacts of two non-indigenous macroalgae on an urban rocky intertidal shore. Mar Biol 163, 178 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-016-2951-6

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