EFFECTS OF FILTER-FEEDERS AND GRAZERS ON ALGAL SETTLEMENT AND GROWTH IN MUSSEL BEDS
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1988
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Abstract
Macroalgae and mussels are common users of the often limiting primary space on mid- and low-intertidal rocky surfaces. As a result most studies of their interactions have focused primarily on resource competition. Yet, frequently a diversity of algae is found coexisting with mussels.sbd.neither asphyxiating them nor being outcompeted by them. In this study, we look for other sets of ecologically important interactions between mussels and algae in the habitats where they coexist. Experimental studies showed that mussels ingest and digest algal spores, affect the pattern of algal settlement, and protect the algal germlings from desiccation. Probably, they also fertilize the growing thalli. Small grazers among the mussels select the type of algae surviving in the bed and together with the abiotic environment control algal growth and abundance. Reproductive output, antiherbivore escape and defense mechanisms, and tolerance to desiccation appear to be the most important algal adaptations for survival in this type of habitat. The resulting flora found among mussels is a function of all these interactions and of the age and history of the individual mussel bed.