MEPS

Marine Ecology Progress Series

MEPS is a leading hybrid research journal on all aspects of marine, coastal and estuarine ecology. Priority is given to outstanding research that advances our ecological understanding.

Online: ISSN 1616-1599

Print: ISSN 0171-8630

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps

Volume contents
Mar Ecol Prog Ser 616:83-94 (2019)

Ocean acidification may alter predator-prey relationships and weaken nonlethal interactions between gastropods and crabs

ABSTRACT: Predator-prey interactions often drive ecological patterns and are governed by factors including predator feeding rates, prey behavioral avoidance, and prey structural defenses. Invasive species can also play a large ecological role by disrupting food webs, driving local extinctions, and influencing evolutionary changes in prey defense mechanisms. This study documents a substantial reduction in the behavioral and morphological responses of multiple gastropod species (Nucella lapillus, N. ostrina, Urosalpinx cinerea) to an invasive predatory crab (green crab Carcinus maenas) under ocean acidification conditions. These results suggest that climate-related changes in ocean chemistry may diminish non-lethal effects of predators on prey responses including behavioral avoidance. While snails with varying shell mineralogies were similarly successful at deterring predation, those with primarily aragonitic shells were more susceptible to dissolution and erosion under high CO2 conditions. The varying susceptibility to predation among species with similar ecological roles could indicate that the impacts of invasive species like green crabs could be modulated by the ability of native and invasive prey to withstand ocean acidification conditions.

KEYWORDS

Joshua P. Lord (Corresponding Author)

  • Department of Biological Sciences, Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA 18045, USA
lordj02@moravian.edu

Elizabeth M. Harper (Co-author)

  • Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK

James P. Barry (Co-author)

  • Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, CA 95039, USA