The trophic position and isotopic niche of a cryptogenic tube-building polychaete in a protected clear-water estuarine bay

van Rensburg, Hendre; Richoux, Nicole B; Simon, Carol A

Title: The trophic position and isotopic niche of a cryptogenic tube-building polychaete in a protected clear-water estuarine bay
Creator: van Rensburg, Hendre
Creator: Richoux, Nicole B
Creator: Simon, Carol A
Subject: To be catalogued
Date Issued: 2023
Date: 2023
Type: text
Type: article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/454404
Identifier: vital:75341
Identifier: xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2023.108549"
Description: The Knysna Estuary is a large, clear-water embayment and one of the most important estuaries for conservation in southern Africa. The estuary is detritus-dominated and the benthic food webs have low diversities of carnivores, which may make the estuary vulnerable to invasions through the empty niche hypothesis. In the last two decades, the Knysna Estuary has experienced an increase in the population of the cryptogenic and apparently omnivorous estuarine moonshine worm (Diopatra aciculata). Our goal was to describe the trophic role of D. aciculata. We measured carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in all the common macrophytes and macroinvertebrates across four seasons to 1) establish the isotopic landscapes of three disparate sites within the Knysna Estuary where D. aciculata occurs, 2) establish whether the trophic level of D. aciculata matches those of other common macroinvertebrates, and 3) establish whether the isotopic niche of D. aciculata overlaps with those of syntopic macroinvertebrates. Communities at the different sites differed in food web width, most likely due to differences in primary producer diversity. Our findings suggested that D. aciculata is a facultative carnivore, and some sub-populations are sustained primarily by animal tissues. Isotopic niche overlap analysis showed that direct competition with other common macroinvertebrate consumers is doubtful and D. aciculata occupies a unique niche within the estuary.
Format: computer
Format: online resource
Format: application/pdf
Format: 1 online resource (13 pages)
Format: pdf
Publisher: Elsevier
Language: English
Relation: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
Relation: van Rensburg, H., Richoux, N.B. and Simon, C.A., 2023. The trophic position and isotopic niche of a cryptogenic tube-building polychaete in a protected clear-water estuarine bay. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 295, p.108549
Relation: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science volume 295 p. 108549 2023 1096-0015
Rights: Publisher
Rights: Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Elsevier Terms and Conditions Statement (https://www.elsevier.com/legal/elsevier-website-terms-and-conditions)
Rights: Open Access

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Richoux, Nicole Bertine (Assoc Prof)

SDG 15. Life On Land

RU Department of Zoology and Entomology

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