- Bakker, E.S.
, - Wood, K.A.
, - Pagès, J.F.
, - Veen, G.F.
, - Christianen, M.J.A.
, - Santamaría, L.
, - Nolet, B.A.
, - Hilt, S.
Abstract
Until the 1990s, herbivory on aquatic vascular plants was considered to be of minor importance, and the predominant view was that freshwater and marine macrophytes did not participate in the food web: their primary fate was the detritivorous pathway. In the last 25 years, a substantial body of evidence has emerged showing that herbivory is an important factor in the ecology of vascular macrophytes across freshwater and marine habitats. Herbivores remove on average 40–48% of plant biomass in freshwater and marine ecosystems, which is typically 5–10 times greater than reported for terrestrial ecosystems. This may be explained by the lower C:N stoichiometry found in submerged plants. Herbivores affect plant abundance and species composition through grazing and bioturbation, thereby altering the functioning of aquatic ecosystems, including biogeochemical cycling, carbon stocks and primary production, transport of nutrients and propagules across ecosystem boundaries, habitat for other organisms, and the level of shoreline protection provided by macrophyte beds. With ongoing global environmental change, herbivore impacts are predicted to increase. There is a pressing need to improve our management of undesirable herbivore impacts on macrophytes (e.g. leading to ecosystem collapse), and the conflicts between people associated with the impacts of charismatic mega-herbivores. At the same time, the long-term future of maintaining both viable herbivore populations and plant beds should be addressed, as both belong in complete ecosystems and have co-evolved in these long before the increasing influence of humans. Better integration of the freshwater, marine, and terrestrial herbivory literatures would greatly benefit future research efforts.
- Bakker, E.S.
, - Wood, K.A.
, - Pagès, J.F.
, - Veen, G.F.
, - Christianen, M.J.A.
, - Santamaría, L.
, - Nolet, B.A.
, - Hilt, S.
Abstract
Until the 1990s, herbivory on aquatic vascular plants was considered to be of minor importance, and the predominant view was that freshwater and marine macrophytes did not participate in the food web: their primary fate was the detritivorous pathway. In the last 25 years, a substantial body of evidence has emerged showing that herbivory is an important factor in the ecology of vascular macrophytes across freshwater and marine habitats. Herbivores remove on average 40–48% of plant biomass in freshwater and marine ecosystems, which is typically 5–10 times greater than reported for terrestrial ecosystems. This may be explained by the lower C:N stoichiometry found in submerged plants. Herbivores affect plant abundance and species composition through grazing and bioturbation, thereby altering the functioning of aquatic ecosystems, including biogeochemical cycling, carbon stocks and primary production, transport of nutrients and propagules across ecosystem boundaries, habitat for other organisms, and the level of shoreline protection provided by macrophyte beds. With ongoing global environmental change, herbivore impacts are predicted to increase. There is a pressing need to improve our management of undesirable herbivore impacts on macrophytes (e.g. leading to ecosystem collapse), and the conflicts between people associated with the impacts of charismatic mega-herbivores. At the same time, the long-term future of maintaining both viable herbivore populations and plant beds should be addressed, as both belong in complete ecosystems and have co-evolved in these long before the increasing influence of humans. Better integration of the freshwater, marine, and terrestrial herbivory literatures would greatly benefit future research efforts.
