TOP-DOWN HERBIVORY AND BOTTOM-UP EL NIÑO EFFECTS ON GALÁPAGOS ROCKY-SHORE COMMUNITIES

@article{Vinueza2006TOPDOWNHA,
  title={TOP-DOWN HERBIVORY AND BOTTOM-UP EL NI{\~N}O EFFECTS ON GAL{\'A}PAGOS ROCKY-SHORE COMMUNITIES},
  author={Luis R. Vinueza and George M. Branch and Margo L. Branch and Rodrigo H. Bustamante},
  journal={Ecological Monographs},
  year={2006},
  volume={76},
  pages={111-131}
}
We evaluated the effects of marine iguanas, sally lightfoot crabs, and fish on rocky-shore sessile organisms at two sites at Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, for 3–5 years during and after the 1997–1998 El Nino, using exclusion cages to separate the effects. Plots exposed to natural grazing were dominated either by encrusting algae or by red algal turf and articulated corallines. Algae fluctuated in response to El Nino in the following way. During an early phase, crustose… 
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TLDR
Comparisons between historical and recent ecological datasets indicate that shallow reef habitats across the central Galapagos Archipelago underwent major transformation at the time of the severe 1982/1983 El Nino warming event, resulting in large local and regional declines in biodiversity.
Temperature Influences Herbivory and Algal Biomass in the Galápagos Islands
Temperature can influence trophic interactions via predictable effects on the metabolism of ecothermic consumers. Under some conditions, warming should increase top–down control and trophic transfer…
Rapid relative increase of crustose coralline algae following herbivore exclusion in a reef of El Salvador
TLDR
Surprisingly, crustose coralline algae (CCA) showed a remarkable total cover increase by 58%, while turf algae cover decreased by 82%, in experimental plots after seven weeks of piscine macroherbivore exclusion, which apparently contradict the results of most previous similar studies.
Oceanographic and climatic variation drive top-down/bottom-up coupling in the Galapagos intertidal meta-ecosystem
TLDR
The results suggest that, when a broader oceanographic scenario is taken into account, the relative importance of top-down and bottom-up forces are context dependent, varying with oceanographic regime and climatic variability.
Seasonal upwelling reduces herbivore control of tropical rocky intertidal algal communities.
TLDR
It is demonstrated that nutrient subsidies delivered by upwelling events can weaken herbivory in tropical rocky shores, confirming that herbivores are key determinants of tropical algal cover, and that the mollusk grazing guild can control initial stages of macroalgal succession.
Recruitment, abundance, and predation on the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) on northeastern estuarine rocky shores
TLDR
The results support previous work demonstrating the importance of both top-down and bottom-up influences on rocky shore populations, and highlight how future research—particularly integrating studies of the different ontogenetic stages of mussels—could further advance understanding of biological population dynamics in this and other systems.
Interactive effects of grazing and environmental stress on macroalgal biomass in subtropical rocky shores: Modulation of bottom-up inputs by wave action
Top-Down and Bottom-Up Control in the Galápagos Upwelling System
Increased standing macroalgal biomass in upwelling zones is generally assumed to be the result of higher nutrient flux due to upwelled waters. However, other factors can strongly impact macroalgal…
Effects of nutrient enrichment and crab herbivory on a SW Atlantic salt marsh productivity
Effects of Chiton granosus (Frembly, 1827) and other molluscan grazers on algal succession in wave exposed mid-intertidal rocky shores of central Chile
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