Seascape Configuration Leads to Spatially Uneven Delivery of Parrotfish Herbivory across a Western Indian Ocean Seascape

Spatial configuration of habitat types in multihabitat seascapes influence ecological function through links of biotic and abiotic processes. These connections, for example export of organic matter or fishes as mobile links, define ecosystem functionality across broader spatial scales. Herbivory is an important ecological process linked to ecosystem resilience, but it is not clear how herbivory relates to seascape configuration. We studied how herbivory and bioerosion by 3 species of parrotfish were distributed in a multi-habitat tropical seascape in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO). We surveyed the abundance of three species with different life histories—Leptoscarus vaigiensis (seagrass species), Scarus ghobban (juvenile-seagrass/adults-reefs) and Scarus rubroviolaceus (reef species) —in seagrass meadows and on reefs and recorded their selectivity of feeding substrate in the two habitats. Herbivory rates for L. vaigiensis and S. ghobban and bioerosion for S. rubroviolaceus were then modelled using bite rates for different size classes and abundance and biomass data along seascape gradients (distance to alternative habitat types such as land, mangrove and seagrass). Bioerosion by S. rubroviolaceus was greatest on reefs far from seagrass meadows, while herbivory rates by S. ghobban on reefs displayed the opposite pattern. Herbivory in seagrass meadows was greatest in meadows close to shore, where L. vaigiensis targeted seagrass leaves and S. ghobban the epiphytes growing on them. Our study shows that ecological functions performed by fish are not equally distributed in the seascape and are influenced by fish life history and the spatial configuration of habitats in the seascape. This has implications for the resilience of the system, in terms of spatial heterogeneity of herbivory and bioerosion and should be considered in marine spatial planning and fisheries management.

Environmental heterogeneity promotes spatial resilience of phototrophic biofilms in streambeds

The loss of environmental heterogeneity threatens biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. It is therefore important to understand the relationship between environmental heterogeneity and spatial resilience as the capacity of ecological communities embedded in a landscape matrix to reorganize following disturbance. We experimented with phototrophic biofilms colonizing streambed landscapes differing in spatial heterogeneity and exposed to flow-induced disturbance. We show how streambed roughness and related features promote growth-related trait diversity and the recovery of biofilms towards carrying capacity (CC) and spatial resilience. At the scale of streambed landscapes, roughness and exposure to water flow promoted biofilm CC and growth trait diversity. Structural equation modelling identified roughness, post-disturbance biomass and a ‘neighbourhood effect’ to drive biofilm CC. Our findings suggest that the environment selecting for adaptive capacities prior to disturbance (that is, memory effects) and biofilm connectivity into spatial networks (that is, mobile links) contribute to the spatial resilience of biofilms in streambed landscapes. These findings are critical given the key functions biofilms fulfil in streams, now increasingly experiencing shifts in sedimentary and hydrological regimes.

Device for plastic compression of long-dimensional cylindrical samples in linear stress conditions

A design of the device for studying plastic compression of long cylindrical specimens under conditions of a linear stress state is presented. The device is developed to study the properties of metals under plastic deformation in conditions of nonmonotonic loading. The goal of getting the accurate experimental data entails the necessary of carrying out tests using one long-length cylindrical sample, with the calculated length being more than five diameters. To prevent flexure of the long-length sample upon compression, the support conical sectors made by cutting truncated cone shaped blank into 6 or 8 equal parts with a central longitudinal hole having a diameter equal to the diameter of the test sample are used. The sectors are coupled by two pairs of semirings. A transcendental equation is obtained for determination of the taper angle of those sectors on the basis of kinematic analysis of the mobile links. This angle depends on the total weight of the sectors and sliding friction coefficients in the corresponding kinematic pairs of the device. For the considered device, the taper angle of the sectors is 36°. This device is designed and manufactured for compression testing of the samples with a diameter of 16.5 mm and a gaged length of 135 mm. Samples from steel 45 are tested with a goal of the flow curve construction and experimental verification of the strain diagrams under conditions of cyclic tensile-compression. Comparison of the calculated and experimental data proved the satisfactory accuracy of the stress determination, which makes it possible to recommend this device as a testing tool to be used in mechanical laboratories of the universities and research institutes.