Limited impact of on native algal assemblages from rocky intertidal shores

Celia Olabarria (1) , Iván F. Rodil (1) , Mónica Incera (2) , Jesús S. Troncoso (1)

1 Facultade de Ciencias del Mar
2 Centro Tecnológico del Mar-Fundación CETMAR

Invasive species represent a serious threat to natural ecosystems through a range of negative effects on native species in the region invaded. The invasive species has invaded several temperate regions worldwide including the Galician rocky shoreline (northwestern Spain) in western Europe. The main aim of this study was to assess if colonization by has any effect on native algal assemblages by experimental removal of . We predicted that in those plots where plants were removed, the structure of native algal assemblages would differ from that in plots where plants were untouched. In addition, we predicted that the effect of removal would be more important than other causes of variability at the small scale investigated. Results indicated limited impact of on native assemblages. The impact was only evident on the total number of native taxa and two understory morpho-functional groups, filamentous and foliose algae, rather than on the entire macroalgal assemblages.

Mots clés: Removal experiment; Algal assemblages; Biological invasions; Rocky intertidal; effects

Celia Olabarria, Iván F. Rodil, Mónica Incera, Jesús S. Troncoso. Limited impact of on native algal assemblages from rocky intertidal shores. Marine Environmental Research, 2009, 67 (3), pp.153. ⟨10.1016/j.marenvres.2008.12.007⟩. ⟨hal-00501991⟩