Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Experimental confirmation of multiple community states in a marine ecosystem

  • Community ecology - Original Paper
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Small changes in environmental conditions can unexpectedly tip an ecosystem from one community type to another, and these often irreversible shifts have been observed in semi-arid grasslands, freshwater lakes and ponds, coral reefs, and kelp forests. A commonly accepted explanation is that these ecosystems contain multiple stable points, but experimental tests confirming multiple stable states have proven elusive. Here we present a novel approach and show that mussel beds and rockweed stands are multiple stable states on intertidal shores in the Gulf of Maine, USA. Using broad-scale observational data and long-term data from experimental clearings, we show that the removal of rockweed by winter ice scour can tip persistent rockweed stands to mussel beds. The observational data were analyzed with Anderson’s discriminant analysis of principal coordinates, which provided an objective function to separate mussel beds from rockweed stands. The function was then applied to 55 experimental plots, which had been established in rockweed stands in 1996. Based on 2005 data, all uncleared controls and all but one of the small clearings were classified as rockweed stands; 37% of the large clearings were classified as mussel beds. Our results address the establishment of mussels versus rockweeds and complement rather than refute the current paradigm that mussel beds and rockweed stands, once established, are maintained by site-specific differences in strong consumer control.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Åberg P (1992) A demographic study of 2 populations of the seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum. Ecology 73:1473–1487

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson MJ, Robinson J (2003) Generalized discriminant analysis based on distances. Aust N Z J Stat 45:301–318

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson MJ, Willis TJ (2003) Canonical analysis of principal coordinates: a useful method of constrained ordination for ecology. Ecology 84:511–525

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bellwood DR, Hughes TP, Folke C, Nyström M (2004) Confronting the coral reef crisis. Nature 429:827–833

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bender EA, Case TJ, Gilpin ME (1984) Perturbation experiments in community ecology—theory and practice. Ecology 65:1–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertness MD, Trussell GC, Ewanchuk PJ, Silliman BR (2002) Do alternate stable community states exist in the Gulf of Maine rocky intertidal zone? Ecology 83:3434–3448

    Google Scholar 

  • Bertness MD, Trussell GC, Ewanchuk PJ, Silliman BR (2004a) Do alternate stable community states exist in the Gulf of Maine rocky intertidal zone? Reply. Ecology 85:1165–1167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertness MD, Trussell GC, Ewanchuk PJ, Silliman BR, Crain CM (2004b) Consumer-controlled community states on Gulf of Maine rocky shores. Ecology 85:1321–1331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlton JT (1982) The historical biogeography of Littorina littorea on the Atlantic coast of North America, and implications for the interpretation of the structure of New England intertidal communities. Malacol Rev 15:146

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter SR, Ludwig D, Brock WA (1999) Management of eutrophication for lakes subject to potentially irreversible change. Ecol Appl 9:751–771

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman ARO (1995) Functional ecology of fucoid algae—23 years of progress. Phycologia 34:1–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Chase JM (2003) Experimental evidence for alternative stable equilibria in a benthic pond food web. Ecol Lett 6:733–741

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chipperfield PNJ (1953) Observations on the breeding and recruitment of Mytilus edulis (L.) in British waters. J Marine Biol Assoc U K 32:449–476

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connell JH, Slatyer RO (1977) Mechanisms of succession in natural communities and their role in community stability and organization. Am Nat 111:1119–1144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connell JH, Sousa WP (1983) On the evidence needed to judge ecological stability or persistence. Am Nat 121:789–824

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dudgeon S, Petraitis PS (2001) Scale-dependent recruitment and divergence of intertidal communities. Ecology 82:991–1006

    Google Scholar 

  • Dudgeon S, Petraitis PS (2005) First year demography of the foundation species, Ascophyllum nodosum, and its community implications. Oikos 109:405–415

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dudgeon S, Kübler JE, Wright WA, Vadas RL, Petraitis PS (2001) Natural variability in zygote dispersal of Ascophyllum nodosum at small spatial scales. Funct Ecol 15:595–604

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Estes JA, Tinker MT, Williams TM, Doak DF (1998) Killer whale predation on sea otters linking oceanic and nearshore ecosystems. Science 282:473–476

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fairweather PG, Underwood AJ (1983) The apparent diet of predators and biases due to different handling times of their prey. Oecologia 56:169–179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grimm V, Wissel C (1997) Babel, or the ecological stability discussions: an inventory and analysis of terminology and a guide for avoiding confusion. Oecologia 109:323–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes TP (1994) Catastrophes, phase-shifts, and large-scale degradation of a Caribbean coral-reef. Science 265:1547–1551

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Leonard GH, Levine JM, Schmidt PR, Bertness MD (1998) Flow-driven variation in intertidal community structure in a Maine estuary. Ecology 79:1395–1411

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewontin RC (1969) The meaning of stability. In: Woodwell GM, Smith HH (eds) Diversity and stability in ecological systems, vol 22. Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, pp 13–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Lubchenco J (1983) Littorina and Fucus—effects of herbivores, substratum heterogeneity, and plant escapes during succession. Ecology 64:1116–1123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lubchenco J, Menge BA (1978) Community development and persistence in a low rocky inter-tidal zone. Ecol Monogr 48:67–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • May RM (1977) Thresholds and breakpoints in ecosystems with a multiplicity of stable states. Nature 269:471–477

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menge BA (1976) Organization of New England rocky intertidal community—role of predation, competition, and environmental heterogeneity. Ecol Monogr 46:355–393

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paine RT, Trimble AC (2004) Abrupt community change on a rocky shore—biological mechanisms contributing to the potential formation of an alternative state. Ecol Lett 7:441–445

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paine RT, Castilla JC, Cancino J (1985) Perturbation and recovery patterns of starfish-dominated intertidal assemblages in Chile, New Zealand, and Washington State. Am Nat 125:679–691

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson CH (1984) Does a rigorous criterion for environmental identity preclude the existence of multiple stable points? Am Nat 124:127–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson CH, Bradley BP (1978) Estimating diet of a sluggish predator from field observations. J Fish Res Board Can 35:136–141

    Google Scholar 

  • Petraitis PS (1987) Immobilization of the predatory gastropod, Nucella lapillus, by its prey, Mytilus edulis. Biol Bull 172:307–314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petraitis PS (1990) Direct and indirect effects of predation, herbivory and surface rugosity on mussel recruitment. Oecologia 83:405–413

    Google Scholar 

  • Petraitis PS, Dudgeon SR (1999) Experimental evidence for the origin of alternative communities on rocky intertidal shores. Oikos 84:239–245

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petraitis PS, Dudgeon SR (2004a) Detection of alternative stable states in marine communities. J Exp Marine Biol Ecol 300:343–371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petraitis PS, Dudgeon SR (2004b) Do alternate stable community states exist in the Gulf of Maine rocky intertidal zone? Comment. Ecology 85:1160–1165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petraitis PS, Dudgeon SR (2005) Divergent succession and implications for alternative states on rocky intertidal shores. J Exp Marine Biol Ecol 326:14–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petraitis PS, Latham RE (1999) The importance of scale in testing the origins of alternative community states. Ecology 80:429–442

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petraitis PS, Methratta ET (2006) Using patterns of variability to test for multiple community states on rocky intertidal shores. J Exp Marine Biol Ecol 338:222–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petraitis PS, Vidargas N (2006) Marine intertidal organisms found in experimental clearings on sheltered shores in the Gulf of Maine, USA (Ecol Arch E087-047). Ecology 87:795

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petraitis PS, Rhile EC, Dudgeon S (2003) Survivorship of juvenile barnacles and mussels: spatial dependence and the origin of alternative communities. J Exp Marine Biol Ecol 293:217–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petraitis PS, Liu H, Rhile EC (2008) Densities and cover data for intertidal organisms in the Gulf of Maine, USA, from 2003 to 2007 (Ecol Arch E089-032). Ecology 89:588

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheffer M, Carpenter SR (2003) Catastrophic regime shifts in ecosystems: linking theory to observation. Trends Ecol Evol 18:648–656

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheffer M, Hosper SH, Meijer ML, Moss B, Jeppesen E (1993) Alternative equilibria in shallow lakes. Trends Ecol Evol 8:275–279

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheffer M, Carpenter S, Foley JA, Folke C, Walker B (2001) Catastrophic shifts in ecosystems. Nature 413:591–596

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schröder A, Persson L, De Roos AM (2005) Direct experimental evidence for alternative stable states: a review. Oikos 110:3–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seed R (1969) The ecology of Mytilus edulis L. (Lamellibranchiata) on exposed shores. I. Breeding and settlement. Oecologia 3:277–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shurin JB, Amarasekare P, Chase JM, Holt RD, Hoopes MF, Leibold MA (2004) Alternative stable states and regional community structure. J Theor Biol 227:359–368

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simenstad CA, Estes JA, Kenyon KW (1978) Aleuts, sea otters, and alternate stable state communities. Science 200:403–411

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sousa WP, Connell JH (1985) Further comments on the evidence for multiple stable points in natural communities. Am Nat 125:612–615

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suding KN, Gross KL, Houseman GR (2004) Alternative states and positive feedbacks in restoration ecology. Trends Ecol Evol 19:46–53

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland JP (1981) The fouling community at Beaufort, North Carolina—a study in stability. Am Nat 118:499–519

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland JP (1990) Perturbations, resistance, and alternative views of the existence of multiple stable points in nature. Am Nat 136:270–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van de Koppel J, Rietkerk M, Weissing FJ (1997) Catastrophic vegetation shifts and soil degradation in terrestrial grazing systems. Trends Ecol Evol 12:352–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank M. J. Anderson who provided the CAP and PREDICTION programs as freeware, and B. Boldgiv, J. C. Castilla, and J. A. D. Fisher who read and commented on earlier drafts of the manuscript. We are also grateful for the support of this research by the residents of Swan’s Island who provided access to the shore across their properties. Research was supported by National Science Foundation awards to P. S. Petraitis (OCE 95-29564 and DEB LTREB 03-14980) and by a RET award to E. C. Rhile (Research Experiences for Teachers supplemental to DEB LTREB 03-14980). S. R. Dudgeon was supported by the National Institutes of Health GMS-MBRS-SCORE program (NIH-5SO6GM48680) during the writing of the manuscript. Earlier drafts were written while Petraitis was a Fulbright Scholar in Chile, and he is deeply grateful to the Comisión Fulbright Chile, the Departamento de Ecología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and J. C. Castilla for their support and hospitality.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-6018, USA

    Peter S. Petraitis, Elizabeth T. Methratta & Nicholas A. Vidargas

  2. Departamento de Ecología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Peter S. Petraitis

  3. The Cheverus School, Portland, ME, USA

    Erika C. Rhile

  4. Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, CA, USA

    Steve R. Dudgeon

Authors
  1. Peter S. Petraitis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elizabeth T. Methratta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Erika C. Rhile
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Nicholas A. Vidargas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Steve R. Dudgeon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter S. Petraitis.

Additional information

Communicated by Pete Peterson.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 202 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Petraitis, P.S., Methratta, E.T., Rhile, E.C. et al. Experimental confirmation of multiple community states in a marine ecosystem. Oecologia 161, 139–148 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1350-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1350-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation