Induced Outbreak of Predators on Oyster Reefs 1, 2 3 3 3 DAVID L
Local and regional stressors interact to drive a salinization-induced outbreak of predators on oyster reefs 1, 2 3 3 3 DAVID L. KIMBRO, J. WILSON WHITE, HANNA TILLOTSON, NIKKIE COX, MEGAN CHRISTOPHER, 1 3 4 4 OWEN STOKES-CAWLEY, SAMANTHA YUAN, TIMOTHY J. PUSACK, AND CHRISTOPHER D. STALLINGS 1Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Marine Science Center, Nahant, Massachusetts 01908 USA 2Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331 USA 3Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve, East Point, Florida 32328 USA 4College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701 USA Citation: Kimbro, D. L., J. W. White, H. Tillotson, N. Cox, M. Christopher, O. Stokes-Cawley, S. Yuan, T. J. Pusack, and C. D. Stallings. 2017. Local and regional stressors interact to drive a salinization-induced outbreak of predators on oyster reefs. Ecosphere 8(11):e01992. 10.1002/ecs2.1992 Abstract. Predator outbreaks are predicted to increasingly decimate economically and ecologically important prey populations because global climate change and food-web modifications frequently facili- tate predators and stress prey. Natural systems are organized hierarchically, with processes operating at multiple scales giving rise to patterns of biodiversity, so predicting and managing outbreaks requires a framework that accounts for the effects of both local and regional stressors. Here, we used the comparative experimental approach to investigate whether the collapse of a nationally important oyster fishery in the Gulf of Mexico (Apalachicola Bay, Florida) could have been (1) caused proximally by a predator outbreak and (2) whether this outbreak was mediated by local- and/or regional-scale forces.
[Show full text]