University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Winter 2012 The ecological role of feeding disturbances of the Atlantic horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus Wan-Jean Lee University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation Lee, Wan-Jean, "The ecological role of feeding disturbances of the Atlantic horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus" (2012). Doctoral Dissertations. 697. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/697 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE ECOLOGICAL ROLE OF FEEDING DISTURBANCES OF THE ATLANTIC HORSESHOE CRAB, LIMULUSPOLYPHEMUS BY WAN-JEAN LEE Bachelor of Science, First Class Honours, National University of Singapore, 2003 Master of Science (by Research), National University of Singapore, 2006 DISSERTATION Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology December, 2012 UMI Number: 3537819 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ttswwioft FtoMsh«i UMI 3537819 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 SIGNATURE PAGE This dissertation has been examined and approved. Dissertation Director, Dr. James E. Byers, Professor of Zoology, University of New Hampshire Associate Professor of Ecology, University of Georgia Dr. William Ambrose, Professor of Ecology, Bates College t. Jonanthan Grabowski, Associate Professor of Marine Science, Northeastern University Dr. Raymond E. Grizzle, Re ch Professor , University of New Hampshire Dr. Winsor Watson, Professor of Zoology, University of New Hampshire ~QT 8 3 o iC l Date ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to my advisor Dr. Jeb Byers for his unwavering support and encouragement throughout the entire process. Jeb has always challenged me to think broadly about the ‘big picture’, which has made me a better scientist going forward. Thanks to my committee, Drs. Jon Grabowski, Ray Grizzle, Will Ambrose and Win Watson for their varied insights into my work. Their suggestion to ‘hang a clothesline across the cove’ kick-started the development of aerial surveys, and provided a critical basis for this work. Thanks to my lab mates, Irit Altman, April Blakeslee, Aaren Freeman, Blaine Griffen, Laura Page, Alyssa Gehman, Carrie Keough, Virginia Schutte and Bill McDowell for constructive criticisms of my work, and most of all for their friendships. Thanks to Joshua Idjadi for sharing his passion for radio-control airplanes, risking his airplane on the mudflats and making it possible to get a whole new perspective of the mudflats. Special thanks also to Drs. Ray Grizzle and Elizabeth Fairchild for providing laboratory space. This research would not have been possible without the assistance and friendships of Thais Fournier, Kaylene szeto, Charles Traverse and Amana Vander Hayden. Finally, I have to thank my family and countless friends for their support of my dreams. I am grateful to the following sources that funded this research: UNH-CICEET Marine Science Fellowship, NERRS Graduate Fellowship, New Hampshire Sea Grant, UNH Dissertation Year Fellowship. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................................El LIST OF TABLES.................................................................................................................VI LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................................. VII ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................... IX CHAPTER PAGE 1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................... 1 Localised disturbance and ecological heterogeneity ..................................................... 1 Animal-generated disturbances ....................................................................................... 4 Disturbance Impacts & epibenthic predators ................................................................. 5 Epibenthic predator impact on soft-sediment communities & spatial patterns 6 Patterns and Scales ...........................................................................................................8 Description of spatial patterns of disturbances ............................................................ 10 Large-scale implications of small-scale disturbances ..................................................12 Research overview and objectives ................................................................................ 15 2. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY SYSTEM...........................................................................17 Introduction .....................................................................................................................17 Materials and Methods .................................................................................................. 20 Results............................................................................................................................ 24 Discussion ...................................................................................................................... 25 Figures and tables ..........................................................................................................30 3. METHODS....................................................................................................................... 34 Disturbance regime of Limulus foraging ..................................................................... 34 Impacts of Limulus foraging on infauna community ...................................................35 Analyses ..........................................................................................................................40 Tables and figures ..........................................................................................................45 4. RESULTS..........................................................................................................................49 Disturbance regime ........................................................................................................49 Impacts of Limulus foraging on infauna community ...................................................50 Importance of Limulus disturbance on an estuary-scale ............................................. 55 Figures and tables .......................................................................................................... 58 5. DISCUSSION................................................................................................................... 83 Disturbance regime ........................................................................................................84 Impacts of Limulus foraging on infaunai community ..................................................89 Importance of Limulus disturbance on an estuary-scale ............................................. 97 6. CONCLUDING DISCUSSION..................................................................................... 100 Innovative Low-Cost Aerial Photography of Tidal Flats ..........................................100 Importance of scale on the impacts of predation and associated disturbances 102 Case study of a marine epibenthic predator................................................................105 Figures ........................................................................................................................ 110 REFERENCES.................................................................................................................... 112 LIST OF TABLES 45 48 59 67 67 71 72 75 75 78 79 80 82 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 ................................................................................................................................ 30 Figure 2.2 ................................................................................................................................ 31 Figure 2.3 ................................................................................................................................ 32 Figure 2.4 ................................................................................................................................ 33 Figure 3.1 ................................................................................................................................ 46 Figure 3.2 ...............................................................................................................................