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Ecological associations between organisms of different evolutionary history: mangrove pneumatophore arthropods as a case study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2004

Şerban Procheş
Affiliation:
Department of Botany and Terrestrial Ecology Research Unit, University of Port Elizabeth, Port Elizabeth 6000, South Africa, E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Typical marine arthropods (crustaceans and halacarid mites), as well as species of recent terrestrial ancestry (insect larvae and mesostigmatid mites) coexist on mangrove pneumatophores. Both groups are affected by desiccation and are less abundant towards the tips of the pneumatophores. The degree of species associations within and between the two groups was investigated. The number of negative associations is higher for marine–marine, as compared to terrestrial–terrestrial and terrestrial–marine species pairs. When environmental stress (as represented by direct sunlight, and elevation on pneumatophores, both resulting in increased desiccation) is considered, associations tend to shift from negative to positive, and this is more obvious in terrestrial–terrestrial species pairs. These results are attributed to the longer co-evolutionary history of the marine species, resulting in a more precise partitioning of the microhabitats, while the relationships between terrestrial species are less stable, and more susceptible to environmental stress.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2004 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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