Effects of a range-expanding sea urchin on behaviour of commercially fished abalone.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Global climate change has resulted in a southerly range expansion of the habitat modifying sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii to the east coast of Tasmania, Australia. Various studies have suggested that this urchin outcompetes black-lipped abalone (Haliotis rubra) for resources, but experiments elucidating the mechanisms are lacking.

Methodology/principal findings

We outline a new framework involving experimental manipulations and Markov chain and Pareto modelling to examine the effects of interspecific competition between urchins and abalone and the effect of intraspecific competition in abalone, assessed as effects on behaviour. Manipulations of abalone densities had no detectable effect on urchin behavioural transitions, movement patterns or resightability t

SUBMITTER: Strain EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3779227 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature