Prominent Grazing Rates and Feeding Preferences of an Abundant Exotic Benthic Herbivore in the Mediterranean Sea
ABSTRACT Exotic herbivores can exert profound impacts on terrestrial communities, but their ecological effects on marine habitats are not sufficiently quantified. The exotic crab Percnon gibbesi, which is rapidly spreading throughout the Mediterranean Sea, grazes almost exclusively on benthic macrop...
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Wiley
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71686 |
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| author | Maria Pizarro‐Borrull Elisabet Font Núria Marbà Andrea Anton |
| author_facet | Maria Pizarro‐Borrull Elisabet Font Núria Marbà Andrea Anton |
| author_sort | Maria Pizarro‐Borrull |
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| description | ABSTRACT Exotic herbivores can exert profound impacts on terrestrial communities, but their ecological effects on marine habitats are not sufficiently quantified. The exotic crab Percnon gibbesi, which is rapidly spreading throughout the Mediterranean Sea, grazes almost exclusively on benthic macrophytes, providing an opportunity to study the potential impacts of herbivores in the marine realm. Here, we first quantified the abundance of P. gibbesi in Mallorca (Balearic Islands; Spain) in 2023/2024 and reported average densities of 61 individuals 100 m−2, approximately 30 times greater than those recorded in 2003 on the islands. We then performed a feeding preference experiment using common native and invasive species of macroalgae (Caulerpa cylindracea, Halimeda incrassata, Haliptilon virgatum, Halopteris scoparia, Padina pavonica, and Ulva compressa) from the Mediterranean Sea. The per capita grazing rates of P. gibbesi (3.83 ± 1.71 WW g crab−1 day−1), which can ingest almost 75% of their body weight daily, were higher than those recorded for most native herbivorous species in the Mediterranean. The estimated daily grazing rates for P. gibbesi average 23.59 ± 15.17 kg WW macroalgae ha−1 day−1, value that corresponds with 0.1% to 10.9% (average 5.5%) of the total macroalgae production in this area. Our experiment revealed clear preferences of P. gibbesi for three species of macroalgae, which were not explained by the nutritional content. Overall, our results generate great concern and, coupled with the large extent of the invasion, indicate that the ecological impacts of this exotic herbivore on Mediterranean marine communities could be substantial, and have, until now, gone largely unreported. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-11bafeae32a1439bb34d14c15fed8a01 |
| institution | DOAJ |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
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| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-11bafeae32a1439bb34d14c15fed8a012025-08-20T02:46:16ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582025-07-01157n/an/a10.1002/ece3.71686Prominent Grazing Rates and Feeding Preferences of an Abundant Exotic Benthic Herbivore in the Mediterranean SeaMaria Pizarro‐Borrull0Elisabet Font1Núria Marbà2Andrea Anton3Global Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC‐UIB) Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies Esporles Illes Balears SpainGlobal Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC‐UIB) Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies Esporles Illes Balears SpainGlobal Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC‐UIB) Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies Esporles Illes Balears SpainGlobal Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC‐UIB) Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies Esporles Illes Balears SpainABSTRACT Exotic herbivores can exert profound impacts on terrestrial communities, but their ecological effects on marine habitats are not sufficiently quantified. The exotic crab Percnon gibbesi, which is rapidly spreading throughout the Mediterranean Sea, grazes almost exclusively on benthic macrophytes, providing an opportunity to study the potential impacts of herbivores in the marine realm. Here, we first quantified the abundance of P. gibbesi in Mallorca (Balearic Islands; Spain) in 2023/2024 and reported average densities of 61 individuals 100 m−2, approximately 30 times greater than those recorded in 2003 on the islands. We then performed a feeding preference experiment using common native and invasive species of macroalgae (Caulerpa cylindracea, Halimeda incrassata, Haliptilon virgatum, Halopteris scoparia, Padina pavonica, and Ulva compressa) from the Mediterranean Sea. The per capita grazing rates of P. gibbesi (3.83 ± 1.71 WW g crab−1 day−1), which can ingest almost 75% of their body weight daily, were higher than those recorded for most native herbivorous species in the Mediterranean. The estimated daily grazing rates for P. gibbesi average 23.59 ± 15.17 kg WW macroalgae ha−1 day−1, value that corresponds with 0.1% to 10.9% (average 5.5%) of the total macroalgae production in this area. Our experiment revealed clear preferences of P. gibbesi for three species of macroalgae, which were not explained by the nutritional content. Overall, our results generate great concern and, coupled with the large extent of the invasion, indicate that the ecological impacts of this exotic herbivore on Mediterranean marine communities could be substantial, and have, until now, gone largely unreported.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71686decapodgrazingherbivoryinvasive speciesnon‐native speciesPercnon gibbesi |
| spellingShingle | Maria Pizarro‐Borrull Elisabet Font Núria Marbà Andrea Anton Prominent Grazing Rates and Feeding Preferences of an Abundant Exotic Benthic Herbivore in the Mediterranean Sea Ecology and Evolution decapod grazing herbivory invasive species non‐native species Percnon gibbesi |
| title | Prominent Grazing Rates and Feeding Preferences of an Abundant Exotic Benthic Herbivore in the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_full | Prominent Grazing Rates and Feeding Preferences of an Abundant Exotic Benthic Herbivore in the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_fullStr | Prominent Grazing Rates and Feeding Preferences of an Abundant Exotic Benthic Herbivore in the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prominent Grazing Rates and Feeding Preferences of an Abundant Exotic Benthic Herbivore in the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_short | Prominent Grazing Rates and Feeding Preferences of an Abundant Exotic Benthic Herbivore in the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_sort | prominent grazing rates and feeding preferences of an abundant exotic benthic herbivore in the mediterranean sea |
| topic | decapod grazing herbivory invasive species non‐native species Percnon gibbesi |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71686 |
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