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Journal ArticleDOI

Marine chemical ecology: chemical signals and cues structure marine populations, communities, and ecosystems.

25 Mar 2009-Annual Review of Marine Science (Annual Reviews)-Vol. 1, Iss: 1, pp 193-212
TL;DR: How chemical cues regulate critical aspects of the behavior of marine organisms from bacteria to phytoplankton to benthic invertebrates and water column fishes is reviewed.
Abstract: Chemical cues constitute much of the language of life in the sea. Our understanding of biotic interactions and their effects on marine ecosystems will advance more rapidly if this language is studied and understood. Here, I review how chemical cues regulate critical aspects of the behavior of marine organisms from bacteria to phytoplankton to benthic invertebrates and water column fishes. These chemically mediated interactions strongly affect population structure, community organization, and ecosystem function. Chemical cues determine foraging strategies, feeding choices, commensal associations, selection of mates and habitats, competitive interactions, and transfer of energy and nutrients within and among ecosystems. In numerous cases, the indirect effects of chemical signals on behavior have as much or more effect on community structure and function as the direct effects of consumers and pathogens. Chemical cues are critical for understanding marine systems, but their omnipresence and impact are inadequ...

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The potential for marine organisms to adapt to increasing CO2 and broader implications for ocean ecosystems are not well known; both are high priorities for future research as mentioned in this paper, and both are only imperfect analogs to current conditions.
Abstract: Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), primarily from human fossil fuel combustion, reduces ocean pH and causes wholesale shifts in seawater carbonate chemistry. The process of ocean acidification is well documented in field data, and the rate will accelerate over this century unless future CO2 emissions are curbed dramatically. Acidification alters seawater chemical speciation and biogeochemical cycles of many elements and compounds. One well-known effect is the lowering of calcium carbonate saturation states, which impacts shell-forming marine organisms from plankton to benthic molluscs, echinoderms, and corals. Many calcifying species exhibit reduced calcification and growth rates in laboratory experiments under high-CO2 conditions. Ocean acidification also causes an increase in carbon fixation rates in some photosynthetic organisms (both calcifying and noncalcifying). The potential for marine organisms to adapt to increasing CO2 and broader implications for ocean ecosystems are not well known; both are high priorities for future research. Although ocean pH has varied in the geological past, paleo-events may be only imperfect analogs to current conditions.

2,995 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Evidence from direct and indirect approaches using geochemical and genetic techniques suggests that populations range from fully open to fully closed and a full understanding of population connectivity has important applications for management and conservation.
Abstract: Connectivity, or the exchange of individuals among marine populations, is a central topic in marine ecology. For most benthic marine species with complex life cycles, this exchange occurs primarily during the pelagic larval stage. The small size of larvae coupled with the vast and complex fluid environment they occupy hamper our ability to quantify dispersal and connectivity. Evidence from direct and indirect approaches using geochemical and genetic techniques suggests that populations range from fully open to fully closed. Understanding the biophysical processes that contribute to observed dispersal patterns requires integrated interdisciplinary approaches that incorporate high-resolution biophysical modeling and empirical data. Further, differential postsettlement survival of larvae may add complexity to measurements of connectivity. The degree to which populations self recruit or receive subsidy from other populations has consequences for a number of fundamental ecological processes that affect population regulation and persistence. Finally, a full understanding of population connectivity has important applications for management and conservation.

1,640 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is concluded that the best way to protect salt marshes and the services they provide is through the integrated approach of ecosystem-based management.
Abstract: Salt marshes are among the most abundant, fertile, and accessible coastal habitats on earth, and they provide more ecosystem services to coastal populations than any other environment. Since the Middle Ages, humans have manipulated salt marshes at a grand scale, altering species composition, distribution, and ecosystem function. Here, we review historic and contemporary human activities in marsh ecosystems—exploitation of plant products; conversion to farmland, salt works, and urban land; introduction of non-native species; alteration of coastal hydrology; and metal and nutrient pollution. Unexpectedly, diverse types of impacts can have a similar consequence, turning salt marsh food webs upside down, dramatically increasing top down control. Of the various impacts, invasive species, runaway consumer effects, and sea level rise represent the greatest threats to salt marsh ecosystems. We conclude that the best way to protect salt marshes and the services they provide is through the integrated approach of ecosystem-based management.

770 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is shown how the use of global variables of environmental forcing that have recently become available and gas exchange relationships that incorporate the main forcing factors will lead to improved estimates of global and regional air-sea gas fluxes based on better fundamental physical, chemical, and biological foundations.
Abstract: The past decade has seen a substantial amount of research on air-sea gas exchange and its environmental controls. These studies have significantly advanced the understanding of processes that control gas transfer, led to higher quality field measurements, and improved estimates of the flux of climate-relevant gases between the ocean and atmosphere. This review discusses the fundamental principles of air-sea gas transfer and recent developments in gas transfer theory, parameterizations, and measurement techniques in the context of the exchange of carbon dioxide. However, much of this discussion is applicable to any sparingly soluble, non-reactive gas. We show how the use of global variables of environmental forcing that have recently become available and gas exchange relationships that incorporate the main forcing factors will lead to improved estimates of global and regional air-sea gas fluxes based on better fundamental physical, chemical, and biological foundations.

626 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results imply that humans could be substantially impacting iron and bioavailable iron deposition to ocean regions, but there are large uncertainties in the authors' understanding.

562 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effect of the ovulatory cycle on tip earnings of professional lap dancers working in gentlemen's clubs and found that participants using contraceptive pills showed no estrous earnings peak.

248 citations


"Marine chemical ecology: chemical s..." refers background in this paper

  • ...…the menstrual cycles of other women (Stern & McClintock 1998), women find the body odor of men with symmetrical faces (a proxy for good genes) to be more pleasant (Thornhill & Gangestad 1999), and men tip exotic dancers much more when they are in estrus than when they are not (Miller et al. 2007)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 1995-Ecology
TL;DR: Diterpene alcohols produced by the brown seaweed Dictyota menstrualis deter feeding by numerous species of abundant herbivores and may prevent fouling organisms from colonizing the surface of this alga.
Abstract: Diterpene alcohols produced by the brown seaweed Dictyota menstrualis deter feeding by numerous species of abundant herbivores. Here we show that these same compounds also may prevent fouling organisms from colonizing the surface of this alga. In the field, Dictyota menstrualis plants were less frequently and less heavily fouled than any of the other common seaweed species investigated. In laboratory assays, larvae of the common fouling bryozoan Bugula neritina failed to settle on Dictyota even though they contacted its surface as often as they contacted the surface of a preferred host alga. Rejection occurred only after direct contact with the alga's surface. Rejection of Dictyota was not mediated by water-borne chemical cues or by surface wettability (a physical property of the surface that can affect fouling). The lipid-soluble extract from surface rubbings of Dictyota inhibited larval settlement when placed on other surfaces and contained the di- terpene alcohols pachydictyol A and dictyol E. Larvae exposed to these compounds ex- perienced mortality, abnormal development, or reduced rates of development. Although the potential for chemically mediated coevolution between plants and her- bivores has been the focus of scores of previous investigations, such coevolution will depend on selection altering the chemical defenses of the plant following the evolution of resistance by herbivores. Such a reciprocal response will be constrained if compounds play multiple roles that are ecologically important. Dictyota produces secondary metabolites that are broadly defensive against a wide variety of consumers and fouling organisms. Although certain consumers may evolve resistance to these metabolites, it is unclear that feeding by these consumers will result in reciprocal responses from the plant. We suggest that coevolved interactions may be uncommon, and that many interactions that appear to be coevolved may result from fortuitous and opportunistic preadaptations.

247 citations


"Marine chemical ecology: chemical s..." refers background in this paper

  • ...The brown alga D. menstrualis produces diterpene alcohols that are present on the seaweed surface; these compounds prevent fouling invertebrates from colonizing by disrupting juvenile metamorphosis and development if larvae settle on surfaces that hold these metabolites (Schmitt et al. 1995)....

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Book
01 Jan 2020
TL;DR: This work presents a meta-analyses of macroalgal chemical defenses and their roles in structuring tropical and temperate marine communities, and investigates the role of dimethylsulfoniopropionate and DMSP cleavage in marine macroalgae.
Abstract: 1. The chemistry of algal secondary metabolism by J. Alan Maschek and Bill J. Baker* 2. Macroalgal chemical defenses and their roles in structuring tropical marine communities by Renato Crespo Pereira* and Bernardo Antonio Perez da Gama 3. Macroalgal chemical defenses and their roles in structuring temperate marine communities by Veijo Jormalainen* and Tuija Honkanen 4. Macroalgal chemical defenses in polar marine communities by Charles D. Amsler*, James B. McClintock, and Bill J. Baker 5. Macroalgal and cyanobacterial chemical defenses in freshwater communities by Frank A. Camacho 6. New perspectives for addressing patterns of secondary metabolites in marine macroalgae by Karen N. Pelletreau and Nancy M. Targett* 7. Macroalgal models in testing and extending defense theories by Henrik Pavia* and Gunilla B. Toth 8. Ecological and physiological roles of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and DMSP cleavage in marine macroalgae by Kathryn L. Van Alstyne 9. Influence of algal secondary metabolites on plankton community structure by Georg Pohnert 10. Herbivore offense in the sea: the detoxification and transport of secondary metabolites by Erik E. Sotka* and Kristen E. Whalen 11. Secondary metabolite defenses against pathogens and biofoulers by Amy L. Lane and Julia Kubanek* 12. Oxidative burst and related responses in biotic interactions of algae by Philippe Potin 13. Defense strategies of algae and cyanobacteria against solar ultraviolet radiation by Ulf Karsten 14. Algal sensory chemical ecology by Charles D. Amsler

245 citations

Reference BookDOI
13 Jun 2001
TL;DR: Background Introduction to the Chemical Ecology of Marine Natural Products, M.J.R. Copp, R.D. Paul, E. Cruz-Rivera, and R.M. Paul Contributions of Marine Chemical Ecology to Chemosensory Neurobiology, H.H. Rittschof Metabolites of Free-Living, Commensal, and Symbiotic Benthic Marine Microorganisms, V.G. Steinberg and K.K. Ghiselin.
Abstract: Background Introduction to the Chemical Ecology of Marine Natural Products, M.K. Harper, T.S. Bugni, B.R. Copp, R.D. James, B.S. Lindsay, A.D. Richardson, P.C. Schnabel, D. Tasdemir, R.M. VanWagoner, S.M. Verbitski, and C.M. Ireland Ecological Perspectives on Marine Natural Product Biosynthesis, M.J. Garson Marine Natural Products Chemistry as Evolutionary Narrative, G. Cimino and M.T. Ghiselin Organismal Patterns in Marine Chemical Ecology Chemical Ecology of Mobile Marine Invertebrates: Predators and Prey, Allies and Competitors, J.J. Stachowicz The Chemical Ecology of Invertebrate Meroplankton and Holoplankton, J.B. McClintock, B.J. Baker, and D.K. Steinberg Chemical Mediation of Macroalgal-Herbivore Interactions: Ecological and Evolutionary Perspectives, V.J. Paul, E. Cruz-Rivera, and R.W. Thacker Secondary Metabolites from Antarctic Marine Organisms and their Ecological Implications, C.D. Amsler, K.B. Iken, J.B. McClintock, and B.J. Baker Spatial Patterns in Macroalgal Chemical Defenses, K. Van Alstyne, M.N. Dethier, and D. Duggins Resource Allocation in Seaweeds and Marine Invertebrates, G. Cronin Chemical Mediation of Surface Colonization, P.D. Steinberg, R. de Nys, S. Kjelleberg Cellular and Physiological Patterns in Marine Chemical Ecology Effects of Secondary Metabolites on Digestion in Marine Herbivores, N.M. Targett and T.M. Arnold Chemotaxis and Chemokinesis in Marine Bacteria and Algae, C.D. Amsler and K.B. Iken Natural Chemical Cues for Settlement and Metamorphosis of Marine-Invertebrate Larvae, M.G. Hadfield and V.J. Paul Contributions of Marine Chemical Ecology to Chemosensory Neurobiology, H.G. Trapido-Rosenthal Chemical Defenses of Marine Organisms Against Solar Radiation Exposure: UV-Absorbing Mycosporine-Like Amino Acids and Scytonemin, D. Karentz Applied Marine Chemical Ecology Marine Chemical Ecology: Applications in Marine Biomedical Prospecting, S.H. Sennett Natural Product Antifoulants and Coatings Development, D. Rittschof Metabolites of Free-Living, Commensal, and Symbiotic Benthic Marine Microorganisms, V.S. Bernan

244 citations


"Marine chemical ecology: chemical s..." refers background in this paper

  • ...…years, the review of selected aspects of marine chemical ecology has become a growth industry (e.g., Hay & Fenical 1988, 1996; Paul 1992; Hay 1996; McClintock & Baker 2001; Paul et al. 2007; Pohnert et al. 2007; Amsler 2008), with numerous reviews focusing on specific groups (seaweeds or…...

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  • ...…sea slugs that consume chemically defended algae, the nudibranchs that consume chemically defended benthic invertebrates, and various crabs, amphipods, and isopods that gain defense from consumers by association with chemically noxious hosts (Hay & Fenical 1996, McClintock and Baker 2001)....

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  • ...Marine chemical ecology is a young science that provides significant insights into the ecology and evolution of marine populations, the organization of marine communities, and the function of marine ecosystems (e.g., Hay 1996, McClintock & Baker 2001, Pohnert et al. 2007)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The ability to swarm was widespread among these surface associated marine bacteria, suggesting that swarming may be ecologically important in these systems, and differential inhibition of different bacterial isolates or phenotypes by furanones should have strong effects on the species composition of the bacterial community on the alga's surface.
Abstract: We investigated the effects of halogenated furanones from the red alga Delisea pulchra on colonisation of surfaces by marine bacteria. Bacterial abundance on the surface of D. pulchra, assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), was significantly lower than on the surfaces of 3 co-occurring algal species, all of which lack furanones. There was also a strong inverse correlation between bacterial abundance and furanone content (previously determined) for different sections of the thallus of D. pulchra, consistent with inhibition of bacteria by furanones. Based on these observations we experimentally investigated inhibition of marine bacteria by furanones, initially testing the effects of crude extract of D. pulchra (about 50% of which is furanones) on the growth of 144 strains of bacteria isolated from the surfaces of D. pulchra, nearby rocks, or a CO-occurring alga (Sargassum vestjtum) This crude extract did not strongly inhibit growth of these bacteria; 79% of the strains grew at 50 pg ml-' of crude extract, and 63 % grew at 500 pg ml-'. Inhibition of growth that did occur was strongly source dependent, with bacteria isolated from rocks the least affected, and strains from D. pulchra the most. As inhibition of growth did not provide an adequate explanation for the inverse relationship between levels of furanones and bacteria abundance on D. pulchra, we proceeded to investigate the effects of these metabolites on other bacterial characteristics relevant to colonisation-attachment, swarming, and swimming. lndividual furanones or crude extract at natural concentrations strongly inhibited bacterial attachment in the laboratory and in the field. In laboratory assays, attachment of 3 strains isolated from rocks was much more strongly affected than that of 3 isolates from D. pulchra, in contrast to the pattern for growth inhibition. We also tested individual furanones against swimming and swarming of the same 6 bacterial isolates (3 from rocks, 3 from D. pulchra) used in the attachment assays. At least some furanones inhibited swarming or sulmming at non-growth-inhibitory concentrations for all isolates, again indicating specific effects against bacterial characteristics. As for attachment, there were significant differences in the responses of different isolates to furanones. We also found that the ability to swarm was widespread among these surface associated marine bacteria, suggesting that swarming may be ecologically important in these systems. Overall, we found that the effects of furanones on bacteria varied among (1) furanones, (2) bacterial phenotypes, (3) different isolates and (4) different sources of isolation (e.g. rocks or algae). This differential inhibition of different bacterial isolates or phenotypes by furanones, as well as affecting overall bacterial abundance on the alga, should have strong effects on the species composition of the bacterial community on the alga's surface. The effects of furanones on specific bacterial colonisation traits are discussed in the light of recent evidence demonstrating that furanones interfere with bacterial acylated homoserine lactone regulatory systems.

241 citations


"Marine chemical ecology: chemical s..." refers background in this paper

  • ...…pulchra produces halogenated furanones in surfaceassociated gland cells, moves these compounds onto its surface, and inhibits specific colonization phenotypes of marine bacteria (Maximilien et al. 1998, Steinberg et al. 2002), while having little or no effect on growth or survival of the bacteria....

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