Scale-dependent feedback and regular spatial patterns in young mussel beds.
Open accessAbstract
In the past decade, theoretical ecologists have emphasized that local interactions between predators and prey may invoke emergent spatial patterning at larger spatial scales. However, empirical evidence for the occurrence of emergent spatial patterning is scarce, which questions the relevance of the proposed mechanisms to ecological theory. We report on regular spatial patterns in young mussel beds on soft sediments in the Wadden Sea. We propose that scale-dependent feedback, resulting from short-range facilitation by mutual protection from waves and currents and long-range competition for algae, induces spatial self-organization, thereby providing a possible explanation for the observed patterning. The emergent self-organization affects the functioning of mussel bed ecosystems by enhancing productivity and resilience against disturbance. Moreover, self-organization allows mussels to persist at algal concentrations that would not permit survival of mussels in a homogeneous bed. Our results emphasize the importance of self-organization in affecting the emergent properties of natural systems at larger spatial scales.
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- Authors
- Koppel, J. V. D., Rietkerk, M., Dankers, N., & Herman, P. M. J.
- Affiliations
- Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NL)
- Utrecht University (NL)
- Wageningen University & Research (NL)
- Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (NL)
- Venue
- The American Naturalist
- Publisher
- University of Chicago Press
- Published
- 2005-03
- Volume
- 165
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- E66-E77
- ISSN
- 0003-0147 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-5323
- OpenAlex
- W2095718501
- Cited by
- 305
- References
- 70
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 7.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- pure.knaw.nl
- Licence
- other-oa
- Locations
- The American Naturalist (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- KNAW Research Portal (The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine Biology and Ecology Research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology and Behavior
- Keywords
- mussel beds, spatial self-organization, Wadden Sea, ecosystem resilience, algal productivity, predator-prey interactions
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Competitive Behavior, Models, Biological, Netherlands, Oceans and Seas, Population Density, Population Dynamics, Spatial Behavior, Ecosystem, Geologic Sediments, Mytilus edulis, Eukaryota
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