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Dryad

Predation impacts by the dominant soft bodied and durophagous predators on temperate intertidal shores

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May 23, 2024 version files 621.58 KB

Abstract

Substantial research exists on predation and its ecology. Most research has focused on durophagous fish, brachyuran crabs, and lobsters. Data are lacking, however, on soft bodied predators like anemones, and their contribution to overall levels of predation remains largely unevaluated. Here we compared predation rates of the durophagous predator, the crab Carcinus maenas and the soft bodied predator, the anemone Actinia equina on 15 intertidal shores around Anglesey, north Wales. We employed a novel approach to assess predation based on measuring faecal output from recently collected individuals and converting to food consumed using absorption efficiencies measured using potential prey species inhabiting the same shores. Anemone mean abundance was 8.21 (±0.27, s.e.), whereas for C. maenas it was 0.23± 0.02. Absorption efficiencies when fed mussel tissue, a polychaete worm, or a shrimp were 92.8%-94.0% in C. Maenas and 40.5%-95.8% in A. equina. This reflected the different feeding modes of the two predators. Unexpectedly A. equina consumed 3.5-7 times more prey than C. maenas.  The consumption of larger amounts of prey by an anemone than the dominant durophagous predator has important consequences for calculating energy flows in food webs, understanding predation controls in assemblages, and potentially for wider predation trends