FN Archimer Export Format PT J TI Subtidal Microphytobenthos: A Secret Garden Stimulated by the Engineer Species Crepidula fornicata BT AF ANDROUIN, Thibault POLERECKY, Lubos DECOTTIGNIES, Priscilla DUBOIS, Stanislas DUPUY, Christine HUBAS, Cedric JESUS, Bruno LE GALL, Erwan MARZLOFF, Martin CARLIER, Antoine AS 1:1;2:2;3:3;4:1;5:4;6:5;7:3;8:6;9:1;10:1; FF 1:PDG-ODE-DYNECO-LEBCO;2:;3:;4:PDG-ODE-DYNECO-LEBCO;5:;6:;7:;8:PDG-ODE-DYNECO-PELAGOS;9:PDG-ODE-DYNECO-LEBCO;10:PDG-ODE-DYNECO-LEBCO; C1 IFREMER, DYNECO LEBCO, Plouzane, France. Univ Utrecht, Dept Earth Sci, Geochem, Utrecht, Netherlands. Univ Nantes, Lab Mer Mol Sante, EA 2160, Nantes, France. Univ La Rochelle, Littoral Environm & Soc LIENSs, UMR CNRS 7266, La Rochelle, France. Sorbonne Univ, CNRS UCN UA IRD, UMR BOREA MNHN 7208, Museum Natl Hist Nat, Concarneau, France. IFREMER, DYNECO PELAGOS, Plouzane, France. C2 IFREMER, FRANCE UNIV UTRECHT, NETHERLANDS UNIV NANTES, FRANCE UNIV LA ROCHELLE, FRANCE MNHN, FRANCE IFREMER, FRANCE SI BREST SE PDG-ODE-DYNECO-LEBCO PDG-ODE-DYNECO-PELAGOS IN WOS Ifremer jusqu'en 2018 DOAJ copubli-france copubli-europe copubli-univ-france IF 5.247 TC 3 UR https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00472/58338/60893.pdf https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00472/58338/60894.pdf LA English DT Article BO Albert Lucas DE ;Crepidula fornicata;engineer species;subtidal microphytobenthos;fertilization;hyperspectral imaging AB The slipper limpet Crepidula fornicata is an emblematic invasive species along the northeast Atlantic coast. This gregarious gastropod lives in stacks of several individuals and forms extended beds in shallow subtidal areas. The effects of this engineer species on the colonized habitat can be physical (e.g., presence of hard-shell substrates with uneven topography) or biological (e.g., nutrient enrichment by direct excretion or via biodeposition). We hypothesized that through biological activity, nutrient fluxes at the sediment-water interface are enhanced, leading to stimulated primary productivity by microphytobenthos (MPB) associated with Crepidula beds. To test this fertilization hypothesis, we conducted a 10-day mesocosm experiment using C. fornicata (live and dead) placed on top of sieved and homogenized sediment collected in situ. We used hyperspectral imaging to non-invasively map the development of MPB biomass, and to assess the potential influence of C. fornicata and its spatial extent. Our results showed that live C. fornicata significantly promote MPB growth through both physical and biological effects, with the biological effect dominating over the pure physical one. The highest stimulation was observed on the shells, suggesting that dissolved metabolic products excreted by C. fornicata were likely the main factor stimulating MPB growth in our short-term experiment. Our findings provide first direct evidence that stimulation of MPB growth by the biological activity of larger benthic epifauna occurs not only in intertidal but also in shallow subtidal habitats. More research is needed to assess the contribution of this fertilization effect to the trophic functioning of subtidal benthic systems. PY 2018 PD DEC SO Frontiers In Marine Science SN 2296-7745 PU Frontiers Media Sa VL 5 IS 475 UT 000457220000001 DI 10.3389/fmars.2018.00475 ID 58338 ER EF