caa a22 4500 469097973 CHVBK 20180323133036.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170328e19921001xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/BF00650335 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/BF00650335 An experimental investigation of interactions in snail-macrophyte-epiphyte systems [Elektronische Daten] [G. Underwood, J. Thomas, J. Baker] Summary: An experimental investigation under field conditions of enclosures containing freshwater pulmonate snails, the macrophyteCeratophyllum demersum and epiphytes, produced evidence of beneficial interactions.Ceratophyllum growth, measured in terms of stem length, numbers of leaf-nodes and growing tips and leaf survival was significantly enhanced in the presence of snails. This effect was attributed to the increased availability of plant nutrients of snail origin, such as phosphates and ammonia, as well as to the snails' action as "cleaning symbionts” in reducing the density of bacterial and algal epiphyton potentially deleterious to macrophytes. Principal component analysis revealed both seasonal and treatment effects of snail grazing on algal epiphyton. Small adnate algal species (e.g.Cocconeis placentula) survived grazing and benefited from the removal of larger, competitor, species. Snail densities increased in all treatments, despite high (86%) juvenile mortality. It is concluded that freshwater pulmonate snails are strong interactors in lentic habitats, enhancing the growth ofCeratophyllum and producing characterisic epiphyte communities. This benefits not only the snails, but also the plants and epiphytes that are associated with them. Thus the interactions between these component parts of the community can be considered as mutualistic. Springer-Verlag, 1992 Freshwater snails nationallicence Macrophytes nationallicence Grazing nationallicence Epiphytes nationallicence Mutualism nationallicence Underwood G. School of Biology, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, Brighton, Sussex, UK aut Thomas J. School of Biology, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, Brighton, Sussex, UK aut Baker J. N.E.R.C., Polaris House, North Star Avenue, SN2 1EU, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK aut Oecologia Springer-Verlag 91/4(1992-10-01), 587-595 0029-8549 91:4<587 1992 91 442 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00650335 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00650335 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Underwood G. School of Biology, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, Brighton, Sussex, UK aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Thomas J. School of Biology, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, Brighton, Sussex, UK aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Baker J. N.E.R.C., Polaris House, North Star Avenue, SN2 1EU, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Oecologia Springer-Verlag 91/4(1992-10-01), 587-595 0029-8549 91:4<587 1992 91 442 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer