Herbivory in the marine realm

Robert S Steneck; David R Bellwood; Mark E Hay

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.04.021

Herbivory in the marine realm

Curr Biol. 2017 Jun 5;27(11):R484-R489. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.04.021.

Authors

Robert S Steneck¹, David R Bellwood², Mark E Hay³

Affiliations

¹ School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Walpole, ME 04469, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
² College of Science and Engineering and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ School of Biological Sciences and Aquatic Chemical Ecology Center, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

Abstract

Herbivory occurs when animals consume plants; but the term hides two fundamentally different processes. One relates to the animal's nutrition, the other to the plant's survival and abundance. Both are central to the ecological process called herbivory. Evolutionary innovations in herbivore function have shaped shallow marine ecosystems from kelp forests to coral reefs.

MeSH terms

Animals
Aquatic Organisms / physiology*
Biological Evolution*
Ecosystem*
Herbivory / physiology*
Seawater*

Grants and funding

U19 TW007401/TW/FIC NIH HHS/United States