[OANNES Foro] Experimental Evidence for Spatial Self-Organization and Its Emergent Effects in Mussel Bed Ecosystems

[Mario Cabrejos]

      Science 31 October 2008:
      Vol. 322. no. 5902, pp. 739 - 742
      DOI: 10.1126/science.1163952


       

Experimental Evidence for Spatial Self-Organization and Its Emergent Effects
in Mussel Bed Ecosystems

Johan van de Koppel 1J.vandeKoppel en nioo.knaw.nl , Joanna C. Gascoigne,2 Guy Theraulaz,3 Max Rietkerk,4 Wolf M. Mooij,5 Peter M. J. Herman1 
1 Spatial Ecology Department, the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Post Office Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, Netherlands.
2 School of Ocean Sciences, University of Wales Bangor, Askew Street, Menai Bridge LL59 5AB, UK.
3 Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, CNRS UMR 5169, Universite Paul Sabatier 118, Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 04, France.
4 Department of Environmental Sciences, Copernicus Institute, Utrecht University, Post Office Box 80115, 3508 TC Utrecht, Netherlands.
5 Aquatic Food Webs Department, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Rijksstraatweg 6, 3631 AC, Nieuwersluis, Netherlands. 


Spatial self-organization is the main theoretical explanation for the global occurrence of regular or otherwise coherent spatial patterns in ecosystems. Using mussel beds as a model ecosystem, we provide an experimental demonstration of spatial self-organization. Under homogeneous laboratory conditions, mussels developed regular patterns, similar to those in the field. An individual-based model derived from our experiments showed that interactions between individuals explained the observed patterns. Furthermore, a field study showed that pattern formation affected ecosystem-level processes in terms of improved growth and resistance to wave action. Our results imply that spatial self-organization is an important determinant of the structure and functioning of ecosystems, and it needs to be considered in their conservation. 



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