Abstract
Ecosystem patterning can arise from environmental heterogeneity, biological feedbacks that produce multiple persistent ecological states, or their interaction. One source of feed-backs is density-dependent changes in behavior that regulates species interactions. By fitting state-space models to large-scale (∼500km) surveys on temperate rocky reefs, we find that behavioral feedbacks best explain why kelp and urchin barrens form either reef-wide patches or local mosaics. Best-supported models in California include feedbacks where starvation intensifies grazing across entire reefs create reef-scale, alternatively stable kelp- and urchin-dominated states (32% of reefs). Best-fitting models in New Zealand include the feedback of urchins avoiding dense kelp stands that can increase abrasion and predation risk, which drives a transition from shallower urchin-dominated to deeper kelp-dominated zones, with patchiness at 3-8m depths with intermediate wave stress. Connecting locally-studied processes with region-wide data, we highlight how behavior can explain community patterning and why some systems exhibit community-wide alternative stable states.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Footnotes
Authorship statement: VAK and MLB conceived the study; VAK took the lead on designing the approach, performing the analysis and writing the manuscript, with substantial input from all authors.
Data accessibility statement: We use published data available from cited sources. Simulation and model fitting code available at: github.com/VadimKar/BehaviorPatternsCommunities.
Updated appendices, text, and figures for clarity.
