Microhabitats can be recruitment refuges and sinks

Abstract

Recruitment is an important demographic bottleneck in the life history of many plant and animal species. Microhabitats provided by surfaces or plants or animals can reduce mortality during this critical life-history period. We investigated how microhabitats influence postsettlement processes on a range of ascidians, bryozoans and barnacles. We compared postsettlement mortality and growth on surfaces that were flat or were covered by artificial barnacle mimics or live adult barnacle microhabitats. We also tested whether the effects of surface type changed under different levels of environmental stress by manipulating the orientation of treatments. Orientation had the strongest influence on su..