[Biodiversity Experiments] - Biodiversity experiments: Effects of diversity in feeding trials, conducted at Bodgea Marine Laboratory, using detritus from eelgrass (Zostera marina) genotypes (clones) as a food source and either one or a combination of invertebrate grazers (Connecting genetic diversity to ecosystem functioning: links between genetic diversity, relatedness and trait variation in a seagrass community)

However, only a small fraction of seagrass production is directly consumed, and instead much of the secondary production is fueled by the detrital food web. Here, we study the roles of plant genetic diversity and grazer species diversity on detrital consumption in California eelgrass Zostera marina meadows.

We used three common mesograzers\u2014an amphipod, Ampithoe lacertosa, an isopod, Idotea resecata, and a polychaete, Platynereis bicanaliculata. In a series of five independent experiments, we manipulated grazer species diversity and number of eelgrass clones and measured the resulting detrital consumption. Under monospecific grazer assemblages, plant genetic identity but not diversity influenced detritus consumption.