Title: Novel Co‐Occurrence of Functionally Redundant Consumers Induced by Range Expansion Alters Community Structure
Abstract: Climate change is shifting species distributions, imposing rapid changes in community structure and ecosystem functioning. We examined whether poleward range expansion of the intertidal grazer limpet Scurria viridula along the coast of Chile has altered the role of resident congeneric S. zebrina, and whether the collective impacts of the herbivore guild have been modified by the introduction of this new member. Adding S. viridula to the guild complements and intensifies their role in reducing green algal cover and species richness and increasing bare space. Our study highlights that range expansion of an herbivore can modify resource composition and functional guild structure in the recipient community. These photographs illustrate the article, “Novel co-occurrence of functionally redundant consumers induced by range expansion alters community structure” by Moisés A. Aguilera, Nelson Valdivia, Bernardo R. Broitman, Stuart Jenkins, and Sergio A. Navarrete published in Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3150.