Biodiversityecosystem function relationship in microphytobenthic diatoms of the Westerschelde estuary

Forster, Rodney M.; Créach, Véronique; Sabbe, Koen; Vyverman, Wim; Stal, Lucas J.

doi:10.3354/meps311191

Cited by 64 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Previous studies in temperate areas showed that epipsammic taxa were mainly associated with sandy substrates whereas epipelic taxa were mainly found in muddy to clayey substrates (FORSTER et al, 2006). Our results in St. Lawrence marshes are in agreement with these findings since the abundance of epipsammic forms can be roughly predicted from coarse sand concentrations (Table 3).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…These diatoms can be divided in two distinct groups: the epipsammic forms attached to particles, and the epipelic free-living forms (ROUND, 1971(ROUND, , 1979. Epipelic diatoms are generally the most important component of the autotrophic biomass (FORSTER et al, 2006) found in these areas. They are affected by water movements and can migrate within the first top centimeters of the sediment (SABUROVA and POLIKARPOV, 2003) allowing the establishment and maintenance of epipelic forms within sedimentary environments (CONSALVEY et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Benthic diatom communities from two salt marshes of the St. Lawrence Estuary (Canada)

Sève¹,

Poulin

Pelletier

et al. 2010

rseau

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Microphytobenthic diatom communities were investigated in the high and low sections of two salt marshes of the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary (eastern Canada): one featuring a sandy low marsh zone (Pointe-aux-Épinettes; PE) and one with a muddy low marsh area (Pointe-au-Père; PP). Based on diatom composition and diversity, bacterial abundance, chlorophyll-a, phaeopigments and geochemical analyses (Corg, Ntot, granulometry, extracellular polymeric substances), the PP high marsh area appeared to be singular compared to the other sampling sites. Estimated surface biomass ranged from 11 to 71 g C•m-2in the PE marsh and from 24 to 486 g C•m-2in the PP marsh. A higher diversity of diatom species was observed in the PP high marsh area with a dominance of epipelic forms, in opposition to the dominant epipsammic forms at the other sites. Statistical analyses showed that diatom density was mainly affected by nutrient availability while the relative abundance of epipelic and epipsammic species was related to sediment grain size. This study provides original data on the composition of benthic diatoms in surface sediments in St. Lawrence saltmarshes during summer time that represent the first step to the determination of the DBI (Diatom biological index) of these northern environments.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benthic diatom communities from two salt marshes of the St. Lawrence Estuary (Canada)

Sève¹,

Poulin

Pelletier

et al. 2010

rseau

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Many studies report on changes in abundance or diversity of microor macrobenthic communities in chronically polluted marine environments. Other fundamental aspects, such as how pollution affect respiration rates, primary production (Sundbäck et al, 2004;Forster et al, 2006;Rubino et al, 2016), prokaryotic heterotrophic production or other microbial processes (Manini et al, 2004;Pusceddu et al, 2014;Sweetman et al, 2014;Franzo et al, 2016a) have seldom been analyzed in chemically polluted environments. Studies on benthic ecosystem functioning, based on actual estimates of biological processes integrated with the qualitative and quantitative composition of communities at different trophic levels, are even rarer (Schaffner et al, 2008;Cibic et al, 2012b;Franzo et al, 2016b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Port of Trieste (Northern Adriatic Sea)—A Case Study of the “Ecosystem Approach to Management”

et al. 2017

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This study is a rare example of "the ecosystem approach to management" that has been carried out for the purpose of providing practical support to decision-makers in managing a Site of National Interest (SIN) where activities such as fishing, aquaculture and swimming are restricted. Benthic ecosystem functioning was assessed to verify whether it would be possible to exclude the less contaminated part from the SIN and its legislative constraints. At five macrosites subjected to diversified industrialization and anthropization, we evaluated the structural characteristics of the sediments, both heterotrophic and phototrophic communities, and the main processes of production, transformation and consumption of organic matter at seven stations, plus a reference site. Along the north-eastern boundary of the bay, the port, shipbuilding and iron foundry areas, characterized by high levels of contaminants, low macrozoobenthic diversity, major organic contents (up to 51.1 mgC g −1 ) and higher numbers of hydrocarbon degrading bacteria (up to 5,464 MPN g dry −1 ), differed significantly (R ANOSIM = 0.463, p = 2.9%) from the other areas (stations). Oxygen consumption (−15.22 ± 1.59 mgC m −2 ) prevailed over primary production and the trophic state was net heterotrophic. In contrast, on the other side of the harbor (residential area/center bay), contamination levels were below the legal limits and both the microalgal and macrobenthic communities displayed higher biodiversity. Higher macrofaunal abundances (up to 753 ± 174.7 ind.m −2 ), primary production rates (up to 58.60 ± 8.41 mgC m −2 ) and exoenzymatic activities were estimated. nMDS and SIMPROF analyses performed on benthic communities significantly separated the most contaminated stations from the other ones. Overall, by applying this holistic approach, a better environmental situation was highlighted along the southern boundary of the bay and according to these results this part of the bay could be excluded from the SIN. However, further sampling is required along a finer sampling grid in the less contaminated side of the port in order to confirm these first results. Our work is one of the first case studies where such an ecosystem approach has been applied to a port area, in order to provide practical support to decision-makers involved in the spatial planning of harbor zones.

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“…Terlizzi et al 2005, Forster et al 2006, Heino et al 2007). However, it has been suggested that the challenge is to measure diversity not only with a single measure (such as taxonomic-based indices), but also to incorporate other concepts that offer a complementary perspective (for example giving information about trophic structure), so that our knowledge of ecosystem processes is improved (Purvis & Hector 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns in size and species diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates in Mediterrannean salt marshes

Gascón¹,

Boix²,

Sala³

et al. 2009

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Mediterranean salt marsh macroinvertebrate assemblages are abiotically filtered due to harsh environmental conditions. We hypothesized that in these environmentally fluctuating systems, biotic interactions would have more relevance than abiotic ones and that size-based interactions would dominate. The manuscript focuses on the response to biotic and abiotic factors of 2 diversity metrics: (1) one that relies on species identity (Shannon-Wiener diversity), and (2) another based on the shape of biomass size spectra (size diversity). Benthic macroinvertebrates (organisms >1 mm) were the target group of this study and were sampled monthly in 6 basins during 2 flooding cycles (from October 1997 to July 1999). The high inter-annual variability characteristic of Mediterranean systems revealed the robustness of the observed patterns. Abiotic and biotic interactions appeared to be significant for both diversity metrics, with species diversity more abiotically controlled than size diversity. The relationships between size diversity and environmental variables were more interannually stable than those for species diversity. Only water total organic carbon had a robust relationship with species diversity, but dissolved inorganic nitrogen and predatory pressure had a robust relationship with size diversity. Additionally, size diversity had a significant succession pattern related to days after flooding (time), whereas species diversity did not. Our results suggest that in abiotically filtered environments, macroinvertebrate size-based interactions become especially relevant.KEY WORDS: Biomass size spectra · Biotic factors · Abiotic factors · Benthos · Mixed-effect models Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 391: [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] 2009 Some studies have reported that salt marshes contain few species compared to other systems like mangroves or seagrass meadows (Bloomfield & Gillanders 2005). However, low species diversity does not necessarily imply a less structured community. Recent studies on salt marsh zooplankton communities have shown that low species diversity can coincide with high size diversity due to the co-occurrence of different developmental stages of the dominant taxa, each of which has different diets (Brucet et al. 2006). Assuming that diversity is a function of the total range of resources and the degree of specialization of species to parts of that range, as it is postulated in the Niche Diversification Hypothesis (Connell 1978), a high size diversity would indicate a trophic niche segregation within stages of the same species, which is impossible to detect using only a taxonomic approach (Brucet et al. 2006). In accordance with this, a recent study dealing with benthic macroinvertebrate structuring processes in a salt pan suggested that situations with little or no relationship between niche partitioning and relative species abundance occurred (Barbone et al. 2007). On the other hand, it has been suggested...

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Biodiversityecosystem function relationship in microphytobenthic diatoms of the Westerschelde estuary

Cited by 64 publications

References 63 publications

Benthic diatom communities from two salt marshes of the St. Lawrence Estuary (Canada)

Benthic diatom communities from two salt marshes of the St. Lawrence Estuary (Canada)

The Port of Trieste (Northern Adriatic Sea)—A Case Study of the “Ecosystem Approach to Management”

Patterns in size and species diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates in Mediterrannean salt marshes

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Biodiversityecosystem function relationship in microphytobenthic diatoms of the Westerschelde estuary

Cited by 64 publications

References 63 publications

Benthic diatom communities from two salt marshes of the St. Lawrence Estuary (Canada)

Benthic diatom communities from two salt marshes of the St. Lawrence Estuary (Canada)

The Port of Trieste (Northern Adriatic Sea)—A Case Study of the “Ecosystem Approach to Management”

Patterns in size and species diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates in Mediterrannean salt marshes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

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Biodiversityecosystem function relationship in microphytobenthic diatoms of the Westerschelde estuary