Multi-indicator ‘state space’ approach to assessing changes in shallow urban reef ecosystem health

Peleg, Ohad; Blain, Caitlin O.; Shears, Nick T.

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.105895

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 72 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In contrast, previous Mediterranean studies comparing different indices in soft bottom habitats provided results that were not conclusive or were even contradictory (Occhipinti Ambrogi et al, 2009;Reizopoulou et al, 2014;Sańchez-Moyano et al, 2017;Magni et al, 2023). Peleg et al (2023) found only "some consistent patterns" when using nine health indicators to assess the status of rocky reefs in New Zealand.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Multiple indices on different habitats and descriptors provide consistent assessments of environmental quality in a marine protected area

Oprandi

Atzori²,

Azzola

et al. 2023

Front. Mar. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the last decades, climate change and human pressures have increasingly and dramatically impacted the ocean worldwide, calling for urgent actions to safeguard coastal marine ecosystems. The European Commission, in particular, has set ambitious targets for member states with two major directives, the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), both designed to protect the marine environment in EU waters. Diverse biotic indices have accordingly been developed to assess water and habitat quality. The WFD adopts four Biological Quality Elements (BQEs), whereas the MSFD recommends a set of eleven qualitative descriptors. The borderline between water quality and habitat quality is hard to trace and so far most assessments have involved the use of a few indices and were mainly related to a single BQE or qualitative descriptor. In this study, thanks to the availability of a large dataset encompassing a wide array of descriptors, we compared the performance of 11 biotic indices relative to three habitats/biotic components (reefs, seagrass, and fish) of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) of Capo Carbonara (SE Sardinia, Italy). The aim was to assess whether the indices were consistent in defining the environmental status in the MPA investigated. We used the graphical approach RESQUE (REsilience and QUality of Ecosystem), which enabled us to obtain a single and comprehensive measure of the status of the environment by integrating several metrics. This approach was applied here to different habitats for the first time. All indices were consistent with each other in confirming the good status of Capo Carbonara MPA. The use of RESQUE provided insights to interpret the differences between water quality, defined according to the WFD, and habitat quality, defined according to the MSFD. Differences between the two EU directives, in terms of either requirements or goals, have long been discussed but the present study highlights for the first time that they are congruent in their assessment of the environmental status of marine ecosystems.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Multiple indices on different habitats and descriptors provide consistent assessments of environmental quality in a marine protected area

Oprandi

Atzori²,

Azzola

et al. 2023

Front. Mar. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is imperative that this will be put into action if we aim to maintain the remaining populations and restore some of the others. Management actions tested in other seaweeds that may also prove successful with S. latissima include improving water quality (by decreasing nutrient load, for example), Marine Protected Areas, grazer control, and others (Strain et al 2015;Eger et al 2022;Peleg et al 2023). As political interest and societal benefits in recovering kelp populations are rising, securing the financial and logistical means to undergo large-scale 63 restoration efforts might become more reachable (Eger et al 2020;Filbee-Dexter, Wernberg, et al 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, another study in a 30-year-old marine reserve in New Zealand demonstrated that the MPA effectively conserves populations of the kelp Ecklonia radiata. Outside MPAs, where fishing still occurred, sites were dominated by sea urchins and turf algae, while inside the MPA, healthy populations of E. radiata are present (Peleg et al 2023). MPAs in Chile have successfully preserved intertidal populations of the commercially harvested Lessonia spp.…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

The sugar kelp Saccharina latissima I: Recent advances in a changing climate

Diehl,

Li,

Scheschonk

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThe sugar kelp Saccharina latissima is a Laminariales species widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. Its physiology and ecology have been studied since the 1960s, given its ecological relevance in western temperate coasts. However, research interest has recently been rising, driven mainly by reports of negative impacts of anthropogenically induced environmental change and by the increased commercial interest in cultivating the species with several industrial applications for the resulting biomass. • ScopeWe reviewed peer-review research articles, reports, doctoral theses, and book chapters that targeted Saccharina latissima published from 2009 to May 2023. We include earlier publications only in the few cases where some key knowledge has not been recently supported or contested. • ConclusionsThe comprehensive view of the ecology, physiology, biochemical and molecular biology of S. latissima given here can fuel our understanding of its survival in nature and finetuning of cultivation methods for several specific applications, promoting a sustainable resource. Recent developments in genomics, transcriptomics and epigenomics have contributed significantly to improving the understanding of genetic diversity and molecular mechanisms underlying plasticity and local adaptation. Due to its wide distribution, S. latissima has to cope with a large variability of different environmental conditions and possible interactions between drivers. Therefore, S. latissima has developed a variety of physiological and biochemical mechanisms to adjust to environmental changes. Survival, growth, photosynthetic performance, metabolism, and 3 enzymatic activity are strongly affected by abiotic conditions, such as temperature, salinity, nutrient conditions or ocean acidification. Massive alterations regarding abundance, depth distribution and seasonal growth patterns of S. latissima have been reported recently throughout its distribution range, likely in response to climate change. These biogeographic changes are expected to continue, and although much effort has been dedicated to studying S. latissima responses to environmental drivers, there are still large knowledge gaps. keywords: acclimation -biogeography -climate change -local adaptation -macroalgae -marine ecology -metabolites -molecular biology -omics -physiology -seaweedwarming How S. latissima adjusts to its environment has been extensively studied, although unbalanced among drivers and geographical regions (see Responses to environmental drivers). In seaweeds, biochemical compounds, including pigments, carbohydrates, antioxidants, lipids, fatty acids and proteins, vary in composition and concentration depending on environmental conditions (summarized in Amsler 2008; Wiencke and Bischof 2012; Hurd et al. 2014; Zhang and Thomsen 2019). Furthermore, biological interactions with other taxa have the potential to profoundly change S. latissima growth and survival and are summarized in Biotic interactions. In addition to seasonal effects or differences on larger globa...

show abstract

Predicting the impacts of climate change on New Zealand’s seaweed-based ecosystems

Cornwall,

Nelson,

Aguirre

et al. 2023

New Zealand Journal of Botany

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Multi-indicator ‘state space’ approach to assessing changes in shallow urban reef ecosystem health

Cited by 4 publications

References 72 publications

Multiple indices on different habitats and descriptors provide consistent assessments of environmental quality in a marine protected area

Multiple indices on different habitats and descriptors provide consistent assessments of environmental quality in a marine protected area

The sugar kelp Saccharina latissima I: Recent advances in a changing climate

Predicting the impacts of climate change on New Zealand’s seaweed-based ecosystems

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About