Taxonomic distinctness in Mediterranean marine nematodes and its relevance for environmental impact assessment

Bevilacqua, Stanislao; Sandulli, Roberto; Plicanti, Adriana; Terlizzi, Antonio

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.04.016

Cited by 30 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…On the other hand, increasing taxonomic distinctness of diatom and macroinvertebrate assemblages along the nutrient gradient have also been observed in lakes (Leira et al ) and streams (Gallardo et al ), respectively. Despite their wide use in marine ecosystems (Warwick and Clarke , Leonard et al , Bevilacqua et al , ), the sensitivity of taxonomic diversity indices to anthropogenic stressors has rather rarely been examined in freshwater ecosystems. The observations from freshwater systems have indicated either poor (Abellán et al , Heino et al ) or high (Marchant , Ricciardi et al ) sensitivity of taxonomic diversity to human impacts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ignoring spatial effects results in inadequate models for variation in littoral macroinvertebrate diversity

Tolonen

Vilmi

Karjalainen

et al. 2016

Oikos

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Studies focusing on the effects of spatial processes versus environmental filtering on aquatic metacommunities have so far been focused almost entirely on relatively isolated systems, such as sets of different lakes or streams. In contrast, metacommunity patterns and underlying processes within a single aquatic system have received less attention. In this study, we aimed to examine how strongly variations in different diversity indices are affected by spatial processes (dispersal) versus local environmental conditions (species sorting) within a large lake system. Modern biodiversity research focuses on multiple diversity facets because different indices may be uncorrelated within and between facets, and they may thus describe different phenomena. We investigated the relationship of littoral macroinvertebrate diversity with environmental and spatial factors using 10 indices of species, functional and taxonomic diversity. Using spatial factors as proxies of dispersal, we decomposed variation in diversity indices into fractions attributable to environmental and spatial factors. Our results highlighted generally equal or higher importance of spatial processes in controlling the variation in diversity indices when compared to local environmental variables. Local environmental conditions accounted for higher proportion of variation only in a single index (i.e. taxonomic diversity). These findings suggest that the effects of high dispersal rates (mass effects) may override the influences of local environmental conditions (species sorting) on the diversity in highly-connected aquatic system, such as large lakes and marine coastal systems. Our results further suggest that biodiversity assessment and environmental monitoring in highly-connected systems cannot rely solely on the idea of environmental control. We hence recommend that the roles of both environmental and spatial processes should be integrated in basic and applied ecological research of aquatic systems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ignoring spatial effects results in inadequate models for variation in littoral macroinvertebrate diversity

Tolonen

Vilmi

Karjalainen

et al. 2016

Oikos

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“…Therefore, at the moment, the specific WFD requirements for the EcoQ classification make the implementation of β-diversity as a faunal descriptor in accordance with the European Directives still problematic. Bevilacqua et al (2012b) assessed the potential of taxonomic distinctness to discern perturbed and unperturbed sites by analysing nematode assemblages found along the Italian coastline. They found that the index is strongly affected by natural variability, habitat features, and biogeographic context.…”

Section: Diversity Indicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of Italian research on free-living marine nematodes and the future perspectives on their use as Ecological Indicators (EcoInds)

Semprucci¹,

Losi²,

Moreno³

2015

Medit. Mar. Sci.

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The use of free-living marine nematodes as ecological indicators (EcoInds) of human impacts has increased greatly in Italy since 1990. This paper is a summary of the Italian research experience in the study of nematode assemblages of shallow water habitats, and provides a breakdown of the most important insights that have been obtained so far. Although nematodes are among the best candidates for the Ecological Quality (EcoQ) assessment in the benthic domain, many guidelines need to be developed and limits overcome. Italian research has certainly contributed to the achievement of this purpose with highly focused local investigations on the effects of specific stressors (riverine and sewage discharge, aquaculture, trace elements and hydrocarbons), but also to a large extent with wider analyses aimed at finding new and valuable tools for monitoring programs and useful nematode descriptors, in line with the European Directives. Currently, the Italian and foreign experiences in this field draw light to the fact that the best nematode descriptors for the EcoQ assessment are the taxonomic composition and life strategy traits. However, nematode worldwide research is running the risk of being marginalized because of the relatively narrow scope of most contemporary studies. Nematode researchers should work in a nematologist community in order to better promote the use of nematodes such as EcoInds in the era of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). In the present paper, possible steps to obtain this goal are brought to the reader's attention and discussed.

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“…Nematode abundance, for instance, is generally considered the least informative community attribute. The effectiveness of this metric for the purpose of environmental assessment, however, has been questioned by some authors (see Bevilacqua et al 2012 and references therein). More reliable and informative results are obtained from analyses of assemblages at the species or genus level.…”

Section: Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

3. Ecology of free-living marine nematodes

Moens¹,

Braeckman²,

Derycke³

et al. 2013

Nematoda

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Taxonomic distinctness in Mediterranean marine nematodes and its relevance for environmental impact assessment

Cited by 30 publications

References 62 publications

Ignoring spatial effects results in inadequate models for variation in littoral macroinvertebrate diversity

Ignoring spatial effects results in inadequate models for variation in littoral macroinvertebrate diversity

A review of Italian research on free-living marine nematodes and the future perspectives on their use as Ecological Indicators (EcoInds)

3. Ecology of free-living marine nematodes

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