Variability in abundance of algae and invertebrates at different spatial scales on rocky sea shores

Benedetti‐Cecchi, Lisandro

doi:10.3354/meps215079

Cited by 203 publications

(152 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…These results confirm those from previous analyses conducted in marine coastal ecosystems which documented considerable small-scale spatial variation in distributions and abundances of macrozoobenthic populations across a wide range of habitats (Benedetti-Cecchi, 2001b;Coleman, 2002;Underwood and Chapman, 1996), including seagrasses (De Biasi et al, 2003). In particular, amphipod assemblages varied most at the meter scale in the macrophyte Sargassum stenophyllum (Tanaka and Leite, 2003) and in soft bottoms (Fernandez-Gonzalez et al, 2013).…”

Section: Small Scale Spatial Variabilitysupporting

confidence: 80%

Multiscale variability of amphipod assemblages in Posidonia oceanica meadows

Sturaro

Lepoint

Vermeulen

et al. 2015

Journal of Sea Research

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The study of spatial patterns is important in understanding the causes of the distribution and abundance of organisms, and it also provides a valuable basis for management and conservation. Amphipod crustaceans are key organisms in seagrass ecosystems. However, little attention has been paid to the spatial scales at which amphipod assemblages may vary. We examined variability patterns of amphipod populations inhabiting Posidonia oceanica meadows, over spatial scales spanning four orders of magnitude (1 to 1000 meters) and for two consecutive years. This study reports the scales that contributed most to spatial variation of amphipod assemblages and explores the potential processes driving the observed patterns, with particular emphasis on habitat features. The number of species, the diversity, and the density of some species varied substantially across years. For most species the highest spatial variation in density and biomass occurred at small scales (1 and 10 meters). Based on density data, the structure of amphipod assemblages did not differ at any scales investigated. The patchiness that occurred at small scales may have been related to habitat features, but only weakly. Instead, we postulate that amphipod behavioral processes likely represent good explanatory factors. Although, small-scale spatial variability can be an important feature of amphipod assemblages in P. oceanica meadows, some patterns may have gone undetected because they occur at scales smaller than those investigated.

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Section: Small Scale Spatial Variabilitysupporting

confidence: 80%

Multiscale variability of amphipod assemblages in Posidonia oceanica meadows

Sturaro

Lepoint

Vermeulen

et al. 2015

Journal of Sea Research

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“…In general, coralligenous assemblages can show a wide homogeneity at a large-scale, resulting in a lack of significant differences between separate locations (Piazzi et al, 2004), while at small scale, a high heterogeneity is always evident, limiting the definition of a standardized monitoring protocol valid at Mediterranean level (Zapata et al, 2013). In a coralligenous habitat, spatial variability is scale dependent just like in other marine habitats (Benedetti-Cecchi, 2001;Underwood & Chapman, 1996), asking for an optimization in further sampling designs.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison between the sponge fauna living outside and inside the coralligenous bioconstruction. A quantitative approach

et al. 2015

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Coralligenous habitat results from a multi-stratified accumulation of crustose coralline algae and animal builders in a dynamic equilibrium with disruptive agents. The result is a complex architecture crossed by crevices and holes. Due to this three-dimensional structure, coralligenous may host a rich and diversified fauna, more abundant than any other Mediterranean habitat. Unfortunately, very few data are available about the cryptic fauna that lives inside the conglomerate. As already reported for coral reefs, the cryptic fauna plays an important role in the exchange of material and energy between water column and benthic assemblages. Here we compare the sponge community present inside and outside the coralligenous framework of Portofino Promontory (Ligurian Sea) at different depths (15 and 30 meters) not only in terms of taxonomic diversity but for the first time also in term of biomass. Sponges present on the surface of each block were collected, weighed and identified; after blocks dissolution in HCl, target cryptic sponges were separated from other organisms, weighed, and identified. We recorded a total of 62 sponge species. The average number of sponge taxa occurring outside the coralligenous accretions is lower than the number of taxa identified inside. This pattern is confirmed also regarding sponge biomass. These results underlines that studies focused on coralligenous functioning should take in account the important contribution of cryptic fauna, as recently evidenced also for tropical reef habitats.

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“…Populations' density is more variable at some spatial and temporal scales than at others, and thus, changes in the composition and structure of assemblages are more evident at particular scales (Benedetti-Cecchi 2001). This natural variability is commonly considered as a difficulty to understand ecological processes, but there is an increasing appreciation that more knowledge about this variability is crucial to understand the ecological processes structuring natural systems (Martins et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial variability in intertidal macroalgal assemblages on the North Portuguese coast: consistence between species and functional group approaches

et al. 2012

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Natural assemblages are variable in space and time; therefore, quantification of their variability is imperative to identify relevant scales for investigating natural or anthropogenic processes shaping these assemblages. We studied the variability of intertidal macroalgal assemblages on the North Portuguese coast, considering three spatial scales (from metres to 10 s of kilometres) following a hierarchical design. We tested the hypotheses that (1) spatial pattern will be invariant at all the studied scales and (2) spatial variability of macroalgal assemblages obtained by using species will be consistent with that obtained using functional groups. This was done considering as univariate variables: total biomass and number of taxa as well as biomass of the most important species and functional groups and as multivariate variables the structure of macroalgal assemblages, both considering species and functional groups. Most of the univariate results confirmed the first hypothesis except for the total number of taxa and foliose macroalgae that showed significant variability at the scale of site and area, respectively. In contrast, when multivariate patterns were examined, the first hypothesis was rejected except at the scale of 10 s of kilometres. Both uni-and multivariate results indicated that variation was larger at the smallest scale, and thus, smallscale processes seem to have more effect on spatial variability patterns. Macroalgal assemblages, both considering species and functional groups as surrogate, showed consistent spatial patterns, and therefore, the second hypothesis was confirmed. Consequently, functional groups may be considered a reliable biological surrogate to study changes on macroalgal assemblages at least along the investigated Portuguese coastline.

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Variability in abundance of algae and invertebrates at different spatial scales on rocky sea shores

Cited by 203 publications

References 68 publications

Multiscale variability of amphipod assemblages in Posidonia oceanica meadows

Multiscale variability of amphipod assemblages in Posidonia oceanica meadows

Comparison between the sponge fauna living outside and inside the coralligenous bioconstruction. A quantitative approach

Spatial variability in intertidal macroalgal assemblages on the North Portuguese coast: consistence between species and functional group approaches

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