Megafauna of vulnerable marine ecosystems in French mediterranean submarine canyons: Spatial distribution and anthropogenic impacts

Abstract Protozoan periphytons with their ecological features are considered as a robust bioindicator for bioassessment of both environmental stress and anthropogenic impacts in aquatic ecosystems. Keeping in view the ability of protozoan fauna for discriminating water quality status, a 1-year baseline survey was conducted using glass slides as an artificial substratum in coastal waters of Yellow sea, northern China. Four sampling sites (A–D) were selected from a clean area to a polluted station, and samples were collected monthly at a depth of 1 m. Environmental variables such as salinity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved oxygen (DO), soluble reactive phosphates (SRP), ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) were measured synchronically to compare with biotic factors. From a total of 144 identified protozoan species, 53 functional units (FUs) were proposed based on four biological traits: feeding type, resource of food supply, body size and movement type. These FUs represented a clear variability in spatial distribution among four study sites. The relative abundances of the sessile colonial bacterivores (e.g., BOS5s) showed an increasing trend from sites A to D. Multivariate analysis revealed that the patterns of the protozoan FUs showed a significant variation among four sampling sites, and were driven by the increasing levels of nutrients (e.g., NH4-N) and decreasing ranks of DO (P < 0.05). The bacterivorous FUs (e.g., BOS5s and BIS3v) were significantly positively related to NH4-N, while the vagile algivorous FUs (e.g., AIS8v, AOS3v, AOS6v) and sessile predators (e.g., RIS4s) were significantly positively correlated with transparency. These findings suggested that FUs of protozoan periphytons may be used as a useful bioindicators of water quality status in marine ecosystems.

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Production of mobile invertebrate communities on shallow reefs from temperate to tropical seas

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2020.1798 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 287 (1941) ◽

pp. 20201798

Author(s):

K. M. Fraser ◽

J. S. Lefcheck ◽

S. D. Ling ◽

C. Mellin ◽

R. D. Stuart-Smith ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Productivity ◽

Human Impacts ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Selection Procedure ◽

Marine Ecosystems ◽

Environmental Drivers ◽

Kelp Forests ◽

Food Web Structure ◽

Continental Scale ◽

Biogenic Habitat

Primary productivity of marine ecosystems is largely driven by broad gradients in environmental and ecological properties. By contrast, secondary productivity tends to be more variable, influenced by bottom-up (resource-driven) and top-down (predatory) processes, other environmental drivers, and mediation by the physical structure of habitats. Here, we use a continental-scale dataset on small mobile invertebrates (epifauna), common on surfaces in all marine ecosystems, to test influences of potential drivers of temperature-standardized secondary production across a large biogeographic range. We found epifaunal production to be remarkably consistent along a temperate to tropical Australian latitudinal gradient of 28.6°, spanning kelp forests to coral reefs (approx. 3500 km). Using a model selection procedure, epifaunal production was primarily related to biogenic habitat group, which explained up to 45% of total variability. Production was otherwise invariant to predictors capturing primary productivity, the local biomass of fishes (proxy for predation pressure), and environmental, geographical, and human impacts. Highly predictable levels of epifaunal productivity associated with distinct habitat groups across continental scales should allow accurate modelling of the contributions of these ubiquitous invertebrates to coastal food webs, thus improving understanding of likely changes to food web structure with ocean warming and other anthropogenic impacts on marine ecosystems.

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Association of soil polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon levels and anthropogenic impacts in a rapidly urbanizing region: Spatial distribution, soil–air exchange and ecological risk

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.12.106 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 473-474 ◽

pp. 676-684 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Yan-Li Wei ◽

Lian-Jun Bao ◽

Chen-Chou Wu ◽

Zai-Cheng He ◽

Eddy Y. Zeng

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon ◽

Aromatic Hydrocarbon ◽

Ecological Risk ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Soil Air ◽

Polycyclic Aromatic ◽

Air Exchange

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Understanding modern extinctions in marine ecosystems: the role of palaeoecological data

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2015.0951 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 20150951 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Matthew A. Kosnik ◽

Michał Kowalewski

Keyword(s):

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Extinction Risk ◽

Marine Ecosystems ◽

Sedimentary Records ◽

Proxy Records ◽

Naturally Occurring ◽

Manipulative Experiments ◽

Anthropogenic Processes

Because anthropogenic impacts on ecological systems pre-date the oldest scientific observations, historical documents and archaeological records, understanding modern extinctions requires additional data sources that extend further back in time. Palaeoecological records, which provide quantitative proxy records of ecosystems prior to human impact, are essential for understanding recent extinctions and future extinction risks. Here we critically review the value of the most recent fossil record in contributing to our understanding of modern extinctions and illustrate through case studies how naturally occurring death assemblages and Holocene sedimentary records provide context to the plight of marine ecosystems. While palaeoecological data are inherently restricted censuses of past communities (manipulative experiments are not possible), they yield quantitative records over temporal scales that are beyond the reach of ecology. Only by including palaeoecological data is it possible to fully assess the role of long-term anthropogenic processes in driving modern extinction risk.

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Habitat suitability mapping of the black coral Leiopathes glaberrima to support conservation of vulnerable marine ecosystems

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-95256-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

V. Lauria ◽

D. Massi ◽

F. Fiorentino ◽

G. Milisenda ◽

T. Cillari

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Large Scale ◽

High Sensitivity ◽

Marine Ecosystems ◽

Slope Aspect ◽

Suitable Habitat ◽

Environmental Predictors ◽

Black Coral ◽

The Mediterranean

AbstractThe black coral Leiopathes glaberrima is an important habitat forming species that supports benthic biodiversity. Due to its high sensitivity to fishing activities, it has been classified as indicator of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs). However, the information on its habitat selection and large-scale spatial distribution in the Mediterranean Sea is poor. In this study a thorough literature review on the occurrence of L. glaberrima across the Mediterranean Sea was undertaken. Predictive modelling was carried out to produce the first continuous map of L. glaberrima suitable habitat in the central sector of the Mediterranean Sea. MaxEnt modeling was used to predict L. glaberrima probability of presence as a function of seven environmental predictors (bathymetry, slope, aspect North–South and East–West, kinetic energy due to currents at the seabed, seabed habitat types and sea bottom temperature). Our results show that bathymetry, slope and aspect are the most important factors driving L. glaberrima spatial distribution, while in less extent the other environmental variables. This study adds relevant information on the spatial distribution of vulnerable deep water corals in relation to the environmental factors in the Mediterranean Sea. It provides an important background for marine spatial planning especially for prioritizing areas for the conservation of VMEs.

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Shifting Baselines to Thresholds: Reframing Exploitation in the Marine Environment

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2021.742188 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Lane M. Atmore ◽

Magie Aiken ◽

Fabricio Furni

Keyword(s):

Molecular Evolution ◽

Marine Environment ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Marine Ecosystems ◽

Ecosystem Dynamics ◽

Ecosystem Change ◽

Human Society ◽

The Past ◽

Human Contact ◽

Practical Research

Current research on anthropogenic impacts on marine ecosystems often relies on the concept of a “baseline,” which aims to describe ecosystems prior to human contact. Recent research is increasingly showing that humans have been involved in marine ecosystems for much longer than previously understood. We propose a theoretical framework oriented around a system of “thresholds” referring to system-wide changes in human culture, ecosystem dynamics, and molecular evolution. The concept of the threshold allows conceptual space to account for the fluid nature of ecosystems throughout time while providing a critical framework for understanding drivers of ecosystem change. We highlight practical research approaches for exploring thresholds in the past and provide key insights for future adaptation to a changing world. To ensure ecological and societal goals for the future are met, it is critical that research efforts are contextualized into a framework that incorporates human society as integral to ecology and evolution.

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The Urban–Rural Heterogeneity of Air Pollution in 35 Metropolitan Regions across China

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs12142320 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (14) ◽

pp. 2320 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Wenchao Han ◽

Zhanqing Li ◽

Jianping Guo ◽

Tianning Su ◽

Tianmeng Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Boundary Layer ◽

Air Pollution ◽

Spatial Distribution ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Fine Particles ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Spatial Inhomogeneity ◽

Metropolitan Regions ◽

Urban Rural ◽

Urban And Rural Areas

Urbanization and air pollution are major anthropogenic impacts on Earth’s environment, weather, and climate. Each has been studied extensively, but their interactions have not. Urbanization leads to a dramatic variation in the spatial distribution of air pollution (fine particles) by altering surface properties and boundary-layer micrometeorology, but it remains unclear, especially between the centers and suburbs of metropolitan regions. Here, we investigated the spatial variation, or inhomogeneity, of air quality in urban and rural areas of 35 major metropolitan regions across China using four different long-term observational datasets from both ground-based and space-borne observations during the period 2001–2015. In general, air pollution in summer in urban areas is more serious than in rural areas. However, it is more homogeneously polluted, and also more severely polluted in winter than that in summer. Four factors are found to play roles in the spatial inhomogeneity of air pollution between urban and rural areas and their seasonal differences: (1) the urban–rural difference in emissions in summer is slightly larger than in winter; (2) urban structures have a more obvious association with the spatial distribution of aerosols in summer; (3) the wind speed, topography, and different reductions in the planetary boundary layer height from clean to polluted conditions have different effects on the density of pollutants in different seasons; and (4) relative humidity can play an important role in affecting the spatial inhomogeneity of air pollution despite the large uncertainties.

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Trends and hotspots in landscape transformation based on anthropogenic impacts on soil in Hungary, 1990–2018

Hungarian Geographical Bulletin ◽

10.15201/hungeobull.69.4.2 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 69 (4) ◽

pp. 349-361

Author(s):

Szabolcs Balogh ◽

Tibor József Novák

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Human Impact ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Anthropogenic Activities ◽

Sand Ridge ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Soil Features ◽

Anthropogenic Soil ◽

Soil Forming Processes ◽

Landscape Patches

The transformation of the landscapes due to the anthropogenic activities is increasing worldwide. These changes are also manifested in the change of soil-forming processes. The land cover (LC) changes evaluated according to their influence on anthropogenic features of soils allows to distinguish between LC changes resulting increased and decreased human impact (HI). In our study, we assess the changes of HI on landscapes and its spatial distribution across Hungary. The changes were evaluated by using LC data of four periods between 1990 and 2018 reclassified based on the related anthropogenic soil features. To identify the hotspots of the changes 1×1 grids were applied in which the direction (increasing, neutral or decreasing HI) and frequency (number of landscape patches with LC changes) of changes were evaluated. In our research, the hotspots were identified over the studied four periods. We point out that the spatial distribution of hotspots is very different. The hotspots of the increased human impact are 2,449 cells (643.0 km2 ) between 1990 and 2018, and the most of it localized in the Pest Plain (67), Csepel Plain (64) and Nagykálló-Nyírség (60). Most of the multiple hotspots are in the outskirts of Budapest to Kiskunlacháza, Bugyi, Délegyháza. As we examine the decreasing hotspot data we found 1,679 cells (1,524.9 km2 ) between 1990 and 2018. In largest number, they occur on the Kiskunság Sand Ridge (38), Majsa–Szabadka Sand Ridge (37) and Nagykállói-Nyírség (36). Multiple hotspots are located in settlements Izsák, Ásotthalom, Vatta and Nyírmihályi. Regions with numerous hotspots require special management to moderate its negative consequences on soils to consider both increased anthropisation, but also extensification of land use and their consequences.

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