Essence of the patterns of cover and richness of intertidal hard bottom communities: a pan-European study

2016 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 525-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonne Kotta ◽  
Helen Orav-Kotta ◽  
Holger Jänes ◽  
Herman Hummel ◽  
Christos Arvanitidis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boosted Regression Trees ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Temperature Anomalies ◽  
Tidal Regime ◽  
Bottom Communities ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Sessile Invertebrates ◽  
Hard Bottom Communities ◽  
Anthropogenic Drivers ◽  
European Seas

Coastal ecosystems are highly complex and driven by multiple environmental factors. To date we lack scientific evidence for the relative contribution of natural and anthropogenic drivers for the majority of marine habitats in order to adequately assess the role of different stressors across the European seas. Such relationship can be investigated by analysing the correlation between environmental variables and biotic patterns in multivariate space and taking into account non-linearities. Within the framework of the EMBOS (European Marine Biodiversity Observatory System) programme, hard bottom intertidal communities were sampled in a standardized way across European seas. Links between key natural and anthropogenic drivers and hard bottom communities were analysed using Boosted Regression Trees modelling. The study identified strong interregional variability and showed that patterns of hard bottom macroalgal and invertebrate communities were primarily a function of tidal regime, nutrient loading and water temperature (anomalies). The strength and shape of functional form relationships varied widely however among types of organisms (understorey algae composing mostly filamentous species, canopy-forming algae or sessile invertebrates) and aggregated community variables (cover or richness). Tidal regime significantly modulated the effect of nutrient load on the cover and richness of understorey algae and sessile invertebrates. In contrast, hydroclimate was more important for canopy algae and temperature anomalies and hydroclimate separately or interactively contributed to the observed patterns. The analyses also suggested that climate-induced shifts in weather patterns may result in the loss of algal richness and thereby in the loss of functional diversity in European hard bottom intertidal areas.

scholarly journals A Marine Biodiversity Observation Network for Genetic Monitoring of Hard-Bottom Communities (ARMS-MBON)

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Obst ◽  
Katrina Exter ◽  
A. Louise Allcock ◽  
Christos Arvanitidis ◽  
Alizz Axberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Indigenous Species ◽  
Pilot Phase ◽  
Legal Compliance ◽  
Bottom Communities ◽  
Observation Network ◽  
Hard Bottom Communities ◽  
Non Indigenous Species

Marine hard-bottom communities are undergoing severe change under the influence of multiple drivers, notably climate change, extraction of natural resources, pollution and eutrophication, habitat degradation, and invasive species. Monitoring marine biodiversity in such habitats is, however, challenging as it typically involves expensive, non-standardized, and often destructive sampling methods that limit its scalability. Differences in monitoring approaches furthermore hinders inter-comparison among monitoring programs. Here, we announce a Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) consisting of Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) with the aim to assess the status and changes in benthic fauna with genomic-based methods, notably DNA metabarcoding, in combination with image-based identifications. This article presents the results of a 30-month pilot phase in which we established an operational and geographically expansive ARMS-MBON. The network currently consists of 20 observatories distributed across European coastal waters and the polar regions, in which 134 ARMS have been deployed to date. Sampling takes place annually, either as short-term deployments during the summer or as long-term deployments starting in spring. The pilot phase was used to establish a common set of standards for field sampling, genetic analysis, data management, and legal compliance, which are presented here. We also tested the potential of ARMS for combining genetic and image-based identification methods in comparative studies of benthic diversity, as well as for detecting non-indigenous species. Results show that ARMS are suitable for monitoring hard-bottom environments as they provide genetic data that can be continuously enriched, re-analyzed, and integrated with conventional data to document benthic community composition and detect non-indigenous species. Finally, we provide guidelines to expand the network and present a sustainability plan as part of the European Marine Biological Resource Centre (www.embrc.eu).

Regionalization of benthic hard-bottom communities across the Pourtalès Terrace, Florida

2021 ◽  
Vol 172 ◽  
pp. 103514
Author(s):  
Brian K. Walker ◽  
Charles Messing ◽  
Jana Ash ◽  
Sandra Brooke ◽  
John K. Reed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bottom Communities ◽  
Hard Bottom Communities

Succession and seasonal onset of colonization in subtidal hard-bottom communities off northern Chile

2010 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aldo S. Pacheco ◽  
Jürgen Laudien ◽  
Martin Thiel ◽  
Marcelo Oliva ◽  
Olaf Heilmayer
Keyword(s):  
Northern Chile ◽  
Bottom Communities ◽  
Hard Bottom Communities

scholarly journals Effects of climate and eutrophication on the diversity of hard bottom communities on the Skagerrak coast 1990-2010

2015 ◽  
Vol 530 ◽  
pp. 29-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
KM Norderhaug ◽  
H Gundersen ◽  
A Pedersen ◽  
F Moy ◽  
N Green ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bottom Communities ◽  
Hard Bottom Communities

scholarly journals Protecting the North Sea: New research for biodiversity recovery.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oceana ◽  
Helena Álvarez ◽  
Allison L. Perry ◽  
Jorge Blanco ◽  
Silvia Garcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Legal Requirements ◽  
Marine Life ◽  
The North ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Face ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
New Research

To help fill gaps in knowledge about marine biodiversity in the North Sea, Oceana carried out two eight week research expeditions, in 2016 and 2017. Oceana’s surveys documented a wide range of habitats and species that are considered priorities for conservation, under national, EU, and international frameworks that recognise them as threatened and/or establish legal requirements for their protection.Oceana’s research has underscored the fact that much remains to be discovered about marine life on the seabed of the North Sea. Continued research is critical for informing efforts to recover biodiversity, an urgent priority in the face of the multiple, intense pressures facing the North Sea’s marine habitats and species.

scholarly journals Development of marine landscape maps for the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat using geophysical and hydrographical parameters

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 61-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zyad K. Al-Hamdani ◽  
Johnny Reker ◽  
Jørgen O. Leth ◽  
Anu Reijonen ◽  
Aarno T. Kotilainen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
Biological Information ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Bothnian Bay

The Baltic Sea is one of the largest brackish water bodies in the world (Segerstråle 1957) with a number of basins varying from almost fresh water in the northern part of the Bothnian Bay via the more brackish conditions in the southern part to the saline waters of the Kattegat. The Baltic Sea is subject to severe environmental degradation caused by commercial and leisure activities, including fisheries, dredging, tourism, coas t a l development and land-based pollution sources. This causes severe pressures on vulnerable marine habitats and natural re- sources, and a tool for aiding marine management is therefore strongly needed. The marine landscape concept presented by Roff &Taylor (2000) is based on the use of available broad-scale geological, physical and hydrographical data to prepare ecologically meaningful maps for areas with little or no biological information. The concept, which was elaborated by Day & Roff (2000) was applied in UK waters (Connor et al. 2006) before it was adopted by the BALANCE project described here. The aim of developing marine landscape maps is to characterise the marine environment of the Baltic Sea region (the Baltic Sea together with the Kattegat) using geophysical and hydrographical parameters. Such maps can be applied, for example, to an assessment of the Baltic-wide network of marine protected areas, and thus provide a sustainable ecosystem-based approach to the protection of the marine environment from human activities, and contribute to the conservation of marine biodiversity. The BALANCE project is based on transnational and cross-sectoral co-operation with participants from nine countries surrounding the Baltic Sea as well as Norway (Fig. 1), and is partially financed by the European Union through the BSR INTERREG IIIB programme.

Subtidal assemblages associated with a geotextile reef in south-east Queensland, Australia

2005 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhys A. Edwards ◽  
Stephen D. A. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Artificial Reef ◽  
Demersal Fish ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Sessile Invertebrates ◽  
Hard Structures ◽  
Asymmetrical Design ◽  
Natural Reefs

In marine habitats, the use of geotextile materials as a ‘soft-engineering’ solution is increasingly being considered as an alternative to hard structures. However, very little is known about biological assemblages that develop on geotextile structures. This study provides the first ecological comparison of subtidal assemblages between Narrowneck Artificial Reef (NAR), a geotextile reef in south-east Queensland, Australia, and three nearby natural reefs. Benthic community structure, fish assemblages and habitat complexity were compared between reef types using an asymmetrical design. Although natural reefs supported distinct biotic assemblages, as a class, these reefs differed significantly from NAR. The artificial reef was dominated by macroalgae and supported fewer benthic categories, whereas the natural reefs were characterised by a diverse range of sessile invertebrates. Benthic and demersal fish assemblages were less diverse on NAR, but pelagic fish assemblages were similar on both reef types. The substratum of NAR was less complex than that of the natural reefs; this physical variable was correlated with some of the differences in benthic communities and benthic and demersal fish assemblages. It is likely that the key determinants of the biotic patterns observed in this study are interactions between the age of NAR and the physical properties of geotextile substratum.

scholarly journals Detection of Stones in Marine Habitats Combining Simultaneous Hydroacoustic Surveys

Geosciences ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svenja Papenmeier ◽  
H. Hass
Keyword(s):  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Sediment Surface ◽  
Sidescan Sonar ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Outer Reef ◽  
Single Beam ◽  
Marine Deposits ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
High Backscatter

Exposed stones in sandy sublittoral environments are hotspots for marine biodiversity, especially for benthic communities. The detection of single stones is principally possible using sidescan-sonar (SSS) backscatter data. The data resolution has to be high to visualize the acoustic shadows of the stones. Otherwise, stony substrates will not be differentiable from other high backscatter substrates (e.g., gravel). Acquiring adequate sonar data and identifying stones in backscatter images is time consuming because it usually requires visual-manual procedures. To develop a more efficient identification and demarcation procedure of stone fields, sidescan sonar and parametric echo sound data were recorded within the marine protected area of “Sylt Outer Reef” (German Bight, North Sea). The investigated area (~5.900 km2) is characterized by dispersed heterogeneous moraine and marine deposits. Data from parametric sediment echo sounder indicate hyperbolas at the sediment surface in stony areas, which can easily be exported. By combining simultaneous recorded low backscatter data and parametric single beam data, stony grounds were demarcated faster, less complex and reproducible from gravelly substrates indicating similar high backscatter in the SSS data.

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