scholarly journals Seagrass Meadows Provide a Significant Resource in Support of Avifauna

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 363
Author(s):  
Richard K. F. Unsworth ◽  
Emma G. Butterworth
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Marine Fish Species ◽  
Gap Filling ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Seagrass Meadows ◽  
Coastal Birds

Seagrass meadows are known to be rich in fauna, with complex food webs that provide trophic subsidy to species and habitats way beyond the extent of their distribution. Birds are an often-overlooked part of marine ecosystems; not only are they crucial to the health of marine ecosystems, but their populations are also supported by the productivity and biodiversity of marine ecosystems. The links of birds to specific habitat types such as seagrass meadows are largely not considered except in the context of direct herbivorous consumption. Here, we examine the linkages between seagrass and birds and propose a conceptual framework for how seagrasses may support bird populations beyond their distribution in both direct and indirect pathways. We present evidence that seagrass meadows are globally foraged for fish and invertebrates by coastal birds. They are also targeted by herbivorous wildfowl and potentially benefit birds further afield indirectly as a result of their support for offshore marine fish species at critical times in their life cycle (e.g., Atlantic Cod and King George Whiting). Evidence from the literature indicates that seagrass does provide support for birds, but reveals a field of research requiring much gap filling as studies are globally sparse, mechanistically limited, and small in spatial and temporal scales.

scholarly journals Quantitative assessment of the area of shallow habitat for fish on the Swedish west coast

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 446-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Stål ◽  
Leif Pihl
Keyword(s):  
West Coast ◽  
Quantitative Assessment ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Coastal Zone Management ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Swedish West Coast ◽  
Seagrass Meadows ◽  
The North ◽  
Shallow Habitat

Abstract Stål, J., and Pihl, L. 2007. Quantitative assessment of the area of shallow habitat for fish on the Swedish west coast. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 446–452. Much effort has been focused recently on juvenile and adult fish habitat use in shallow coastal areas. However, to understand fully the importance of such habitats for fish production it is necessary also to quantify the area of existing habitat types. We inventory and quantify the area of major habitat types in a 1000 km2 area of the Swedish west coast, on a scale appropriate for coastal-zone management. An echosounder and GPS-transmitter mounted on a small boat were used to estimate the distribution of habitat along transects in seven regions of differing coastal morphology. The signal from the echosounder separated major habitat types, and recordings were verified by video documentation and visually. The information was used with GIS-software to estimate the quantitative extent of bottom habitats at depth ranges of 0–3, 3–6, and 6–10 m. Of the major habitat types, soft substrata dominated all except one region, and increased in size with depth in all regions. There were rocky substrata in all regions, but as steep rock walls in the north and more gently sloping substrata with pebbles and boulders in the south. Approximately half the rocky habitat was in the shallowest depth range. Seagrass meadows on soft substrata were mainly in the shallow protected archipelago of the central coast.

Declining populations of coastal birds in Great Britain: victims of sea-level rise and climate change?

2000 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 303-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Norris ◽  
P W Atkinson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Important Species ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Coastal Birds

Is sea-level rise and (or) climate change responsible for current declines in important coastal bird populations in Great Britain, and how might these processes affect bird populations in future? We review the current status of coastal bird populations in Britain and identify two important species, Common Redshank (Tringa totanus) and Twite (Carduelis flavirostris), whose populations are currently declining. We then review the evidence relating to the causes of these declines. There is evidence that habitat loss, driven by sea-level rise and climate change (e.g., an increase in wind and wave energy reaching the coast due to an increase in the frequency of storms), could have contributed to the decline in Twite. Common Redshank numbers are declining because of changes in grazing management, not sea-level rise. Populations that are currently stable or increasing, such as wintering waders and wildfowl, might in future experience declines in abundance because there is a link between climate, food supply, and bird abundance. There are insufficient reliable data at present to allow us to predict future changes with any confidence. Sea-level rise and climate change are currently important issues facing coastal zone management in Great Britain, and these issues may become even more pressing in future. But, in addition to these environmental processes, coastal bird populations are affected by a range of other anthropogenic factors. Conservationists, therefore, need to identify important bird populations that are (or could be in future) detrimentally affected by any of these activities rather than focusing exclusively on single issues such as sea-level rise. Allowing the sea to breach existing sea defences, thereby creating new saltmarsh, provides a way forward but is not without its practical and political difficulties.Key words: coastal birds, sea-level rise, climate change, population decline, habitat loss, saltmarsh.

scholarly journals Where Is More Important Than How in Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Restoration

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simonetta Fraschetti ◽  
Chris McOwen ◽  
Loredana Papa ◽  
Nadia Papadopoulou ◽  
Meri Bilan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Impact ◽  
Global Analysis ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Successful Outcome ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Biological Communities ◽  
Definition Of Success ◽  
Definition Of

Restoration is considered an effective strategy to accelerate the recovery of biological communities at local scale. However, the effects of restoration actions in the marine ecosystems are still unpredictable. We performed a global analysis of published literature to identify the factors increasing the probability of restoration success in coastal and marine systems. Our results confirm that the majority of active restoration initiatives are still concentrated in the northern hemisphere and that most of information gathered from restoration efforts derives from a relatively small subset of species. The analysis also indicates that many studies are still experimental in nature, covering small spatial and temporal scales. Despite the limits of assessing restoration effectiveness in absence of a standardized definition of success, the context (degree of human impact, ecosystem type, habitat) of where the restoration activity is undertaken is of greater relevance to a successful outcome than how (method) the restoration is carried out. Contrary to expectations, we found that restoration is not necessarily more successful closer to protected areas (PA) and in areas of moderate human impact. This result can be motivated by the limits in assessing the success of interventions and by the tendency of selecting areas in more obvious need of restoration, where the potential of actively restoring a degraded site is more evident. Restoration sites prioritization considering human uses and conservation status present in the region is of vital importance to obtain the intended outcomes and galvanize further actions.

scholarly journals Variation in Seagrass-Associated Macroinvertebrate Communities Along the Gulf Coast of Peninsular Florida: An Exploration of Patterns and Ecological Consequences

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Savanna C. Barry ◽  
A. Challen Hyman ◽  
Charles A. Jacoby ◽  
Laura K. Reynolds ◽  
Michal Kowalewski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Phosphorus Concentration ◽  
Spatial Gradient ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Seagrass Meadows ◽  
Estuarine Systems

Seagrasses form vast meadows of structurally complex habitat that support faunal communities with greater numbers of species and individuals than nearby unstructured habitats. The Gulf coast of peninsular Florida represents a natural laboratory ideally suited to the study of processes that shape seagrass-associated invertebrate and fish communities within meadows of a single species of seagrass, Thalassia testudinum. This suitability arises from a pronounced structural and chemical gradient that exists over ecologically relevant spatial and temporal scales, as revealed by extensive monitoring of water quality and seagrass. We hypothesized that seagrass-associated invertebrate communities would vary across five estuarine systems spread along a spatial gradient in phosphorus concentration, an important driver of seagrass and phytoplankton growth in this region. The quantitative results based on data acquired at 25 stations (75 samples, 52,086 specimens, and 161 taxa) indicated that each of the five estuarine systems were distinct with regard to species composition and differences among systems were driven by abundant or relatively common species. In addition, we found evidence to indicate food webs in seagrass meadows along this gradient may differ, especially in the relative dominance of algal grazers and predatory invertebrates. These changes in species composition and trophic roles could be driven by phosphorus directly, through increases in rates of primary production with higher concentrations of phosphorus, or indirectly, through nutrient-mediated changes in the physical structure of the seagrass canopy. Our results suggest that differences in the habitat created by T. testudinum under differing phosphorus supplies lead to ecologically significant shifts in macroinvertebrate communities.

scholarly journals Seascape Configuration Leads to Spatially Uneven Delivery of Parrotfish Herbivory across a Western Indian Ocean Seascape

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 434
Author(s):  
Linda Eggertsen ◽  
Whitney Goodell ◽  
César A. M. M. Cordeiro ◽  
Thiago C. Mendes ◽  
Guilherme O. Longo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Western Indian Ocean ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Opposite Pattern ◽  
Seagrass Meadows ◽  
Alternative Habitat ◽  
Mobile Links

Spatial configuration of habitat types in multihabitat seascapes influence ecological function through links of biotic and abiotic processes. These connections, for example export of organic matter or fishes as mobile links, define ecosystem functionality across broader spatial scales. Herbivory is an important ecological process linked to ecosystem resilience, but it is not clear how herbivory relates to seascape configuration. We studied how herbivory and bioerosion by 3 species of parrotfish were distributed in a multi-habitat tropical seascape in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO). We surveyed the abundance of three species with different life histories—Leptoscarus vaigiensis (seagrass species), Scarus ghobban (juvenile-seagrass/adults-reefs) and Scarus rubroviolaceus (reef species) —in seagrass meadows and on reefs and recorded their selectivity of feeding substrate in the two habitats. Herbivory rates for L. vaigiensis and S. ghobban and bioerosion for S. rubroviolaceus were then modelled using bite rates for different size classes and abundance and biomass data along seascape gradients (distance to alternative habitat types such as land, mangrove and seagrass). Bioerosion by S. rubroviolaceus was greatest on reefs far from seagrass meadows, while herbivory rates by S. ghobban on reefs displayed the opposite pattern. Herbivory in seagrass meadows was greatest in meadows close to shore, where L. vaigiensis targeted seagrass leaves and S. ghobban the epiphytes growing on them. Our study shows that ecological functions performed by fish are not equally distributed in the seascape and are influenced by fish life history and the spatial configuration of habitats in the seascape. This has implications for the resilience of the system, in terms of spatial heterogeneity of herbivory and bioerosion and should be considered in marine spatial planning and fisheries management.

scholarly journals Long-term persistence of structured habitats: seagrass meadows as enduring hotspots of biodiversity and faunal stability

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1912) ◽  
pp. 20191861 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Challen Hyman ◽  
Thomas K. Frazer ◽  
Charles A. Jacoby ◽  
Jessica R. Frost ◽  
Michał Kowalewski
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Marine Systems ◽  
Spatial Stability ◽  
Seagrass Meadows ◽  
Key Driver ◽  
Mollusc Assemblages ◽  
Stability And Resilience

Ecological studies indicate that structurally complex habitats support elevated biodiversity, stability and resilience. The long-term persistence of structured habitats and their importance in maintaining biodiverse hotspots remain underexplored. We combined geohistorical data (dead mollusc assemblages, ‘DA’) and contemporary surveys (live mollusc assemblages, ‘LA’) to assess the persistence of local seagrass habitats over multi-centennial timescales and to evaluate whether they acted as long-term drivers of biodiversity, stability and resilience of associated fauna. We sampled structured seagrass meadows and open sandy bottoms along Florida's Gulf Coast. Results indicated that: (i) LA composition differed significantly between the two habitat types, (ii) LA from seagrass sites were characterized by significantly elevated local biodiversity and significantly higher spatial stability, (iii) DA composition differed significantly between the two habitat types, and (iv) fidelity between LA and DA was significantly greater for seagrass habitats. Contemporary results support the hypotheses that local biodiversity and spatial stability of marine benthos are both elevated in structured seagrass habitats. Geohistorical results suggest that structured habitats persist as local hotspots of elevated biodiversity and faunal stability over centennial-to-millennial timescales; indicating that habitat degradation and concomitant loss within structurally complex marine systems is a key driver of declining biodiversity and resilience.

scholarly journals Comparative examination of scale-explicit biological and physical processes: recruitment of Pacific hake (Merluccius productus)

1999 ◽  
Vol 56 (S1) ◽  
pp. 170-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
John K Horne ◽  
Paul E Smith ◽  
David C Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Somatic Growth ◽  
Aquatic Organism ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Merluccius Productus ◽  
Life History Stages ◽  
Capelin Mallotus Villosus ◽  
Current Region

The creation, maintenance, and destruction of aquatic organism distributions result from biological and physical processes that operate at different spatial and temporal scales. Rate diagrams plot and contour ratios of process rates as a function of spatial and temporal scale to summarize the relative importance of demographics, growth, and kinematics. We demonstrate the utility of this approach by examining physical and biological processes that influence the distribution and survival of larval and juvenile Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) in the California Current region. Processes that influence changes in hake biomass switch from mortality and drift among larvae to somatic growth and active locomotion among juveniles. Comparison of hake rate diagrams with those of capelin (Mallotus villosus) and Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) show that dominant processes differ across scales, across life history stages, and across species.

Effects of habitat on settlement, growth, and postsettlement survival of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)

1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (9) ◽  
pp. 1834-1841 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Tupper ◽  
R. G. Boutilier
Keyword(s):  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Specific Growth ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Seagrass Beds ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Rocky Reefs ◽  
Breathing Apparatus ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Shelter Availability ◽  
Settlement Growth

Settlement and growth of age 0+ cod were monitored using snorkel and self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) in four distinct habitat types (sand, seagrass, cobble, and rock reef) in St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia. Newly settled cod were marked with acrylic dye, allowing repeated visual length estimates of individual fish. Settlement of cod did not differ between habitat types, but postsettlement survival and subsequent juvenile densities were higher in more structurally complex habitats. These differences appear to be due to increased shelter availability and decreased predator efficiency in structurally complex habitats. Growth rate was highest in seagrass beds, while the efficiency of cod predators was lowest and cod survival was highest on rocky reefs and cobble bottoms. Thus, trade-offs occur between energy gain and predation risk. In St. Margaret's Bay, the population structure of Atlantic cod may be less influenced by patterns of larval supply than by postsettlement processes such as habitat-specific growth and mortality.

scholarly journals Agricultural Set-aside Programs and Grassland Birds: Insights from Broad-scale Population Trend

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Keith Riffell ◽  
Nancy E. McIntyre ◽  
Robert Hayes
Keyword(s):  
Grassland Birds ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Grassland Bird ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
National Trends ◽  
Broad Scale

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a voluntary set-aside program in the United States designed to ameliorate soil erosion, control crop overproduction, enhance water quality, and provide wildlife habitat by replacing crops with other forms of land cover. Because CRP includes primarily grass habitats, it has great potential to benefit declining North American grassland bird populations. We looked at the change in national and state population trends of grassland birds and related changes to cover-specific CRP variables (previous research grouped all CRP practices). Changes in national trends after the initiation of the CRP were inconclusive, but we observed signficant bird-CRP relations at the state level. Most bird-CRP relations were positive, except for some species associated with habitats that CRP replaced. Practice- and configuration-specific CRP variables were related to grassland bird trends, rather than a generic measure of all CRP types combined. Considering all CRP land as a single, distinct habitat type may obscure actual relations between birds and set-aside characteristics. Understanding and predicting the effects of set-aside programs (like CRP or agri-environment schemes) on grassland birds is complex and difficult. Because available broad-scale datasets are less than adequate, studies should be conducted at a variety of spatial and temporal scales.

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