Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T18:17:43.534Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Do interrelationships among benthic components mirror disturbance levels?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2011

P. Malea ,
T. Kevrekidis ,
N. Papageorgiou ,
A. Mogias  and
C. Arvanitidis
P. Malea
Affiliation:
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Biology, Institute of Botany, PO Box 109, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
T. Kevrekidis
Affiliation:
Democritus University of Thrace, Laboratory of Environmental Research and Education, 68100, Alexandroupolis, Greece
N. Papageorgiou
Affiliation:
Biology Department, University of Crete, Vasilika Vouton, 71409 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
A. Mogias
Affiliation:
Democritus University of Thrace, Laboratory of Environmental Research and Education, 68100, Alexandroupolis, Greece
C. Arvanitidis*
Affiliation:
Institute of Marine Biology and Genetics, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Former American Base of Gournes, Heraklion, 71003, Crete, Greece
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: C. Arvanitidis, Institute of Marine Biology and Genetics, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Former American Base of Gournes, Heraklion, 71003, Crete, Greece email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The hypothesis tested in this study is that changes in benthic ecosystem components interrelationships may mirror the degree of environmental stress in the Mediterranean coastal lagoons. Multivariate matrices deriving from four benthic components (macrophytes, zoobenthos, epibenthic decapods and demersal fish) from four lagoonal stations along a well-defined disturbance gradient were compared by means of second-stage non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS). The resulting inter-matrix distances were used as a proxy for the identification of the degree of disturbance. The approach followed is novel in that it uses information from higher levels of the biological organization by taking into account more than a single benthic component, thus representing broad categories of functional groups. The second-stage MDS plots depict differences between inter-component distances in the sampling stations according to the degree of disturbance they experience and the BIOENV analysis demonstrates that certain components are correlated with the environmental variables at a higher degree in the most disturbed stations.

Keywords

benthic componentsmacrophyteszoobenthosdecapodsdemersal fishinterrelationssecond-stage non-metric multidimensional scalinglagoonsenvironmental stressMediterranean
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 92 , Issue 2 , March 2012 , pp. 235 - 243
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Arias, A.M. and Drake, P. (1994) Structure and production of the benthic macroinvertebrate community in a shallow lagoon in the Bay of Cadiz. Marine Ecology Progress Series 115, 151–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Basset, A., Galuppo, N. and Sabetta, L. (2006) Environmental heterogeneity and benthic macroinvertebrate guilds in Italian lagoons. Transitional Waters Bulletin 1, 48–63.Google Scholar
Boesch, D.F. and Rosenberg, R. (1981) Response to stress in marine benthic communities. In Barrett, G.W. and Rosenberg, R. (eds) Stress effects on natural ecosystems. New York: Wiley, pp. 179–200.Google Scholar
Bremner, J. (2008) Species' traits and ecological functioning in marine conservation and management. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 366, 37–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bremner, J., Rogers, S.I. and Frid, C.L.J. (2003) Assessing functional diversity in marine ecosystems: a comparison of approaches. Marine Ecology Progress Series 254, 11–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buchanan, J.B. (1984) Sediment analysis. In Holme, N.A. and McIntyre, A.D. (eds) Methods for the study of benthos. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 41–65.Google Scholar
Clarke, K.R. and Green, R.H. (1988) Statistical design and analysis for a ‘biological effects’ study. Marine Ecology Progress Series 46, 213–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, K.R. and Warwick, R.M. (1994) Changes in marine communities: an approach to statistical analyses and interpretation. Plymouth: Plymouth Marine Laboratory.Google Scholar
Clarke, K.R., Somerfield, P., Airoldi, L. and Warwick, R.M. (2006a) Exploring interactions by second-stage community analysis. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 338, 179–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, K.R., Somerfield, P.J. and Chapman, M.G. (2006b) On resemblance measures for ecological studies, including taxonomic dissimilarities and a zero-adjusted Bray–Curtis coefficient for denuded assemblages. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 330, 55–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Costanza, R., d'Arge, R., de Groot, R., Farberk, S., Grasso, M., Hannon, B., Limburg, K., Naeem, S., O'Neill, R., Paruelo, J., Raskin, R.G., Suttonkk, P. and van den Belt, M. (1997) The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387, 253–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cottiglia, M., Tagliasacchi, M.L., Masala, M. and Serra, E. (1983) Relations trophiques dans une lagune littorale Tyrrhénienne. 2. Réseaux basées sur le phytobenthos et le détritus. Rapports de la Commission Internationale pour l'Exploration Scientifique de la Mer Méditerraneé 28, 151–153.Google Scholar
Diaz, S. and Cabido, M. (2001) Vive la différence: plant functional diversity matters to ecosystem processes. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 16, 646–655.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferraro, S.P. and Cole, F.A. (1990) Taxonomic level and sample size sufficient for assessing pollution impacts on the Southern California Bight macrobenthos. Marine Ecology Progress Series 67, 251–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerino, M., Stora, G., Francois-Carcaillet, F., Gilbert, F., Poggiale, J.C., Mermillod-Blondin, F., Desrosiers, G. and Vervier, P. (2003) Macro-invertebrate functional groups in freshwater and marine sediments: a common mechanistic classification. Vie et Milieu 53, 221–232.Google Scholar
Gray, J.S. (1974) Animal–sediment relationships. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 12, 223–261.Google Scholar
Guelorget, O. and Michel, P. (1979) Les peuplements benthiques d'un étang littoral Languedocien, l'étang du Prevost (Herault). Téthys 9, 49–64.Google Scholar
Holling, C.S. (1992) Cross-scale morphology, geometry, and dynamics of ecosystsems. Ecological Monographs 62, 447–502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kevrekidis, T. (2004) Seasonal variation of the macrozoobenthic community structure at low salinities in a Mediterranean lagoon (Monolimni Lagoon, Northern Aegean). International Review of Hydrobiology 89, 407–425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loreau, M., Naeem, S. and Inchausti, P. (2002) Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: synthesis and perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malea, P., Kevrekidis, T. and Mogias, A. (2004) Annual versus perennial growth cycle in Ruppia maritima L.: temporal variation in population characteristics in Mediterranean lagoons (Monolimni and Drana Lagoons, Northern Aegean Sea). Botanica Marina 47, 357–366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Magurran, A.E. (2004) Measuring biological diversity. Madlen, Oxford and Carleton: Blackwell Publishing.Google Scholar
Mann, H.B. and Whitney, D.R. (1947) On a test of whether one of two random variables is stochastically larger than the other. Annals of Mathematical Statistics 18, 50–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mogias, A. and Kevrekidis, T. (2005) Macrozoobenthic community structure in a poikilohaline Mediterranean lagoon (Laki Lagoon, Northern Aegean). Helgoland Marine Research 59, 167–176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Möller, P., Pihl, L. and Rosenberg, R. (1985) Benthic faunal energy flow and biological interaction in some shallow marine soft bottom habitats. Marine Ecology Progress Series 27, 109–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mouillot, D., Dumay, O. and Tomasini, J.A. (2007) Limiting similarity, niche filtering and functional diversity in coastal lagoon fish communities. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 71, 443–456.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nicolaidou, A., Bourgoutzani, F., Zenetos, A., Guelroget, O. and Perthuisot, J.-P. (1988) Distribution of molluscs and polychaetes in coastal lagoons in Greece. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 26, 337–350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olsgard, F. and Somerfield, P.J. (2000) Surrogates in marine benthic investigations—which taxonomic unit to target? Journal of Aquatic Ecosystem Stress and Recovery 7, 25–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olsgard, F., Somerfield, P.J. and Carr, M.R. (1997) Relationships between taxonomic resolution and data transformations in analyses of a macrobenthic community along an established pollution gradient. Marine Ecology Progress Series 149, 173–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olsgard, F., Somerfield, P.J. and Carr, M.R. (1998) Relationships between taxonomic resolution, macrobenthic community patterns and disturbance. Marine Ecology Progress Series 172, 25–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearson, T.H. (2001) Functional group ecology in soft-sediment marine benthos: the role of bioturbation. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 39, 233–267.Google Scholar
Pearson, T.H. and Rosenberg, R. (1978) Macrobenthic succession in relation to organic enrichment and pollution of the marine environment. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 16, 229–311.Google Scholar
Petchey, O.L. and Gaston, K.J. (2002) Functional diversity (FD), species richness and community composition. Ecology Letters 5, 402–411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rafaelli, D. (2006) Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: issues of scale and trophic complexity. Marine Ecology Progress Series 311, 285–294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reizopoulou, S. and Nicolaidou, A. (2007) Index of size distribution (ISD): a method of quality assessment for coastal lagoons. Hydrobiologia 577, 141–149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reizopoulou, S., Thessalou-Legaki, M. and Nicolaidou, A. (1996) Assessment of disturbance in Mediterranean lagoons: an evaluation of methods. Marine Biology 12, 189–197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robson, B.J., Barmuta, L.A. and Fairweather, P.G. (2005) Methodological and conceptual issues in the search for a relationship between animal body-size distributions and benthic habitat architecture. Marine and Freshwater Research 56, 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schimper, A.F.W. (1903) Plant geography upon a physiological basis. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Sokal, R.R. and Rohlf, F.J. (1981) Biometry: the principles and practice of statistics in biological research. 2nd edition. San Francisco, CA: W.H. Freeman and Co.Google Scholar
Somerfield, P.J. and Clarke, K.R. (1995) Taxonomic levels, in marine community studies, revisited. Marine Ecology Progress Series 127, 113–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tofts, R. and Silvertown, J. (2000) A phylogenetic approach to community assembly from a local species pool. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B 267, 363–369.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warwick, R.M. (1988) The level of taxonomic discrimination required to detect pollution effects on marine benthic communities. Marine Pollution Bulletin 19, 259–268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warwick, R.M. and Clarke, K.R. (2001) Practical measures of marine biodiversity based on relatedness of species. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 39, 207–231.Google Scholar
Worm, B., Barbier, E.B., Beaumont, N., Emmett Duffy, J., Folke, C., Halpern, B.S., Jackson, J.B.C., Lotze, H.K., Micheli, F., Palumbi, S.R., Sala, E., Selkoe, K.A., Stachowicz, J.J. and Watson, R. (2006) Impacts of biodiversity loss on ocean ecosystem services. Nature 314, 787–790.Google ScholarPubMed