Alternatives to taxonomic‐based approaches to assess changes in transitional water communities

Mouillot, David; Spatharis, Sofie; Reizopoulou, Sofia; Laugier, Thierry; Sabetta, Letizia; Basset, Alberto; Do, Thang

doi:10.1002/aqc.769

Cited by 160 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 113 publications

(121 reference statements)

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“…Recent trends in the comprehension of the community structure and functioning are aimed to the research of those "functional traits" species-independent able to act as non-taxonomic "descriptors of community." Two of the most relevant taxonomic-free descriptors are the body size class and the functional group (Basset et al, 2004;Mouillot et al, 2006).…”

Section: All Divisionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional Empirical Algorithms for an Improved Identification of Phytoplankton Functional Types and Size Classes in the Mediterranean Sea Using Satellite Data

et al. 2017

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Regional relationships to estimate the main Phytoplankton Functional Types (PFTs) and Size Classes (PSCs) from satellite data are presented. Following the abundance-based approach and selecting the Total Chlorophyll a (TChla) as descriptor of the trophic status of the environment, empirical relations between the TChla concentration and seven accessory pigments, marker for the main algal groups, have been developed for the Mediterranean Sea. Using only in-situ data acquired in this basin, firstly a previous regional diagnostic pigment analysis has been conducted to evaluate the specific pigment ratios featuring the phytoplankton assemblage that occurs in the Mediterranean Sea. Secondly, the new regional PFT and PSC algorithms have been calibrated and validated on the in-situ dataset. The statistical analysis showed a very good predictive power for all the new regional models. A quantitative comparison with global abundance-based models applied to our validation dataset showed that the regionalization improves the uncertainty and the spread of about one order of magnitude for all the classes (e.g., in the nano class, where the mean bias error improves from −0.056 to 0.001 mg m −3 ). These results highlighted that a regionalization for the PSC and PFT estimates are required, to take into account the peculiar bio-optical properties of the Mediterranean Sea. Finally, the new regional equations have been applied to the Mediterranean TChla satellite (1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015) time series to estimate annual and monthly PFT and PSC climatology. The analysis of the climatological maps, relative to the phytoplankton assemblage distribution patterns, reveals that all the three size classes reach their maxima in the higher nutrient areas, with absolute values >3 mg m −3 of TChla for micro-, and about 1.6 and 0.4 mg m −3 for nano-and pico-phytoplankton, respectively. Moreover, the nano component shows intermediate percentage values in the whole basin, ranging from 30 to 40% of the TChla in the western basin, up to 45% in the more productive areas. In terms of chlorophyll concentration, in the coastal areas we find the predominance of the Diatoms and Haptophytes, while in the ultra-oligotrophic waters Prokaryotes predominates on the other groups, constituting the principal component of the pico-phytoplankton.

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Section: All Divisionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional Empirical Algorithms for an Improved Identification of Phytoplankton Functional Types and Size Classes in the Mediterranean Sea Using Satellite Data

et al. 2017

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“…This method is commonly employed to assess body size abundance relationships when sampled individuals are too numerous and the species are hard to recognize, as occur in benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages (Dinmore & Jennings, 2004;Drgas, Radziejewska, & Warzocha 1998;Kaariainen & Bett, 2006;Mancinelli, Pinna, & Basset, 2008;Mouillot et al, 2006).…”

Section: Environmental Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in body size spectra of benthic caridean shrimps (Decapoda: Caridea) and snails (Gastropoda) as response to seasonal variability

Badano

Labra

Martínez‐Pérez

et al. 2016

RBT

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Abstract:Ecologists have been largely interested in the description and understanding of the power scaling relationships between body size and abundance of organisms. Many studies have focused on estimating the exponents of these functions across taxonomic groups and spatial scales, to draw inferences about the processes underlying this pattern. The exponents of these functions usually approximate -3/4 at geographical scales, but they deviate from this value when smaller spatial extensions are considered. This has led to propose that body size-abundance relationships at small spatial scales may reflect the impact of environmental changes. This study tests this hypothesis by examining body size spectra of benthic shrimps (Decapoda: Caridea) and snails (Gastropoda) in the Tamiahua lagoon, a brackish body water located in the Eastern coast of Mexico. We measured water quality parameters (dissolved oxygen, salinity, pH, water temperature, sediment organic matter and chemical oxygen demand) and sampled benthic macrofauna during three different climatic conditions of the year (cold, dry and rainy season). Given the small size of most individuals in the benthic macrofaunal samples, we used body volume, instead of weight, to estimate their body size. Body size-abundance relationships of both taxonomic groups were described by tabulating data from each season into base-2 logarithmic body size bins. In both taxonomic groups, observed frequencies per body size class in each season were standardized to yield densities (i.e., individuals/m 3 ). Nonlinear regression analyses were separately performed for each taxonomic group at each season to assess whether body size spectra followed power scaling functions. Additionally, for each taxonomic group, multiple regression analyses were used to determine whether these relationships varied among seasons. Our results indicated that, while body size-abundance relationships in both taxonomic groups followed power functions, the parameters defining the shape of these relationships varied among seasons. These variations in the parameters of the body size-abundance relationships seems to be related to changes in the abundance of individuals within the different body size classes, which seems to follow the seasonal changes that occur in the environmental conditions of the lagoon. Thus, we propose that these body size-abundance relationships are influenced by the frequency and intensity of environmental changes affecting this ecosystem. Rev. Biol. Trop. 64 (1): 33-44. Epub 2016 March 01.

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“…They integrate this index with other seven attributes derived from macroinvertebrate data and primary productivity, to define the ecofunctional quality index. Other teams have proposed more complex integration of functional attributes to estimate the functional diversity (see Bremner et al 2003;Mouillot et al 2005Mouillot et al , 2006 and references there in).…”

Section: Advantages and Limitations Of Feeding Diversity Indexmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding diversity in macroinvertebrate communities: A contribution to estimate the ecological status in shallow waters

Gamito

Furtado

2009

Ecological Indicators

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The feeding diversity of subtidal samples of macroinvertebrates from Ria Formosa was estimated with Shannon Wiener information index and complementary evenness. The results were compared with other commonly used methodologies under the European water framework directive, such as diversity indices, AMBI and ITI.Assuming that in a healthy environment all feeding groups are present, and that no group clearly dominates, the feeding diversity is expected to be maximal and the evenness feeding diversity will be close to 1. In degraded environments some feeding groups might be absent or having low relative abundance, and generally with one or two groups dominating the community. In this way the evenness feeding diversity index would measure deviations from expected values due to a degradation of the environment. Although confirmation of this approach needs to be tested in other shallow waters, the results obtained show interesting features.To each of the 297 species belonging to the Ria Formosa data matrix a feeding group was assigned, among six groups: surface deposit feeders, sub surface deposit feeders, herbivores, suspension feeders and suspension/deposit feeders (species which have the two feeding modes depending on food availability). The carnivorous, parasites, omnivorous and scavengers were all grouped together, forming the sixth group. Most of the stations of Ria Formosa showed high feeding diversity, which could correspond to a good or high ecological status (ES) except at one location, that occasionally showed low feeding diversity. This poor condition was essentially due to low water renewal and extreme environmental variation of some parameters, such as salinity. At some locations an intermediate feeding diversity was observed mainly due to natural accumulation of organic matter. Other commonly used indices also point out to the same tendencies. 2We propose the evenness feeding diversity estimate approach as a practical and apparently robust method to estimate the ES of shallow waters, which can be used together with other common indicators.This approach has also the advantage of showing low sensibility to small samples and to low taxonomic identification effort.

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Alternatives to taxonomic‐based approaches to assess changes in transitional water communities

Cited by 160 publications

References 113 publications

Regional Empirical Algorithms for an Improved Identification of Phytoplankton Functional Types and Size Classes in the Mediterranean Sea Using Satellite Data

Regional Empirical Algorithms for an Improved Identification of Phytoplankton Functional Types and Size Classes in the Mediterranean Sea Using Satellite Data

Changes in body size spectra of benthic caridean shrimps (Decapoda: Caridea) and snails (Gastropoda) as response to seasonal variability

Feeding diversity in macroinvertebrate communities: A contribution to estimate the ecological status in shallow waters

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