Ecological functioning of mudflats: global analysis reveals both regional differences and widespread conservation of functioning

Dissanayake, Navodha G.; Frid, Chris; Drylie, Tarn P.; Caswell, Bryony A.

doi:10.3354/meps12728

Cited by 39 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…Estuaries are productive regions with importance for commercial fisheries, providing habitat for sensitive species (especially migratory shorebirds), as well as recreational uses for human populations (Carr-Harris et al 2015;Constable and Fairweather 1999;Dissanayake et al 2018;Kennish 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, urbanization and industrial development have resulted in the degradation of soft-sediment ecosystems and estuaries (Constable and Fairweather 1999;Crain et al 2008;Kennish 2002;Schlacher et al 2016). Coastal developments will increase as human populations grow, with the associated habitat degradation leading to substantial ecological consequences (Dissanayake et al 2018;Kritzer et al 2016). As such, understanding human impacts and subsequent management is now a fundamental component of research into coastal and estuarine ecology (Gonzalez et al 2016;Vackar et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Passive reclamation of soft-sediment ecosystems on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada

Campbell

Sizmur

Juanes

et al. 2019

Journal of Sea Research

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Estuarine ecosystems are degraded through anthropogenic development, leading to reduced habitat suitability for biological communities. The Skeena River estuary (British Columbia, Canada) is undergoing passive reclamation from historical salmon canneries and pulp mills, while localized disturbances continue at present. To reveal both current impacts and the trajectory of passive reclamation from historical activities, the intertidal mudflat surrounding the longest operating salmon cannery, Cassiar Cannery, within the Skeena estuary was surveyed. Nutrient availability (chlorophyll a concentration/organic matter content), sediment variables (particle size, water content, penetrability, woody debris/macroalgae cover, apparent redox potential discontinuity depth), and infaunal community composition varied spatiotemporally, and suggest that an old dock may be influencing the infaunal community given the abundance of disturbance indicating taxa below the dock. However, with populations of amphipods, mobile polychaetes, and a complex community structure, the mudflat as a whole appears to be relatively healthy. Therefore, cessation of historic activities has allowed for passive reclamation to a reasonably unstressed state, though a threshold of recovery may exist for intertidal mudflats beyond which passive reclamation will not be effective.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Passive reclamation of soft-sediment ecosystems on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada

Campbell

Sizmur

Juanes

et al. 2019

Journal of Sea Research

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“…These new data extended the ranges of 10 species (bold rows), and for these species the year (the latest date the shift could have begun), extent and direction of the expansion is provided. The 'typical' climatic zone of each species based on previous records is given using: the tropical climatic zones defined as 23° 27'S in Dissanayake et al (2018), and the temperate climatic zone boundary (32.4° 00'S) was based on the southern boundary of Moreton-Tweed marine ecoregion described by Spalding et al (2007)…”

Section: Pre-invasionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of climate-induced biogeographic range shifts on mudflat ecological functioning in the subtropics

Caswell

Dissanayake

Frid

2020

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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20A growing volume of evidence shows that the broad-scale biogeographic redistribution of species is 21 occurring in response to increasing global temperatures. The present study documents poleward 22 movements of up to eight species of nominally 'tropical' macroinvertebrates (molluscs, polychaetes, 23 crustaceans and foraminifera) from intertidal mudflats on the south east coast of Australia. The speed 24 of movement was comparable with that for Australian marine fauna generally, but was particularly 25 fast for worms and molluscs (~70-300 km decade -1 ) and may be facilitated by the southward flowing 26 East Australia Current. Further, two temperate taxa appear to have extended their ranges northwards. 27 Changes in species biogeographic ranges raises questions surrounding the response of ecological 28 processes within the altered and novel species combinations, including processes that underpin 29 valuable ecosystem services. Using biological traits analysis to investigate how the observed species 30 range changes might have impacted mudflat ecosystem functioning, and to predict the possible 31 impacts of further poleward movements of tropical taxa. Our models suggest the changes to date, and 32 those likely to occur in the near future, are within the envelope whereby ecological functioning is 33 maintained by functional compensation and redundancy within the mudflat assemblage. However, in 34 the most extreme scenario the replacement of temperate by tropical taxa resulted in major changes 2 35 in ecological functioning with potential impacts on nutrient cycling and C-cycling, undermining the 36 potential of these mudflats to continue to deliver critical ecosystem services. The widespread nature 37 of biogeographic range shifts and the value of coastal systems should add further weight to calls for 38 global action to mitigate global temperature change.

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“…There is an extensive literature describing soft‐sediment ecosystem functioning, where process‐based studies involve resident organisms, biogeochemistry, and hydrodynamics (for summaries, see Dissanayake et al. , Paterson et al. ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating changes in estuarine ecosystem functioning under future scenarios

Hillman

Stephenson

Thrush

et al. 2020

Ecological Applications

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Estuaries are subject to disturbance by land-based sediment and nutrient inputs, resulting in changes to the ecosystems and the functions and services that they support. Spatial mapping tools that identify how functional hotspots in the estuary may shift in location and intensity under different disturbance scenarios highlight to managers the trajectory of change and the value of active management and restoration, but to date these tools are only available in the most intensively researched ecosystems. Using empirical data derived from long-term monitoring and multi-habitat field experiments we developed future scenarios representing different impacts of environmental degradation on estuarine ecosystem functions that are important for supporting ecosystem services. We used the spatial prioritization software Zonation in a novel fashion to assess effects of different disturbance scenarios on critical soft-sediment ecosystem processes (nutrient fluxes and sediment erodibility measures) that are influenced by macrofaunal communities and local environment conditions. We compared estimates of current conditions with three scenarios linked to changes in land-use and resulting downstream impacts on estuarine ecosystems to determine how disturbance influences the distribution of high value areas for ecosystem function. Scenarios investigated the implications of habitat degradation associated with sediment deposition and declines in large sediment-dwelling animal abundance whose behavior has important influences on ecosystem function. Our analyses demonstrate decreases in the majority of ecosystem processes under scenarios associated with disturbances. These results suggest that it is important to restore biodiversity and ecosystem function and that the application of Zonation in this context offers a simple, rapid and costeffective way of identifying priority actions and locations for restoration, and how these shift due to multiple impacts.

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Ecological functioning of mudflats: global analysis reveals both regional differences and widespread conservation of functioning

Abstract: The prevalence of crustaceans, such as fiddler crabs, in tropical mudflats can provide functional equivalence to the burrowing worms of temperate regions.

Cited by 39 publications

References 87 publications

Passive reclamation of soft-sediment ecosystems on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada

Passive reclamation of soft-sediment ecosystems on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada

Influence of climate-induced biogeographic range shifts on mudflat ecological functioning in the subtropics

Investigating changes in estuarine ecosystem functioning under future scenarios

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