Is meiofauna community structure in Artificial Substrate Units a good tool to assess anthropogenic impact in estuaries?

Costa, Ana Bolena Harten Pinto; Valença, Ana Paula Maria Cavalcanti; Santos, Paulo Jorge Parreira dos

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.06.041

Cited by 16 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Determination of meiobenthic biodiversity trends from the present study provides a basis for describing their distribution along the salinity gradient. Meiofaunal structural composition and densities was aligned with the results from similar habitats across tropical zones (Guo et al, 2008;Semprucci et al, 2013;Costa et al, 2016) and this study was the first of its kind in the WIO region.…”

Section: Meiofaunal Composition and Structural Assemblagessupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Assessment of vertical and horizontal distribution of meiobenthos along a salinity gradient in the Tana and Sabaki Estuaries, north coast Kenya Joel Amisi 1, 2 *, Cosmas Munga 2 , Nina Wambiji 1 , Edward Kimani 1 Naturally, meiobenthos occur in high densities in estuarine sediments (Coull, 1999;Dauer et al, 2000) and their abundance, species composition and diversity depends largely on sediment grain size among other abiotic factors (Alongi, 1987a, b;Vanhove et al, 1992;Mutua et al, 2013). Since estuarine ecosystems are known to be globally stressed by anthropogenic activities (Dauer et al, 2000), the integral role of meiobenthos in food webs and the ecological balance is threatened (Vincx and Heip, 1987;Coull, 1999;Dauer et al, 2000;Costa et al, 2016). These habitats are very productive despite the threats from upstream anthropogenic activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessment of vertical and horizontal distribution of meiobenthos along a salinity gradient in the Tana and Sabaki Estuaries, north coast Kenya

Amisi

Munga

Wambiji

et al. 2022

West. Ind. Oc. J. Mar. Sci.

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Meiobenthos respond to variability in salinity gradients in estuarine habitats and are thus suitable organisms for ecological studies. The vertical and horizontal distribution of the meiofauna community structure of two major estuaries (Sabaki and Tana) on the north coast of Kenya were compared. The aim was to draw a meiofaunal dataset inventory of the two estuaries and to examine how salinity gradient, seasonality and sediment characteristics influence their structure. Replicate samples were collected from three sampling stations along the salinity gradient of each river estuary. A total of 3,556 individuals belonging to 26 taxa were recorded. Based on seasons and across stations, the upper surface (0-5 cm) layer recorded the highest meiobenthic density (90 ± 42 ind.10 cm-2), followed by 46 ± 23 ind.10 cm-2 (5-10 cm) and 30 ± 8 ind.10 cm-2 in the deepest sediment layer (10-15 cm) studied. The southeast monsoon season recorded the highest mean density (160 ± 22 ind.10 cm-2) compared to the northeast monsoon season (22 ± 12 ind.10 cm-2) for both estuaries. Results of the non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling technique revealed distinct seasonal composition in meiobenthos but not between the estuaries. Results of the 2-way ANOSIM test confirmed no significant differences in meiobenthic composition between the estuaries (p = 0.712). However, seasonal difference was significant (p = 0.001) with higher densities for nematoda (166 ± 99 ind.10 cm-2 and 56 ± 29 ind.10 cm-2) recorded in Tana and Sabaki, respectively during the southeast monsoon season. At least 7 taxa out of a total of 26 were present in both estuaries. Salinity gradient, season and sediment depth were found to influence the meiobenthic densities and taxa composition.

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Section: Meiofaunal Composition and Structural Assemblagessupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of vertical and horizontal distribution of meiobenthos along a salinity gradient in the Tana and Sabaki Estuaries, north coast Kenya

Amisi

Munga

Wambiji

et al. 2022

West. Ind. Oc. J. Mar. Sci.

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“…After the collection of the colonized ASUs and the separation of the meiofauna, the first 80 harpacticoid copepod individuals were removed from each replicate (320 per reef) and were placed in Eppendorf microtubes with 70% alcohol for later analysis. The sample size followed published studies on anthropogenic impacts affecting harpacticoid species colonizing ASUs: Costa et al [32] (5 replicates per estuary × 30 individuals per replicate); Sarmento et al [48] (4 replicates per treatment × 60 individuals per replicate). The individuals were fixed on slides, and the identification of species was accomplished through the observation of the entire animal under an optic microscope, based on taxonomic keys and descriptions [49][50][51], as well as other publications.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Harpacticoid copepods have a high diversity in phytal environments [27], fast life cycles, a large ecological importance in the transfer of energy to higher trophic levels [28,29], and are sensitive to anthropogenic impacts [30,31]. These characteristics make the group a very good indicator in studies of environmental impacts, particularly when associated with artificial substrates [32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic Impacts on Coral Reef Harpacticoid Copepods

et al. 2018

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The number of studies demonstrating the susceptibility of benthic reef communities to anthropogenic impacts is growing. However, for some of the components of reef fauna, such as meiobenthic harpacticoid copepods, information is still lacking. Here, different diversity and taxonomic distinctness indexes and multivariate analyses were used to test whether the assemblage of harpacticoid copepods colonizing Artificial Substrate Units (ASUs) is an appropriate tool for the identification of reefs subjected to different levels of anthropogenic pressure. Furthermore, we also evaluate if diffused, persistent, anthropogenic impacts generate the homogenization and simplification of Harpacticoida assemblages. Six reefs were organized into two groups along the coast, depending on their proximity to very large urban centers. ASUs were used for meiofauna colonization and, for each reef, 320 Harpacticoida individuals were separated for identification at the species level. Abiotic parameters were analyzed, and significant differences were found between the two groups of reefs, with an increase in dissolved inorganic nutrients found in areas near large urban centers. Both the multivariate analyses and the indexes of diversity showed a clear separation between the reefs closer to the urban zones and those further away, as a response to the anthropogenic pressure. As hypothesized, in the impacted reef areas, there was a strong simplification and homogenization of the harpacticoid copepod assemblages. However, the results of the indexes, based on taxonomic distinctness, suggest that there was no phylogenetic signal of anthropogenic impact on coral reef harpacticoid copepods.

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“…It is known that meiofaunal communities provide a valuable tool for environmental assessments because of their fast response to environmental changes, and that they are more tolerant to oxygen depletion than benthic macrofauna (Alves, Caetano, Costa, Costa, & Marques, 2015; Austen & Wibdom, 1991; Della Patrona et al, 2016; Josefson & Widbom, 1988; Semprucci, Sbrocca, Baldelli, Tramontana, & Balsamo, 2017). Meiofauna are well studied in estuaries (Ansari & Parulekar, 1993; Bownes & Perissinotto, 2012; Capdeville et al, 2018; Costa, Valenca, & dos Santos, 2016; Fu, Cai, Cao, & Chen, 2017; Smol, Willems, Govaere, & Sandae, 1994; Soetaert, Vincx, Wittoeck, Tulkens, & Gansbeke, 1994; Yin, Tan, Yuan, Hu, & Liu, 2017). But there are only a few studies about meiofauna communities from upstream to the mouth of a river estuary, where those communities are exposed to steep environmental gradients (Quang et al, 2018; Semprucci et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benthic meiofauna with emphasis on nematode assemblage response to environmental variation in the intertidal zone of the Danshuei River estuary, northwest Taiwan

Cai

Zhou

et al. 2020

Ecological Research

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This study aims to determine whether the benthic meiofaunal assemblages on the intertidal zone of Danshuei River estuary (DRE) in Taiwan vary from the estuary to the upper stream, and in response to different habitats. A total of six major taxa (Nematoda, Copepoda, Ostracoda, Polychaeta, Oligochaeta and Gastrotricha) of meiofauna and 44 nematode genera were recorded at 12 sampling stations in DRE in October, 2013. Meiofauna densities ranged between 4.67 ± 2.08 and 294.00 ± 180.40 ind./10 cm2, the average was 162.31 ± 84.36 ind./10 cm2. Nematodes were the dominant group (relative abundance, RA: 89.27%) in the meiofaunal community at all stations, with its assemblage in DRE dominated by nonselective deposit feeders (55.14%). There were striking differences in nematode assemblages between mangroves and mangroves with reed habitats. Pearson's correlation analysis showed that the dominances of the genera Anoplostoma, Metacylicolaimus and Deontostoma were significantly negative while Terschellingia correlated positively with salinity. These genera showed either decreasing or increasing trends at stations from the estuary to the upper stream. The dominances of the genera Megadesmolaimus and Theristus were significantly positively correlated with the proportion of sand and negatively correlated with the proportion of silt and clay. Our results indicate that salinity and sediment type influenced nematode assemblages in the DRE.

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Is meiofauna community structure in Artificial Substrate Units a good tool to assess anthropogenic impact in estuaries?

Cited by 16 publications

References 37 publications

Assessment of vertical and horizontal distribution of meiobenthos along a salinity gradient in the Tana and Sabaki Estuaries, north coast Kenya

Assessment of vertical and horizontal distribution of meiobenthos along a salinity gradient in the Tana and Sabaki Estuaries, north coast Kenya

Anthropogenic Impacts on Coral Reef Harpacticoid Copepods

Benthic meiofauna with emphasis on nematode assemblage response to environmental variation in the intertidal zone of the Danshuei River estuary, northwest Taiwan

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