Macroalgal mass development in the Wadden Sea: First experiences with a monitoring system

Kolbe, Kerstin; Kaminski, Elfriede; Michaelis, H.; Obert, B.; Rahmel, J.

doi:10.1007/bf02368379

Cited by 33 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…At a nearby mudflat, green algal mats were still common but variable throughout the latter period ). In the Wadden Sea, green algal mats attained a maximum in the early 1990s (Kolbe et al 1995;Reise and Siebert 1994) and have varied in extent with nitrogen load in the riverine runoff since then (van Beusekom et al 2009). (2) A distinct belt of intertidal seagrass, which is sensitive to eutrophication, was present in the 1930s, almost absent in 1988, and present in patches of Z. noltii in 2008.…”

Section: Eutrophicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transitions in sandflat biota since the 1930s: effects of sea-level rise, eutrophication and biological globalization in the tidal bay Königshafen, northern Wadden Sea

2014

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Conspicuous macrozoobenthos and vegetation of intertidal sandflats in Königshafen (Island of Sylt, SE North Sea) were mapped in 1932, 1988 and 2008. Higher water levels since the 1930s with a concomitant increase in tidal dynamics are assumed to have weakened sediment stability. This dissolved the distinctly banded macrobenthic zonation of the 1930s. Near high water level, cyanobacterial mats with associated beetles, belts of the mudshrimp Corophium volutator and the seagrass Zostera noltii have vanished, while the range of the lugworm Arenicola marina has extended towards the shore. Near low water level, sandy elevations have become permanently submerged because a tidal creek has widened its bed. In 1988, extensive green algal mats and the almost complete absence of seagrass are attributed to peak eutrophication. This partially reversed until 2008. The mussel Mytilus edulis had strongly extended its beds along the creek in 1988. These were taken over by introduced Pacific oysters Crassostrea gigas in 2008. Also in 2008, the cordgrass Spartina anglica, another introduced species, grew into large tussocks where cyanobacterial mats and a Corophium-belt had been mapped in the 1930s. Former benthic patterns may have little chance of resurrection by conventional nature protection because these small-scale shifts represent responses to regional and global change.

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Section: Eutrophicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transitions in sandflat biota since the 1930s: effects of sea-level rise, eutrophication and biological globalization in the tidal bay Königshafen, northern Wadden Sea

2014

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“…Pearl 1995, Bonsdorff et al 1996, and in sheltered coastal areas the increased growth of benthic macroalgae has often been attributed to the concu.rrent elevations in nutritional load (Rosenberg 1985, Hull 1987, Raffaelli et al 1991, Gray 1992, Isaksson & Pihl 1992, Kolbe et al 1995. The occurrence of attached algae on tidal flats and other shallow coastal areas has received considerable attention (Perkins & Abbott 1972.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The occurrence of attached algae on tidal flats and other shallow coastal areas has received considerable attention (Perkins & Abbott 1972. Nicholls et al 1981, Reise 1983, Hull 1987, Isaksson & Pihl 1992, ThyboChristesen et al 1993, Everett 1994, Kolbe et al 1995.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population responses of coastal zoobenthos to stress induced by drifting algal mats

Norkko¹,

Bonsdorff²

1996

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

174

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In the large archipelago area of the northern Baltic Sea, increasing occurrences of drifting benthic macroalgae have been recorded in the subtidal zone. Their role as a structuring factor on the zoobenthic community has been altered from inducing occasional small-scale disturbances to inducing large-scale mortality of macrobenthic populations. A controlled field experiment was conducted on a sandy bottom in order to test for temporal responses of benthlc invertebrate populations to severe stress imposed by the algal mats. Algae corresponding to amounts recorded in the field were enclosed In netbags and attached to the bottom. Population abundance of the zoobenthic species under algae were compared w~t h control plots for 5 ivk with weekly sanipl~ng. Mass~ve die-offs of benthic populatlons were recorded in both the experiment and under natural occurrences of drift algal mats. The community dominants in abundance (mudsnails Hydrobia spp.) and biomass (bivalve Macoma balthica) exhibited strong population reductions after 9 d of algal stress. Within 5 wk, populat~on crashes were recorded for the sedentary po1ychaett.s Manayunkia aestuanna and Pygosplo elegans, ivh~le populations of the errant polychaete Nereis diverslcolor and tubificid oligochaetes remained stable under the algal mats. Initial short-term recovery after the algae were removed was rapid and do~nlnated by Hydrobia spp. The strong negative effects on key species such as M. balthica may have severe effects on entire food-web dynamics in Baltic coastal ecosystems.

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“…Massive green algal mats Wrst appeared in Königshafen in 1979, and since the 1980s became a regular phenomenon (Reise et al 1989). The same happened elsewhere in the Wadden Sea (Reise and Siebert 1994;Kolbe et al 1995; as well as at other developed coasts (Fletcher 1996). Excessive growth of green algae in coastal lagoons and estuaries has been attributed to high nutrient supply, reactive nitrogen in particular (Morand and Merceron 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Mudflat biota since the 1930s: change beyond return?

2007

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Where, since the 1980s, patchy and variable green algal mats are prevailing, distinct belts of an amphipod (Corophium volutator) and seagrass (Zostera spp.) had dominated in the 1930s. The zonation between tide marks has been mapped in a sheltered sedimentary bay in the Wadden Sea near the island of Sylt (coastal eastern North Sea). Maps on vegetation from 1924 and on selected macrobenthos from 1932 and 1934 are compared with biannual surveys conducted from 1988 to 2006. Rising high water levels and eutrophication are suggested to be major causes of the observed long-term changes. In front of a saltmarsh, a sandy beach developed and partly displaced former cyanobacterial mats. Advancing sandiness may have inhibited C. volutator and facilitated lugworms, Arenicola marina, in the upper tidal zone. A variable occurrence of green algal mats arising in the 1980s aVected infauna and seagrass by smothering the biota underneath. This dissolved a coherent belt of Zostera noltii. In the lower tidal zone, natural disturbances had lasting eVects on the occurrence of mussels with attached fucoid algae. The spectrum of species became enriched by alien species (13% of macrobenthic taxa). A reversal to habitat structure and biotic zonation of the 1920-1930s does not seem possible. Aliens, in combination with climate change, are expected to further divert the ecological pattern to new conWgurations.

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Macroalgal mass development in the Wadden Sea: First experiences with a monitoring system

Cited by 33 publications

References 9 publications

Transitions in sandflat biota since the 1930s: effects of sea-level rise, eutrophication and biological globalization in the tidal bay Königshafen, northern Wadden Sea

Transitions in sandflat biota since the 1930s: effects of sea-level rise, eutrophication and biological globalization in the tidal bay Königshafen, northern Wadden Sea

Population responses of coastal zoobenthos to stress induced by drifting algal mats

Mudflat biota since the 1930s: change beyond return?

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