Now an empty mudflat: past and present benthic abundances in the western Dutch Wadden Sea

Kraan, Casper; Dekinga, Anne; Piersma, Theunis

doi:10.1007/s10152-010-0200-9

Cited by 22 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 49 publications

(91 reference statements)

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“…), which seldom occurs in such highly dynamic systems (Suding and Hobbs , Kraan et al. ). Moreover, the lack of positive feedback of ecosystem engineers in the establishment phase creates a threshold that limits the chance of establishment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creating a window of opportunity for establishing ecosystem engineers by adding substratum: a case study on mussels

et al. 2019

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Ecosystem engineers typically exert positive feedback on their environment, which enhances their performance. Such positive feedback is lacking in the establishment phase, when densities are too low and/or patches are too small. There is a strong need to unravel the mechanisms for overcoming the resulting establishment thresholds, both for ecological restoration purposes and to be able to use their services. In the present study, we question whether providing a transient substratum can be used as tool to overcome establishment thresholds, by creating a window of opportunity for initial settlement, using mussels (Mytilus edulis) as a model system. Combining field and flume experiments, we study how biogenic substratum enrichment in the form of a shell layer on a soft mudflat affects the critical dislodgement thresholds and, thus, the chances of mussel establishment at different mussel densities and aggregation states. Flume results showed that the presence of a shell layer reduced dislodgement of mussel patches in low‐energy environments but was conditional for establishment in high‐energy environments. That is, in high‐energy environments with shells, aggregation into clumps enhanced dislodgement, while dislodgement was reduced with increasing overall mussel biomass and overall mussel patch weight. Without shells, dislodgement was always 100%. These findings agreed with our field studies, which showed that coarse shell material reduced mussel losses (by a factor of 3), reduced aggregation (by a factor of 2.4), and increased attachment strength (by a factor of 2.4). Overall, our results show that the local presence of biogenic substratum increases the chance of mussel establishment by enhancing the critical hydrodynamic dislodgement threshold. Thus, the local addition of a biogenic substratum may create a window of opportunity to initiate settlement in more dynamic environments, to shift at a local scale from a bare mudflat state into an established biogenic reef state. Our findings have clear implications for how to approach restoration and management of ecosystem engineers dominated systems. For instance, when positive feedback of ecosystem engineers is lacking, (1) the transient offering of suitable settling substratum may be a necessary step to overcome establishment thresholds, and (2) this becomes increasingly important with increasing abiotic stress.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creating a window of opportunity for establishing ecosystem engineers by adding substratum: a case study on mussels

et al. 2019

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“…An increase of mussel bed area from the 1930s to the 1970s and a subsequent decrease has been recorded for Jade bay in the southern Wadden Sea (Schückel and Kröncke 2013). While the increase might have been an effect of eutrophication, the decrease here and in the western Dutch Wadden Sea has been attributed to the mussel fishery (Herlyn and Millat 2000; Kraan et al 2011). Nehls et al (2006) attribute a recent decrease in mussel bed area around the island of Sylt to recruitment failure, most likely caused by predation on mussel spat, probably facilitated by a series of mild winters (Beukema and Dekker 2005).…”

Section: Eutrophicationmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…During the twentieth century, ecological conditions of coasts all over the world have undergone drastic changes (Valiela 2005;Lotze et al 2006). In north-western Europe, coastal marine benthos has changed considerably (Rasmussen 1973;Pearson et al 1985;Rosenberg et al 1987;Kröncke 2011), including the Wadden Sea Dekker 2005, 2011;Jensen 1992;Kraan et al 2011;Reise et al 1989Schückel and Kröncke 2013;Weijerman et al 2005). Most changes in the Wadden Sea have been attributed to eutrophication (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

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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“…Kraan et al (2011) compared present macrobenthos distribution with the situation of about 50e60 years ago and suggested that shellfish fishing on Cerastoderma edulis and M. edulis has been the major factor of change. The wasting disease of seagrass in the 1930's wiped out the subtidal Z. marina (e.g.…”

Section: Long-term Ecological Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Wadden Sea tidal basins and the mediating role of the North Sea in ecological processes: scaling up of management?

Beusekom

Buschbaum

Reise

2012

Ocean & Coastal Management

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a b s t r a c tThe scale of human pressures on marine ecosystems gradually increased from local to global effects during the last centuries. Global warming, sea level rise and trans-oceanic spread of alien species are now or will be major drivers of ecological change in the Wadden Sea. Eutrophication may rank as a superregional effect as the organic matter turnover in the Wadden Sea is driven by import from the North Sea. These effects will not necessarily be uniform across the entire Wadden Sea. A major challenge will be to understand the interactions between global factors with local conditions, both changed by human interference. A conceptual understanding of factors leading to regional differences within the Wadden Sea is only slowly evolving. Based on our understanding of the eutrophication process and a regional comparison of the eutrophication status of the Wadden Sea we propose that wider tidal basins (with a large distance between barrier islands and the mainland) generally have a lower eutrophication status than narrower tidal basins (with a short distance between barrier islands and mainland). This may be explained by a "dilution" of the imported organic matter in wider tidal basins. The interactions between global and super-regional effects on local ecological developments in the Wadden Sea will be complex and pose a major challenge to science, Wadden Sea management and the assessment of ecosystem health as required by EU legislation. The implications of integrating a North Sea view into Wadden Sea management are discussed and we conclude that the river basin approach of the EU Water Framework Directive is not appropriate for the Wadden Sea.

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Now an empty mudflat: past and present benthic abundances in the western Dutch Wadden Sea

Cited by 22 publications

References 49 publications

Creating a window of opportunity for establishing ecosystem engineers by adding substratum: a case study on mussels

Creating a window of opportunity for establishing ecosystem engineers by adding substratum: a case study on mussels

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

Wadden Sea tidal basins and the mediating role of the North Sea in ecological processes: scaling up of management?

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