Response of ecological indices to nutrient and chemical contaminant stress factors in Eastern Mediterranean coastal waters

Simboura, N.; Pavlidou, Alexandra; Bald, Juan; Tsapakis, Manolis; Pagou, Κalliopi; Zeri, Christina; Androni, A.; Panayotidis, P.

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.05.018

Cited by 57 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Aliens, fish including threatened sharks, and mammals contributed to the moderate status seen for the outer Saronikos and overall Saronikos. In general, the respective assessment results, although not definitive, are in line with pertinent studies (Frantzis, 2009;Katsanevakis et al, 2013;Papaconstantinou, 2014;Vasilakopoulos et al, 2015;Zeneto et al, 2015;Simboura et al, 2016) regarding the Greek marine waters. The Saronikos Gulf result obtained in this analysis was lower than the OHI assessment of the Greek waters, which was to be expected, as the Gulf is intensely exploited.…”

Section: Evaluation Of the Assessment Resultssupporting

confidence: 68%

“…In Saronikos Gulf the assessment results correspond to the ecological status categorization according to the WFD which is poor in the sewage outfall area and moderate in the inner central gulf (Simboura et al, , 2015(Simboura et al, , 2016. Aliens, fish including threatened sharks, and mammals contributed to the moderate status seen for the outer Saronikos and overall Saronikos.…”

Section: Evaluation Of the Assessment Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Indicator-Based Assessment of Marine Biological Diversity–Lessons from 10 Case Studies across the European Seas

Uusitalo

Blanchet

Andersen³

et al. 2016

Front. Mar. Sci.

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The Marine Strategy Framework Directive requires the environmental status of European marine waters to be assessed using biodiversity as 1 out of 11 descriptors, but the complexity of marine biodiversity and its large span across latitudinal and salinity gradients have been a challenge to the scientific community aiming to produce approaches for integrating information from a broad range of indicators. The Nested Environmental status Assessment Tool (NEAT), developed for the integrated assessment of the status of marine waters, was applied to 10 marine ecosystems to test its applicability and compare biodiversity assessments across the four European regional seas. We evaluate the assessment results as well as the assessment designs of the 10 cases, and how the assessment design, particularly the choices made regarding the area and indicator selection, affected the results. The results show that only 2 out of the 10 case study areas show more than 50% probability of being in good status in respect of biodiversity. No strong pattern among the ecosystem components across the case study areas could be detected, but marine mammals, birds, and benthic vegetation indicators tended to indicate poor status while zooplankton indicators indicated good status when included into the assessment. The analysis shows that the assessment design, including the selection of indicators, their target values, geographical resolution Uusitalo et al.Case-Studies of Marine Biodiversity and habitats to be assessed, has potentially a high impact on the result, and the assessment structure needs to be understood in order to make an informed assessment. Moreover, recommendations are provided for the best practice of using NEAT for marine status assessments.

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Section: Evaluation Of the Assessment Resultssupporting

confidence: 68%

Section: Evaluation Of the Assessment Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indicator-Based Assessment of Marine Biological Diversity–Lessons from 10 Case Studies across the European Seas

Uusitalo

Blanchet

Andersen³

et al. 2016

Front. Mar. Sci.

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“…Throughout the study, nutrients (N and P) which are indication of eutrophication exhibited high values and were among the highest values reported for nutrient-rich coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea [42][43][44]. In a recent comprehensive study on various coastal areas of Greece (1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007) influenced by anthropogenic activities, mainly by sewage and riverine outflows [45], the Thessaloniki Bay which is one of the most polluted coastal areas of Greece, exhibited the highest PO 4 (max 6.50 µmol L −1 ) and NH 4 concentrations (max 15 µmol L −1 ).…”

Section: Environmental Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…There is evidence for Greek coastal waters that phytoplankton-based indices are highly sensitive to nitrogen enrichment while the E.I. index is highly sensitive to phosphorus enrichment [43]. It is noteworthy that according to Pavlidou et al [46] the E.I.…”

Section: Environmental Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Phytoplankton Blooms, Red Tides and Mucilaginous Aggregates in the Urban Thessaloniki Bay, Eastern Mediterranean

et al. 2019

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We investigated the plankton community composition and abundance in the urban marine environment of Thessaloniki Bay. We collected water samples weekly from March 2017 to February 2018 at the coastal front of Thessaloniki city center and monthly samples from three other inshore sites along the urban front of the bay. During the study period, conspicuous and successive phytoplankton blooms, dominated by known mucilage-producing diatoms alternated with red tide events formed by the dinoflagellates Noctiluca scintillans and Spatulodinium pseudonoctiluca, and an extensive mucilage aggregate phenomenon, which appeared in late June 2017. At least 11 known harmful algae were identified throughout the study, with the increase in the abundance of the known harmful dinoflagellate Dinophysis cf. acuminata occurring in October and November 2017. Finally, a red tide caused by the photosynthetic ciliate Mesodinium rubrum on December 2017 was conspicuous throughout the sampling sites. The above-mentioned harmful blooms and red tides were linked to high nutrient concentrations and eutrophication. This paper provides an overview of eutrophication impacts on the response of the unicellular eukaryotic plankton organisms and their impact on water quality and ecosystem services.A large volume of domestic and industrial wastes from the city of Thessaloniki has been directed for decades to the Thermaikos Gulf and especially its inner part, Thessaloniki Bay. In the 20 th century, these wastes were discharged in the Bay without treatment, causing the eutrophication of the system. Since 2001, wastewater treatment has been implemented, decreasing the effects of anthropogenic eutrophication [17]. Although it is generally accepted in the public that the water quality in the Thermaikos Gulf has been improved compared to 20-30 years ago [18,19], the urban front of the Thessaloniki Bay, with restricted water circulation and shallowness, still exhibits apparent red tides and algal blooms. These events are usually the cause of irritation to the public, often mentioned in the Greek media, with subsequent socio-economic consequences to the city of Thessaloniki, especially the touristic center. Despite the growing concerns of the citizens and authorities on the water quality of the Bay and particularly of the urban front, only scarce and isolated studies have been published on the abundance and dynamics of plankton community (both phyto-and protozooplankton) in the urban part of the Gulf [20,21]. On the other hand, several studies in the broader Thermaikos Gulf have focused on phytoplankton [18,22,23] and the occurrence of HABs [24,25]. However, comprehensive studies on red tides and mucilage aggregate phenomena are lacking for the Thermaikos Gulf.According to the related legislation for the ecological water quality based on nutrient pressures and the phytoplankton quality element (Water Framework Directive; WFD, 2000/60/EC) there is a need for systematic and frequent monitoring of coastal waters. Furthermore, similar to the WFD objectives are those...

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“…In the context of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD), a series of benthic indicators were developed and have been widely used, including the AZTI Marine Biotic Index (AMBI) (Borja et al, 2000) and its multivariate version M-AMBI (Muxika et al, 2007), the Benthic Index (BENTIX) (Simboura and Zenetos, 2002), the Benthic Quality Index (BQI) (Rosenberg et al, 2004) and the BQI-Family (Dimitriou et al, 2012). As reported in numerous publications (Borja et al, 2003(Borja et al, , 2008Simboura and Reizopoulou, 2007;Gremare et al, 2009;Subida et al, 2012;Karakassis et al, 2013;Moraitis et al, 2013;Simboura et al, 2016), these indices have been found to be suitable tools for assessing the Ecological Status (ES) of coastal marine ecosystems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of Benthic Macrofauna to Eutrophication in a Mesocosm Experiment: Ecosystem Resilience Prevents Hypoxic Conditions

2017

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A benthic-pelagic mesocosm experiment was performed to study how the benthic macrofaunal community responds to a eutrophication gradient. The novel experimental setup allowed the induction of an eutrophication gradient in the water column and the detailed documentation of the response of the benthos in terms of biodiversity and ecosystem processes. Nine mesocosms were deployed in the facilities of the Hellenic Center for Marine Research in Crete in the eastern Mediterranean. The mesocosms were 4 m deep, contained 1.5 m 3 coastal water, and included 85 liters of undisturbed sediment at the bottom. No water or sediment exchange was allowed. The experimental design included a Control and two eutrophication levels (Low and High) for the 58-day duration of the experiment. Macrofaunal samples were collected at the end of the experiment from each mesocosm and compared to the ones collected at the beginning of the experiment from the sediment collection area. Results show that the High eutrophication treatment differed significantly from the Control and Low treatments in terms of macrofaunal species composition, diversity, ecological status and ecosystem processes. The increased availability of organic matter in the sediment caused differences in macrofaunal community structure by favoring deposit-feeding species with high bioturbation ability, which significantly increased their abundance. The increased bioturbation potential of the new community combined with the high organic matter consumption contributed to the oxygenation of the sediment within the mesocosm, preventing the creation of hypoxic conditions in the sediment and maintaining ecosystem health despite the highly eutrophic conditions and significant changes in sediment geochemical variables. In the oligotrophic eastern Mediterranean, healthy benthic ecosystems may use existing ecosystem processes to "buffer" the negative effects caused by eutrophication.

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Response of ecological indices to nutrient and chemical contaminant stress factors in Eastern Mediterranean coastal waters

Cited by 57 publications

References 33 publications

Indicator-Based Assessment of Marine Biological Diversity–Lessons from 10 Case Studies across the European Seas

Indicator-Based Assessment of Marine Biological Diversity–Lessons from 10 Case Studies across the European Seas

Phytoplankton Blooms, Red Tides and Mucilaginous Aggregates in the Urban Thessaloniki Bay, Eastern Mediterranean

Response of Benthic Macrofauna to Eutrophication in a Mesocosm Experiment: Ecosystem Resilience Prevents Hypoxic Conditions

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