Taxonomic and functional response of estuarine benthic communities to experimental organic enrichment: Consequences for ecosystem function

Drylie, Tarn P.; Lohrer, Andrew M.; Needham, Hazel Rosemary; Pilditch, Conrad A.

doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2020.151455

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…Sensitive infauna respond quickly and dramatically to a small change in organic enrichment. For example, sediment in a New Zealand estuary was experimentally enriched from 2.1 to 3.7% resulting in an 80% decrease in the abundance of infauna after 70 days (Drylie et al 2020). This sensitivity in infauna can result in changes in functional groups of infaunal organisms (Greenfield et al 2016;Drylie et al 2020) and was demonstrated by polychaetes in this study by a ten-fold higher abundance of free-living scavenger polychaete family Lumbrineridae in the control plots.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 50%

“…For example, sediment in a New Zealand estuary was experimentally enriched from 2.1 to 3.7% resulting in an 80% decrease in the abundance of infauna after 70 days (Drylie et al 2020). This sensitivity in infauna can result in changes in functional groups of infaunal organisms (Greenfield et al 2016;Drylie et al 2020) and was demonstrated by polychaetes in this study by a ten-fold higher abundance of free-living scavenger polychaete family Lumbrineridae in the control plots. Whereas suspension and deposit feeding polychaetes of the family Spionidae appeared to be less sensitive, decreasing onefold under restored enrichment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 50%

“…The markedly lower diversity and abundance of infaunal organisms associated with restoring mussels observed in this current study appear to be a result of differences in organic enrichment and sediment grain size. Increases in organic content and fine benthic sediments have both been shown to alter infaunal biodiversity for a range of habitats (Gray 2002;Kemp et al 2005;Sciberras et al 2017;Drylie et al 2020), although some studies of remnant wild shellfish reefs have found a high abundance and diversity of infauna regardless of the underlying sediment (Commito et al 2008;van der Ouderaa et al 2021). The underlying soft sediment at the four experimental locations varied in the quantity of the fine sediment (i.e., clay and silt).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, high density longline aquaculture of mussels can greatly enrich the organic content of the sediment below the farm, typically resulting in a decrease in biodiversity, but an increased abundance in opportunistic deposit feeding organisms, such as members of the deposit feeding polychaete family Capitellidae (Keeley et al 2009;Keeley 2013). Furthermore, organic enrichment of the sediment lowers the available oxygen and increases sulphide levels, which can create unfavourable conditions for some infauna, such as suspension feeders (Thrush et al 2003;Drylie et al 2020;Handley et al 2020). Sensitive infauna respond quickly and dramatically to a small change in organic enrichment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biodiversity associated with restored small-scale mussel habitats has restoration decision implications

et al. 2022

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The global loss of marine ecosystem engineers has caused an unprecedented decline in biodiversity. Although wild shellfish habitats have been shown to support biodiverse ecosystems, little is known about how biodiversity is altered by restored shellfish habitats, particularly mussels. To explore the biodiversity response to restored mussel habitats we deposited mussels on the seafloor in 1.5 × 1.5 m plots across a gradient of benthic environments. To understand a holistic community response, this study looks at the response of three faunal classifications over 1 year: infauna, epifauna, and pelagic fauna, compared with adjacent control plots (no mussels). The restored mussel habitats recorded 42 times more demersal fish than control areas, while macroalgae and mobile benthic invertebrates had over a twofold increase in abundance. Overall, the addition of mussels to the seafloor resulted in a general reduction of infaunal abundance and biodiversity, but an increase in epifaunal and pelagic faunal abundances, specifically from those species that benefit from benthic habitat complexity and an increase in food availability. From a management perspective, we highlight location-specific differences to consider for future restoration efforts, including environmental conditions and potential observed factors such as nearby sources of species, particularly predators, and relevant demersal fish ranges. Ultimately, measuring biodiversity responses in small-scale studies will serve as a valuable guide for larger scale restoration efforts and this study recommends considerations to enhance biodiversity outcomes in restored mussel habitats.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 50%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 50%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biodiversity associated with restored small-scale mussel habitats has restoration decision implications

et al. 2022

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“…Function in ecology can be understood as the role that each component plays in the surrounding environment (i.e., control the fluxes of energy, nutrients, and organic matter) (Calow, 1987;Jax, 2005;Bellwood et al, 2019). But, in the ecological literature, the term is used in different ways depending on the scale (local or regional) and/or the object (individual, population, or ecosystem) (Nunes-Neto et al, 2013;Mlambo, 2014;Queirós et al, 2015;Clare et al, 2016;Luiza-Andrade et al, 2017;Drylie et al, 2020). At the individual level, function is the role that an organism plays in the environment, and at the ecosystem level it refers to the combined effects of all natural processes that sustain an ecosystem and can result in global processes and ecosystem services (Paterson et al, 2012;Snelgrove et al, 2014;Degen et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Functions of Polychaetes Along Estuarine Gradients

Martins

Barros

2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Function in ecology can be understood as the role that each component plays in the surrounding environment. It can be studied through the functional traits of organisms and depends on variations of abundance in time and space. Nevertheless, traits should be clearly associated with functions. The functions performed by estuarine macrofauna along estuarine gradients and its variation in time are scarcely studied. We expected that the functional structure (i.e., the set of functions in a site) would not change significantly over estuarine gradients, even with changes in taxonomic composition, since different taxa may have similar traits, allowing the performance of the same functions. We used polychaete assemblages along three tropical estuaries sampled four different times, to test for differences in functional intensity between estuarine salinity zones (Venice system). From a literature search we selected the most frequent ecological functions performed by estuarine benthic assemblages and we explicitly established which polychaete functional traits, or combinations of traits, were directly related to these functions. Nutrient cycling, bioturbation and fragmentation of organic matter were the most frequent functions. We discovered that the last two were present throughout the entire salinity gradient (i.e., along different salinity zones) but with different intensities. The intensity of functions may also show significant variability in time. Nutrient cycling and fragmentation of organic matter showed strong variation among estuarine zones. Using traits explicitly associated with ecological functions is necessary to investigate function and function intensity. Future studies should investigate how precisely traits may alter specific environmental characteristics and ecosystem properties.

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The interplay between terrestrial organic matter and benthic macrofauna: Framework, synthesis, and perspectives

et al. 2023

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Ecosystems are shaped by physical, chemical, and biological drivers, which affect the quality and quantity of basal energy sources, with impacts that cascade to higher trophic levels. In coastal, shelf, and marine habitats, terrestrial‐derived organic matter (ter‐OM) can be a key driver of ecosystem structure and function. Climate change is expected to alter land–ocean connectivity in many regions, with a broad range of potential consequences for impacted ecosystems, particularly in the coastal zone. The benthic compartment is an important link between the large organic carbon pools stored on land and the marine environment. At the same time, the macrofauna plays a key role in the processing, biological uptake, and fate of ter‐OM in the aquatic environment, with implications for coastal ecosystem functioning, benthic–pelagic coupling, carbon burial, and biogeochemical cycles. However, information about relationships between land–ocean connectivity (including ter‐OM loads) and coastal benthic community responses remains spread across disciplines, and a broad perspective on the potential impacts of a changing climate is still missing. Here, we explore the interplay between benthic macrofaunal communities and ter‐OM through a paired narrative and research weaving analysis, which combines systematic mapping and bibliometric analysis. The review describes the past development and status of the research field as well as the lack of information in some geographical regions and habitats worldwide. We highlight the role of macrofauna in carbon cycling and the growing evidence that ter‐OM plays a key role in the structure and function of benthic communities, not strictly limited to estuarine habitats. Climate change poses challenges for the prediction of future ter‐OM fluxes and potential macrofauna responses to this additional stressor, thus requiring new methodological approaches (e.g., multimarker approaches for OM characterization) and long‐term monitoring programs across different habitats and spatiotemporal scales.

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Taxonomic and functional response of estuarine benthic communities to experimental organic enrichment: Consequences for ecosystem function

Cited by 8 publications

References 79 publications

Biodiversity associated with restored small-scale mussel habitats has restoration decision implications

Biodiversity associated with restored small-scale mussel habitats has restoration decision implications

Ecological Functions of Polychaetes Along Estuarine Gradients

The interplay between terrestrial organic matter and benthic macrofauna: Framework, synthesis, and perspectives

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