The Influence of Rocky Reefs on Structure of Benthic Macrofauna in Nearby Soft-sediments

Barros, Francisco; Underwood, A. J.; Lindegarth, Mats

doi:10.1006/ecss.2000.0734

Cited by 93 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Thus, our first hypothesis that sediment characteristics would be affected by structure was supported: the detectable effect ending at 5 m from the lower bay structures. These results concur with previous literature that demonstrate a trend of smaller grain sizes away from rocky reefs (Barros et al 2001, Martins et al 2013) with differences at 1 m versus further away from the reefs.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Benthic effects of artificial structures deployed in a tidal estuary

Mendoza

Henkel

2017

Plankton Benthos Res

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There has been increased enthusiasm to mitigate the negative effects of fossil fuel consumption through the use of cleaner sources of energy, like marine renewable energy (MRE). Concerns about MRE deployments have motivated research on the ecological effects of these new man-made structures in marine environments. We assessed the extent to which soft-sediment habitats are influenced by the presence of artificial structures deployed in Yaquina Bay, Oregon, USA. Grain size analyses confirmed artificial structures altered the sediment distribution around them with larger grain sizes detected closer to the structures. Infaunal abundances were higher closer to the artificial structures; however, these differences did not result in statistically significant effects on diversity or richness in relation to distance from the structures, nor were they sufficient to cause statistically significant changes in infaunal communities as compared to reference areas. This study provided additional evidence that artificial structures alter their physical environment, but in our study detected differences were less than those observed between the two different regions of the estuary and any effects on infauna were localized and smaller than differences between different regions of the estuary. Conducting these studies in an Oregon estuary provided a good proxy for estimating potential effects of in-stream tidal energy deployments in the Pacific Northwest while also demonstrating the importance of site-specific research.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Benthic effects of artificial structures deployed in a tidal estuary

Mendoza

Henkel

2017

Plankton Benthos Res

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“…Such alterations induce a disruption in the normal succession of assemblages from deep waters to the shoreline and directly influence the characteristics of soft bottom sediments (i.e. grain size, content of organic matter, Redox conditions), leading to changes in the composition and/or abundance of animals and plants living in and on the soft bottoms (Davis et al, 1982;Barros et al, 2001; …”

Section: Impacts At Local Scalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

An ecological perspective on the deployment and design of low-crested and other hard coastal defence structures

Airoldi

Abbiati

Beck

et al. 2005

Coastal Engineering

337

166

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Coastal areas play a crucial role in the economical, social and political development of most countries; they support diverse and productive coastal ecosystems that provide valuable goods and services.Globally flooding and coastal erosion represent serious threats along many coastlines, and will become more serious as a consequence of human-induced changes and accelerated sea-level rise. Over the past indicate that the construction of coastal defence structures will affect coastal ecosystems. The consequences can be seen on a local scale, as disruption of surrounding soft-bottom environments and introduction of new artificial hard-bottom habitats, with consequent changes to the native assemblages of the areas. Proliferation of coastal defence structures can also have critical impacts on regional species diversity, removing isolating barriers, favouring the spread of non-native species and increasing habitat heterogeneity. Knowledge of the environmental context in which coastal defence structures are placed is fundamental to an effective management of these structures as, whilst there are some general consequences of such construction, many effects are site specific. Advice is provided to meet specific management goals, which include mitigating specific impacts on the environment, such as minimising changes to surrounding sediments, spread of exotic species or growth of nuisance species, and/or enhancing specific natural resources, for example enhancing fish recruitment or promoting diverse assemblages for ecoturism. The DELOS project points out that the downstream effects of defence structures on coastal processes and regional-scale impacts on biodiversity necessitate planning and management at a regional (large coastline) scale. To effectively understand and manage coastal defences, environmental management goals must be clearly stated and incorporated into the planning, construction, and monitoring stages.

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“…Changes in water flow, illumination and rates of sedimentation due to the introduction of built structures can be, in fact, detrimental for plants (e.g. seagrasses) and animals living in or on soft bottom substrata (Davis et al, 1982;Barros et al, 2001;Martin et al, 2005). Less attention has, in contrast, been given to the implications these 45 structures may have in attracting a suite of rocky bottom organisms (Bulleri, 2005); although this function is widely acknowledged for artificial reefs that are actually built with the primary objective of functioning as aggregating devices or as tools for the rehabilitation of endangered or overexploited species (Collins et al, 1994;Carr and Hixon, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hard coastal-defence structures as habitats for native and exotic rocky-bottom species

Vaselli

Bulleri

Benedetti‐Cecchi

2008

Marine Environmental Research

118

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The use of hard coastal-defence structures, like breakwaters and seawalls, is rapidly increasing to prevent coastal erosion. We compared low-shore assemblages between wave-protected and wave-exposed habitats on breakwaters along a sandy shore of Tuscany (North-Western Mediterranean). Assemblages were generally characterized by a low diversity of taxa, with space 5 monopolized by Mytilus galloprovincialis and Corallina elongata on the seaward side of breakwaters and by filamentous algae on the landward side. Assemblages in wave-protected habitats were characterized by greater temporal stability than those in exposed habitats and supported non-indigenous macroalgae such as Caulerpa racemosa and Codium fragile ssp.tomentosoides. Hence, the introduction of hard coastal defence-structures in otherwise soft-bottom 10 dominated areas, attracting native and exotic rocky bottom species, should be of great concern for the conservation of marine biodiversity at local and regional scales and for the management of biological invasions.

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The Influence of Rocky Reefs on Structure of Benthic Macrofauna in Nearby Soft-sediments

Cited by 93 publications

References 18 publications

Benthic effects of artificial structures deployed in a tidal estuary

Benthic effects of artificial structures deployed in a tidal estuary

An ecological perspective on the deployment and design of low-crested and other hard coastal defence structures

Hard coastal-defence structures as habitats for native and exotic rocky-bottom species

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