DOI•
Macrobenthic succession in relation to organic enrichment and pollution of the marine environment
01 Jan 1978-Vol. 16, pp 229-311
About: The article was published on 1978-01-01 and is currently open access. It has received 3557 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Pollution & Ecological succession.
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Western Washington University1, University of Alaska Fairbanks2, United States Forest Service3, University of Zurich4, Centre national de la recherche scientifique5, Natural Environment Research Council6, University of Notre Dame7, École Normale Supérieure8, Columbia University9, University of Helsinki10, United States Geological Survey11, University of Michigan12, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences13, Landcare Research14
TL;DR: Understanding this complexity, while taking strong steps to minimize current losses of species, is necessary for responsible management of Earth's ecosystems and the diverse biota they contain.
Abstract: Humans are altering the composition of biological communities through a variety of activities that increase rates of species invasions and species extinctions, at all scales, from local to global. These changes in components of the Earth's biodiversity cause concern for ethical and aesthetic reasons, but they also have a strong potential to alter ecosystem properties and the goods and services they provide to humanity. Ecological experiments, observations, and theoretical developments show that ecosystem properties depend greatly on biodiversity in terms of the functional characteristics of organisms present in the ecosystem and the distribution and abundance of those organisms over space and time. Species effects act in concert with the effects of climate, resource availability, and disturbance regimes in influencing ecosystem properties. Human activities can modify all of the above factors; here we focus on modification of these biotic controls. The scientific community has come to a broad consensus on many aspects of the re- lationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, including many points relevant to management of ecosystems. Further progress will require integration of knowledge about biotic and abiotic controls on ecosystem properties, how ecological communities are struc- tured, and the forces driving species extinctions and invasions. To strengthen links to policy and management, we also need to integrate our ecological knowledge with understanding of the social and economic constraints of potential management practices. Understanding this complexity, while taking strong steps to minimize current losses of species, is necessary for responsible management of Earth's ecosystems and the diverse biota they contain.
6,891 citations
TL;DR: For example, a recent review of the early phase of the coastal eutrophication problem can be found in this article, where the authors suggest that the early (phase I) con- ceptual model was strongly influenced by limnologists, who began intense study of lake eutrophicication by the 1960s.
Abstract: A primary focus of coastal science during the past 3 decades has been the question: How does anthropogenic nutrient enrichment cause change in the structure or function of nearshore coastal ecosystems? This theme of environmental science is recent, so our conceptual model of the coastal eutrophication problem continues to change rapidly In this review, I suggest that the early (Phase I) con- ceptual model was strongly influenced by limnologists, who began intense study of lake eutrophication by the 1960s The Phase I model emphasized changing nutrient input as a signal, and responses to that signal as increased phytoplankton biomass and primary production, decomposition of phytoplankton- derived organic matter, and enhanced depletion of oxygen from bottom waters Coastal research in recent decades has identified key differences in the responses of lakes and coastal-estuarine ecosystems to nutrient enrichment The contemporary (Phase II) conceptual model reflects those differences and includes explicit recognition of (1) system-specific attributes that act as a filter to modulate the responses to enrichment (leading to large differences among estuarine-coastal systems in their sensitivity to nu- trient enrichment); and (2) a complex suite of direct and indirect responses including linked changes in: water transparency, distribution of vascular plants and biomass of macroalgae, sediment biogeochem- istry and nutrient cycling, nutrient ratios and their regulation of phytoplankton community composition, frequency of toxic/harmful algal blooms, habitat quality for metazoans, reproduction/growth/survival of pelagic and benthic invertebrates, and subtle changes such as shifts in the seasonality of ecosystem functions Each aspect of the Phase II model is illustrated here with examples from coastal ecosystems around the world In the last section of this review I present one vision of the next (Phase III) stage in the evolution of our conceptual model, organized around 5 questions that will guide coastal science in the early 21st century: (1) How do system-specific attributes constrain or amplify the responses of coastal ecosystems to nutrient enrichment? (2) How does nutrient enrichment interact with other stressors (toxic contaminants, fishing harvest, aquaculture, nonindigenous species, habitat loss, climate change, hydro- logic manipulations) to change coastal ecosystems? (3) How are responses to multiple stressors linked? (4) How does human-induced change in the coastal zone impact the Earth system as habitat for humanity and other species? (5) How can a deeper scientific understanding of the coastal eutrophication problem be applied to develop tools for building strategies at ecosystem restoration or rehabilitation?
2,658 citations
Cites background from "Macrobenthic succession in relation..."
...Animal-community responses to change in organic enrichment are not linear or even monotonic, but rather follow a successional sequence beginning with increases in biomass and secondary production as food supply increases (Pearson & Rosenberg 1978)....
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TL;DR: A validation of the proposed marine Biotic Index for soft-bottom benthos of European estuarine and coastal environments is made, showing that diAerent anthropogenic changes in the environment can be detected through the use of this BI.
1,386 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that the major effects on benthic fauna result from hypoxia rather than organic enrichment per se and suggests that the P-R model is descriptive rather than predictive, which is widely reported but actual predictions of the model have rarely been tested.
Abstract: Eutrophication is one of the most severe and widespread forms of disturbance affecting coastal marine systems. Whilst there are general models of effects on benthos, such as the Pearson-Rosenberg (P-R) model, the models are descriptive rather than predictive. Here we first review the process of increased organic matter production and the ensuing sedimentation to the seafloor. It is shown that there is no simple relationship between nutrient inputs and the vertical flux of particulate organic matter (POM). In particular, episodic hydrographic events are thought to be the key factor leading to high rates of sedimentation and accompanying hypoxia. We extend an earlier review of effects of hypoxia to include organisms living in the water column. In general, fishes are more sensitive to hypoxia than crustaceans and echinoderms, which in turn are more sensitive than annelids, whilst molluscs are the least sensitive. Growth is affected at oxygen concentrations between 6.0 and 4.5 mg O 2 l -1 , other aspects of metabolism are affected at between 4 and 2 mg O 2 l -1 and mortality occurs where concentrations are below 2.0 to 0.5 mg O 2 l -1 . Field studies, however, show that complex behavioural changes also occur as hypoxia increases, and these are described herein. The areas where hypoxia occurs are frequently areas that are stagnant or with poor water exchange. Thus again, hydrographic factors are key processes determining whether or not hypoxia and eutrophication occur. Tolerance to ammonia and hydrogen sulphide is also reviewed, as these substances are found at near zero concentrations of oxygen and are highly toxic to most organisms. However, the effects of interactions between oxygen, ammonia and hydrogen sulphide only occur below oxygen concentrations of ca. 0.5 mg O 2 l -1 , since only below this concentration are hydrogen sulphide and oxygen released into the water. Models of eutrophication and the generation of hypoxia are discussed, and in particular the P-R model is analysed. Although agreement with the model is widely reported the actual predictions of the model have rarely been tested. Our review suggests that the major effects on benthic fauna result from hypoxia rather than organic enrichment per se and suggests that the P-R model is descriptive rather than predictive. Finally, a managerial tool is proposed, based on the stages of effects of hypoxia and organic enrichment suggested by the P-R model and on an earlier study. The proposed strategy involves rapid assessment tools and indicates where more detailed surveys are needed. Managers are advised that remedial action will not produce rapid results and that recovery from eutrophication will probably take decades. Thus it is essential to detect potential hypoxia and eutrophication effects at early stages of development.
938 citations
Cites background or methods from "Macrobenthic succession in relation..."
...Can J Fish Aquat Sci 42 (Suppl 1):83–90 Anger K (1975) On the influence of sewage pollution on inshore benthic communities in the South of Kiel Bay....
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...The P-R model was developed from studies in fjords (Saltkällefjord, Sweden, Loch Creran, Scotland), the Fraser River Estuary, Canada, and enclosed embayments off Marseille and Kiel Bay (Pearson & Rosenberg 1978)....
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...Limnol Oceanogr 35:464–471 Weigelt M (1991) Short- and long-term changes in the benthic community of the deeper parts of Kiel Bay (Western Baltic) due to oxygen depletion and eutrophication....
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...Pearson & Rosenberg (1978) pointed out that there are considerable difficulties in comparing biomass between studies and between areas, and thus that the suggested double peak needs to be studied in more detail....
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...Pearson & Rosenberg (1978) suggested that the secondary peak in biomass occurs when there are large amounts of organic matter but oxygen concentrations have not yet started to decrease....
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TL;DR: The combination of Δ+ and Λ+ is seen to provide a statistically robust summary of taxonomic (or phylogenetic) relatedness patterns within an assemblage, which has the potential to be applied to a wide range of historical data in the form of simple species lists.
Abstract: A further biodiversity index is proposed, based on taxonomic (or phylogenetic) relatedness of species, namely the Œvariation in taxonomic distinctness¹ (VarTD, Λ+) between every pair of species recorded in a study. It complements the previously defined Œaverage taxonomic distinctness¹ (AvTD, Δ+), which is the mean path length through the taxonomic tree connecting every pair of species in the list. VarTD is simply the variance of these pairwise path lengths and reflects the unevenness of the taxonomic tree. For example, a species list in which there are several different orders represented only by a single species, but also some genera which are very species-rich, would give a high Λ+ by comparison with a list (of equivalent Δ+) in which all species tended to be from different families but the same order. VarTD is shown to have the same desirable sampling properties as AvTD, primarily a lack of dependence of its mean value on the sample size (except for unrealistically small samples). Such unbiasedness is of crucial importance in making valid biodiversity comparisons between studies at different locations or times, with differing or uncontrolled degrees of sampling effort. This feature is emphatically not shared by indices related to species richness and also not by properties of the phylogeny adapted from proposals in other, conservation contexts, such as Œaverage phylogenetic diversity¹ (AvPD, Φ+). As with AvTD, the VarTD statistic for any local study can be tested for Œdeparture from expectation¹, based on a master taxonomy for that region, by constructing a simulation distribution from random subsets of the master list. The idea can be extended to summarising the joint distribution of AvTD and VarTD, so that values from real data sets are compared with a fitted simulation Œenvelope¹ in a 2 d (Δ+, Λ+) plot. The methodology is applied to 14 species lists of free-living marine nematodes, and related to a master list for UK waters. The combination of AvTD and VarTD picks out, in different ways, some degraded locations (low Δ+, low to normal Λ+) and the pristine island fauna of the Scillies (normal + , high Λ+). The 2 indices are also demonstrated to be measuring effectively independent features of the taxonomic tree, at least for this faunal group (although it is shown theoretically that this will not always be the case). The combination of Δ+ and Λ+ is therefore seen to provide a statistically robust summary of taxonomic (or phylogenetic) relatedness patterns within an assemblage, which has the potential to be applied to a wide range of historical data in the form of simple species lists.
908 citations
Cites background from "Macrobenthic succession in relation..."
...For example, certain taxa of benthic marine invertebrates are known to increase dramatically in abundance when levels of particulate organic enrichment become abnormally high (Pearson & Rosenberg 1978), and have become known as ‘pollution indicator’ species....
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