Changes in nematode communities at the long-term sand extraction site of the Kwintebank (southern bight of the north sea)

A test of biological trait analysis with nematodes and an anthropogenic stressor

Aquatic ecosystems are fundamentally altered by nutrient enrichment, and effective monitoring tools are needed to detect biological responses especially in the early stages of eutrophication. We tested the utility of biological trait analysis (BTA) to quantify the temporal responses of nematodes inhabiting salt marsh creeks that were experimentally enriched with nutrients for 6 years. Feeding, body shape, and tail shape traits were characterized on >6000 nematodes from annual samples from enriched and non-enriched sites. Here, we ask if trait combinations are more effective than single traits in detecting the magnitude and rate of change. We also sought to identify combinations of traits that best distinguish natural from nutrient-induced variation. BTA revealed that feeding, body shape, and all traits combined equally detected the response to nutrient enrichment. Compared to single traits however, BTAs were more sensitive to temporal trends and better distinguished natural variation from the response to nutrient enrichment. Tail shape traits (that might respond to altered sediment texture or geochemistry) were not affected by enrichment, and feeding traits yielded the greatest difference between enriched and reference communities indicating that changes in food resources drove responses. Feeding traits provided the highest quality information content in our study, and the use of feeding traits alone may adequately identify anthropogenic effects in many studies. However, we caution that body shape, tail shape, and feeding traits were strongly interrelated at our study site, and a diversity of trait groups may increase the information content of BTAs in more diverse habitats.

Short-term changes in nematode communities from an abandoned intense sand extraction site on the Kwintebank (Belgian Continental Shelf) two years post-cessation

We investigated short-term changes (two years) in nematode communities (density, diversity, biomass and community composition) in an area on the Kwintebank (Belgian Continental Shelf) that was closed for sand extraction activities and compared these patterns to nematode community characteristics from another area on the Kwintebank were sand extraction was still ongoing. Six stations were sampled in 2003 and 2004 and nematode community composition and univariate measures of diversity were compared with values obtained during the extraction period and with a "pre-impact situation" sampled in 1978. Although nematode density, diversity and biomass did not change two years after cessation of the exploitation, nematode community composition did and was more stable than in the extracted site. This is attributed to the absence of continuous disturbances associated with the extraction activities such as the creation and filling up of dredge furrows. As a consequence of the typical life history traits of nematodes, recovery seems to follow different pathways when compared to macrobenthic recovery from the same impact.