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van de Vijsel RC, Hernández-García E, Orfila A, Gomila D. Optimal wave reflection as a mechanism for seagrass self-organization. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20278. [PMID: 37985847 PMCID: PMC10662035 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46788-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Ecosystems threatened by climate change can boost their resilience by developing spatial patterns. Spatially regular patterns in wave-exposed seagrass meadows are attributed to self-organization, yet underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Here, we show that these patterns could emerge from feedbacks between wave reflection and seagrass-induced bedform growth. We derive a theoretical model for surface waves propagating over a growing seagrass bed. Wave-induced bed shear stress shapes bedforms which, in turn, trigger wave reflection. Numerical simulations show seagrass pattern development once wave forcing exceeds a critical amplitude. In line with Mediterranean Sea field observations, these patterns have half the wavelength of the forcing waves. Our results raise the hypothesis that pattern formation optimizes the potential of seagrass meadows to reflect wave energy, and a clear direction for future field campaigns. If wave-reflecting pattern formation increases ecosystem resilience under globally intensifying wave climates, these ecosystems may inspire nature-based coastal protection measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roeland C van de Vijsel
- IFISC (CSIC-UIB). Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems, 07122, Palma, Mallorca, Spain.
- Now at: Hydrology and Environmental Hydraulics Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Emilio Hernández-García
- IFISC (CSIC-UIB). Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems, 07122, Palma, Mallorca, Spain
| | - Alejandro Orfila
- IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB). Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, 07190, Esporles, Mallorca, Spain
| | - Damià Gomila
- IFISC (CSIC-UIB). Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems, 07122, Palma, Mallorca, Spain
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2
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Rao R, Alcoverro T, Kongari P, Yoayela S, Arthur R, D'Souza E. Tolerance to aerial exposure influences distributional patterns in multi-species intertidal seagrass meadows. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 191:106146. [PMID: 37639940 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Multi-specific seagrass meadow assemblages dominate most tropical intertidal regions but the relative role of environmental stress in determining distribution patterns is still uncertain. Here we combine observational and experimental approaches to examine aerial exposure as a factor driving species occurrence patterns in intertidal meadows of the Andaman archipelago, where up to 6 seagrass species co-occur. In the studied meadow, patterns of exposure did not map onto distance from the coast, instead creating a patchy matrix of exposure, based on fine-scale bathymetric differences. Distributional surveys showed that seagrass species were similarly patchy, often tracking the degree of aerial exposure during low tide. While some species (Halophila ovalis, Halophila minor, and Thalassia hemprichii) frequently occurred in submerged or subtidal areas and were rarely found in completely exposed areas, other species (Cymodocea rotundata, Halophila beccarii, and Halodule uninervis) also occupied areas that were subject to partial or complete aerial exposure during low tide. To confirm this pattern, we used field-based transplant experiments, employing a natural gradient of tidal exposure to subject six seagrass species to different desiccation exposure times. After a month, H. beccarii and H. uninervis transplants survived in areas that sustained more than 3 h of aerial tidal exposure without significant mortality, compared with other species (H. ovalis, H. minor, T. hemprichii, C. rotundata) that showed dramatic shoot mortality at the same exposure regimes. For all species, 4 h represented the upper limit of exposure, in both experimental and distributional studies. However, despite their wider tolerance of exposure to air, H. beccarii and H. uninervis did not dominate the entire meadow. This could be a result either of their poor tolerance to other environmental factors or their lower competitive abilities among other mechanisms. This suggests that in tropical multi-specific meadows, strong environmental filters could override clear intertidal zonation to create patchy matrices based on species tolerances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachana Rao
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, Kodigehalli, Bengaluru, Karnataka, 560065, India; Nature Conservation Foundation, 1311 Amritha, 12th Cross, Vijayanagar 1st Stage, Mysore, 570017, India.
| | - Teresa Alcoverro
- Nature Conservation Foundation, 1311 Amritha, 12th Cross, Vijayanagar 1st Stage, Mysore, 570017, India; Centre D'Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CEAB, CSIC), Carrer D'Accés a La Cala Sant Francesc 14, 17300, Blanes, Spain
| | - Phoolmani Kongari
- Nature Conservation Foundation, 1311 Amritha, 12th Cross, Vijayanagar 1st Stage, Mysore, 570017, India
| | - Saw Yoayela
- Nature Conservation Foundation, 1311 Amritha, 12th Cross, Vijayanagar 1st Stage, Mysore, 570017, India
| | - Rohan Arthur
- Nature Conservation Foundation, 1311 Amritha, 12th Cross, Vijayanagar 1st Stage, Mysore, 570017, India
| | - Elrika D'Souza
- Nature Conservation Foundation, 1311 Amritha, 12th Cross, Vijayanagar 1st Stage, Mysore, 570017, India
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3
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James RK, Keyzer LM, van de Velde SJ, Herman PMJ, van Katwijk MM, Bouma TJ. Climate change mitigation by coral reefs and seagrass beds at risk: How global change compromises coastal ecosystem services. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 857:159576. [PMID: 36273559 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Revised: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Seagrass meadows provide valuable ecosystem services of coastal protection and chemical habitat formation that could help mitigate the impact of sea level rise and ocean acidification. However, the intensification of hydrodynamic forces caused by sea level rise, in addition to habitat degradation threaten the provision of these ecosystem services. With quantitative field measurements of the coastal protection and chemical habitat formation services of seagrass meadows, we statistically model the relationships between hydrodynamic forces, vegetation density and the provision of these ecosystem services. Utilising a high-resolution hydrodynamic model that simulates end of the century hydrodynamic conditions and three scenarios of coral reef degradation (i.e., keep up, remain or loss) we quantify how the environmental conditions within a tropical bay will change given changes to the provision of ecosystem services. Our study shows that increasing hydrodynamic forces lead to a seafloor made up of a larger grain size that is increasingly unstable and more vulnerable to erosion. The loss of a fringing reef leads to larger hydrodynamic forces entering the bay, however, the 0.87 m increase in depth due to sea-level rise reduces the bed shear stress in shallower areas, which limits the change in the ecosystem services provided by the current benthic seagrass meadow. Loss of seagrass constitutes the greatest change in a bay ecosystem, resulting in the sediment surface where seagrass existed becoming unstable and the median sediment grain size increasing by 5-7 %. The loss of seagrass also leads to the disappearance of the unique fluctuating chemical habitat, which leaves the surrounding community vulnerable to ocean acidification. A reduction or complete loss of these ecosystem services would impact the entire community assemblage while also leaving the surrounding coastline vulnerable to erosion, thus exacerbating negative effects brought about by climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- R K James
- Department of Estuarine & Delta Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, Yerseke, the Netherlands; Bgeosys, Department of Geoscience, Environment and Society, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - L M Keyzer
- Environmental Fluid Mechanics, Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - S J van de Velde
- Bgeosys, Department of Geoscience, Environment and Society, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium; Operational Directorate Natural Environment, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
| | - P M J Herman
- Environmental Fluid Mechanics, Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands; Marine & Coastal Systems, Deltares, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - M M van Katwijk
- Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - T J Bouma
- Department of Estuarine & Delta Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, Yerseke, the Netherlands; Faculty of Geosciences, Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
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4
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Sun GQ, Li L, Li J, Liu C, Wu YP, Gao S, Wang Z, Feng GL. Impacts of climate change on vegetation pattern: Mathematical modeling and data analysis. Phys Life Rev 2022; 43:239-270. [PMID: 36343569 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2022.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Climate change has become increasingly severe, threatening ecosystem stability and, in particular, biodiversity. As a typical indicator of ecosystem evolution, vegetation growth is inevitably affected by climate change, and therefore has a great potential to provide valuable information for addressing such ecosystem problems. However, the impacts of climate change on vegetation growth, especially the spatial and temporal distribution of vegetation, are still lacking of comprehensive exposition. To this end, this review systematically reveals the influences of climate change on vegetation dynamics in both time and space by dynamical modeling the interactions of meteorological elements and vegetation growth. Moreover, we characterize the long-term evolution trend of vegetation growth under climate change in some typical regions based on data analysis. This work is expected to lay a necessary foundation for systematically revealing the coupling effect of climate change on the ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gui-Quan Sun
- Department of Mathematics, North University of China, Taiyuan, 030051, China; Complex Systems Research Center, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, 030006, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai, 519082, China.
| | - Li Li
- School of Computer and Information Technology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, 030006, China
| | - Jing Li
- School of Applied Mathematics, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, Taiyuan, 030006, China
| | - Chen Liu
- Center for Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710072, China
| | - Yong-Ping Wu
- College of Physics Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225002, China
| | - Shupeng Gao
- School of Mechanical Engineering and School of Artificial Intelligence, Optics and Electronics (iOPEN), Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xian, 710072, China
| | - Zhen Wang
- School of Mechanical Engineering and School of Artificial Intelligence, Optics and Electronics (iOPEN), Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xian, 710072, China.
| | - Guo-Lin Feng
- College of Physics Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225002, China; Laboratory for Climate Studies, National Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing, 100081, China.
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5
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Aranda M, Peralta G, Montes J, Gracia FJ, Fivash GS, Bouma TJ, van der Wal D. Salt marsh fragmentation in a mesotidal estuary: Implications for medium to long-term management. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 846:157410. [PMID: 35850332 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
During the last decades many salt marshes worldwide have suffered important losses in their extent and associated ecosystem services. The salt marshes of San Vicente de la Barquera estuary (N Spain) are a clear example of this, with a drastic reduction in vegetation surface over the last 60 years. This paper provides insights into the main factors controlling salt marsh functioning in sheltered estuarine areas. Regional and local factors have been disaggregated to identify the main drivers controlling the functioning of the salt marsh to develop appropriate management measures according to the evolution of the system. These factors have been studied in their spatial context through detailed maps of change in vegetation cover combined with topographic data obtained from UAV and RTK-DGPS surveys. The results demonstrate that in this estuary the salt marsh area is declining following a fragmentation process. No clear pattern of vegetation loss/gain with elevation has been identified. However, the results point to increased hydrodynamic stress in the area, with stronger currents inside the estuary. This is probably the major factor responsible for the decline of the salt marshes in the San Vicente de la Barquera estuary. Furthermore, several human interventions during the 20th century (local drivers) have also probably contributed to a lower resilience against SLR (regional driver). This work demonstrates that both natural and human drivers of change need to be considered when characterizing the evolution of salt marshes, wherever efficient management strategies need to be designed.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Aranda
- Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Cádiz, Avenida República Árabe Saharawi, s/n, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain.
| | - G Peralta
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Cádiz, Avenida República Árabe Saharawi, s/n, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain
| | - J Montes
- Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Cádiz, Avenida República Árabe Saharawi, s/n, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain
| | - F J Gracia
- Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Cádiz, Avenida República Árabe Saharawi, s/n, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain
| | - G S Fivash
- Department of Estuarine and Delta systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, the Netherlands; Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Community and Conservation Ecology Group, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, Groningen 9747 AG, the Netherlands
| | - T J Bouma
- Department of Estuarine and Delta systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, the Netherlands; Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Community and Conservation Ecology Group, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, Groningen 9747 AG, the Netherlands; Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, Utrecht 3584 CB, the Netherlands
| | - D van der Wal
- Department of Estuarine and Delta systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, the Netherlands; Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, 217, 7500 AE Enschede, the Netherlands
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6
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Lebrasse MC, Schaeffer BA, Coffer MM, Whitman PJ, Zimmerman RC, Hill VJ, Islam KA, Li J, Osburn CL. Temporal Stability of Seagrass Extent, Leaf Area, and Carbon Storage in St. Joseph Bay, Florida: a Semi-automated Remote Sensing Analysis. ESTUARIES AND COASTS : JOURNAL OF THE ESTUARINE RESEARCH FEDERATION 2022; 45:2082-2101. [PMID: 37009415 PMCID: PMC10054859 DOI: 10.1007/s12237-022-01050-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2021] [Revised: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Seagrasses are globally recognized for their contribution to blue carbon sequestration. However, accurate quantification of their carbon storage capacity remains uncertain due, in part, to an incomplete inventory of global seagrass extent and assessment of its temporal variability. Furthermore, seagrasses are undergoing significant decline globally, which highlights the urgent need to develop change detection techniques applicable to both the scale of loss and the spatial complexity of coastal environments. This study applied a deep learning algorithmto a 30-year time series of Landsat 5 through 8 imagery to quantify seagrass extent, leaf area index (LAI), and belowground organic carbon (BGC) in St. Joseph Bay, Florida, between 1990 and 2020. Consistent with previous field-based observations regarding stability of seagrass extent throughout St. Joseph Bay, there was no temporal trend in seagrass extent (23 ± 3 km2, τ = 0.09, p = 0.59, n = 31), LAI (1.6 ± 0.2, τ = -0.13, p = 0.42, n = 31), or BGC (165 ± 19 g C m-2, τ = - 0.01, p = 0.1, n = 31) over the 30-year study period. There were, however, six brief declines in seagrass extent between the years 2004 and 2019 following tropical cyclones, from which seagrasses recovered rapidly. Fine-scale interannual variability in seagrass extent, LAI, and BGC was unrelated to sea surface temperature or to climate variability associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation or the North Atlantic Oscillation. Although our temporal assessment showed that seagrass and its belowground carbon were stable in St. Joseph Bay from 1990 to 2020, forecasts suggest that environmental and climate pressures are ongoing, which highlights the importance of the method and time series presented here as a valuable tool to quantify decadal-scale variability in seagrass dynamics. Perhaps more importantly, our results can serve as a baseline against which we can monitor future change in seagrass communities and their blue carbon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Cindy Lebrasse
- ORISE Fellow, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Blake A Schaeffer
- Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Megan M Coffer
- ORISE Fellow, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Peter J Whitman
- ORISE Fellow, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Richard C Zimmerman
- Department of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA
| | - Victoria J Hill
- Department of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA
| | - Kazi A Islam
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA
| | - Jiang Li
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA
| | - Christopher L Osburn
- Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
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7
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Llabrés E, Mayol E, Marbà N, Sintes T. A mathematical model for inter‐specific interactions in seagrasses. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Eva Llabrés
- Inst. for Cross‐Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems, IFISC (CSIC‐UIB), Univ. de les Illes Balears Palma de Mallorca Spain
| | - Elvira Mayol
- Dept of Global Change Research, Mediterranean Inst. for Advanced Studies, IMEDEA (CSIC‐UIB) Esporles (Mallorca) Spain
| | - Núria Marbà
- Dept of Global Change Research, Mediterranean Inst. for Advanced Studies, IMEDEA (CSIC‐UIB) Esporles (Mallorca) Spain
| | - Tomàs Sintes
- Inst. for Cross‐Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems, IFISC (CSIC‐UIB), Univ. de les Illes Balears Palma de Mallorca Spain
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8
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Quantifying the Intra-Habitat Variation of Seagrass Beds with Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). REMOTE SENSING 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/rs14030480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Accurate knowledge of the spatial extent of seagrass habitats is essential for monitoring and management purposes given their ecological and economic significance. Extent data are typically presented in binary (presence/absence) or arbitrary, semi-quantitative density bands derived from low-resolution satellite imagery, which cannot resolve fine-scale features and intra-habitat variability. Recent advances in consumer-grade unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs) have advanced our ability to survey large areas at higher resolution and at lower cost. This has improved the accessibility of mapping technologies to developing coastal nations, where a large proportion of the world’s seagrass habitats are found. Here, we present the application of UAV-gathered imagery to determine seagrass habitat extent and percent of canopy cover. Four contrasting sites were surveyed in the Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve, Belize, and seagrass canopy cover was ground truthed from in situ quadrats. Orthomosaic images were created for each site from the UAV-gathered imagery. Three modelling techniques were tested to extrapolate the findings from quadrats to spatial information, producing binary (random forest) and canopy cover (random forest regression and beta regression) habitat maps. The most robust model (random forest regression) had an average absolute error of 6.8–11.9% (SE of 8.2–14), building upon previous attempts at mapping seagrass density from satellite imagery, which achieved errors between 15–20% approximately. The resulting maps exhibited great intra-habitat heterogeneity and different levels of patchiness, which were attributed to site energetics and, possibly, species composition. The extra information in the canopy cover maps provides greater detail and information for key management decisions and provides the basis for future spatial studies and monitoring programmes.
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9
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Rietkerk M, Bastiaansen R, Banerjee S, van de Koppel J, Baudena M, Doelman A. Evasion of tipping in complex systems through spatial pattern formation. Science 2021; 374:eabj0359. [PMID: 34618584 DOI: 10.1126/science.abj0359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
[Figure: see text].
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Affiliation(s)
- Max Rietkerk
- Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, 3508 TC, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Robbin Bastiaansen
- Department of Physics, Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht, Utrecht University, 3508 TA, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Swarnendu Banerjee
- Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, 3508 TC, Utrecht, Netherlands.,The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, CIT Campus, Taramani, Chennai 600113, India.,Indian Statistical Institute, Agricultural and Ecological Research Unit, Kolkata 700108, India
| | - Johan van de Koppel
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, 4400 AC, Yerseke, Netherlands.,Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Conservation Ecology Group, University of Groningen, 9700 CC, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Mara Baudena
- Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, 3508 TC, Utrecht, Netherlands.,National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (CNR-ISAC), 10133 Torino, Italy
| | - Arjen Doelman
- Mathematical Institute, Leiden University, 2300 RA, Leiden, Netherlands
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10
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He J, Rindi L, Mintrone C, Benedetti‐Cecchi L. Exogenous disturbances and endogenous self‐organized processes are not mutually exclusive drivers of spatial patterns in macroalgal assemblages. OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.07908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jianyu He
- Dept of Biology, Univ. of Pisa, CoNISMa Pisa Italy
- Marine Science and Technical College, Zhejiang Ocean Univ., Zhoushan City Zhejiang China
| | - Luca Rindi
- Dept of Biology, Univ. of Pisa, CoNISMa Pisa Italy
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11
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Wu M, Wu P, He P, He N, Hu Y, Wang M, Wang Q, Zhang B, Zhang S, Fang S. Theory of scale-dependent feedback: An experimental validation and its significance for coastal saltmarsh restoration. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 756:143855. [PMID: 33257065 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Revised: 11/07/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Theory of self-organization, i.e., scale-dependent feedback (SDF), has been widely used to explain mechanisms of spatial patterns in different ecosystems. Studies have demonstrated that self-organization is one of the mechanisms through which ecosystem resilience is maintained. However, the application of SDF in real ecological restoration practices is a challenge due to the lack of a controlled experimental validation. In the present study, multiple scales of vegetation patches were constructed along an elevation gradient in the saltmarsh ecosystem on Nanhui coasts and were investigated to verify if there was an effect of SDF. Results of the density-variation curves analyses revealed that most constructed self-organized patches could survive and an optimal curve was found of which the density-dependent feedback was proven through fitting with the asymptotic regression model. The large vegetation patches exhibited considerable increases in density when compared to the small vegetation patches, which occurred in challenging environments, i.e., on the verges of elevation thresholds, and with a tendency to shrink. Analyses using one-way ANOVA revealed that there was an optimal patch scale and elevation in the study area, i.e., 1 m × 1 m scale and 3.2 m, respectively. Optimal scale and elevation provide a comprehensively explanations of SDF, although with the positive effects gradually decreased along the distance away from the optimal condition. The present study provides novel insights on applying the theory of SDF in facilitating the restoration process of coastal saltmarshes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingxuan Wu
- College of Marine Ecology and Environment, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China; Research Center of Water Environment & Ecological Engineering, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Pengling Wu
- College of Marine Ecology and Environment, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China; Research Center of Water Environment & Ecological Engineering, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Peimin He
- College of Marine Ecology and Environment, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China; Research Center of Water Environment & Ecological Engineering, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Ning He
- College of Marine Ecology and Environment, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Yang Hu
- College of Marine Ecology and Environment, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Maoqiu Wang
- College of Marine Ecology and Environment, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Qinyi Wang
- College of Marine Ecology and Environment, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Bolun Zhang
- College of Marine Ecology and Environment, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Shengle Zhang
- College of Marine Ecology and Environment, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Shubo Fang
- College of Marine Ecology and Environment, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China; Research Center of Water Environment & Ecological Engineering, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China.
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12
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Zhang C, Wang Y, Jia X, Shao M, An Z. Impacts of shrub introduction on soil properties and implications for dryland revegetation. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 742:140498. [PMID: 32623167 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2020] [Revised: 06/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/23/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The intensive introduction of shrubs to drylands can alter species composition and affect a series of biotic and abiotic processes. This topic has attracted increasing attention by researchers. To assess the response of soil properties to vegetation succession in arid regions of China, we measured the soil water content (SWC) to a depth of 5-m and determined soil properties of surface (0-5 cm) and subsurface (20-25 cm) layers in areas of natural grasses (NGs) and planted shrubs (PSs). The patch size of Caragana korshinskii shrubs resulted in different soil water storage losses (small shrub patch: 206.67 ± 35.58 mm; medium shrub patch: 416.88 ± 35.12 mm; large shrub patch: 588.63 ± 72.00 mm; degraded shrub patch: 740.54 ± 17.00 mm). Shrub cover showed an initial increase but then decreased as shrubs extracted soil water from the deep soil layers (>1 m). The species richness index in the PSs decreased with increasing shrub patch sizes. Surface soil organic carbon (SOC), extractable nitrogen (NH4+-N and NO3--N), and available phosphorous contents and saturated soil hydraulic conductivity (Ks) in the PSs were all significantly (p < 0.05) lower than those in NGs. Soil particles in the range of 0.002-0.2 mm explained 28.0% and 47.3% of the total variability of these surface indices under NGs and PSs, respectively. The differences in SOC, NH4+-N, NO3--N, Ks, and field capacity between the surface and subsurface layers declined significantly (p < 0.05). The introduction of shrubs affected the plant community by increasing the spatial heterogeneity of soil resources (e.g. water and nutrient contents). Therefore, the strong feedback between SWC and vegetation succession should be carefully considered when revegetating drylands. The evaluation of regional soil property responses to vegetation succession aids in a better understanding of soil water-vegetation feedback and provides important implications for future revegetation in arid regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chencheng Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, China; State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yunqiang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, China; Interdisciplinary Research Center of Earth Science Frontier, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.
| | - Xiaoxu Jia
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Ming'an Shao
- CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, China; Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Zhisheng An
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, China; Interdisciplinary Research Center of Earth Science Frontier, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
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13
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Crotty SM, Angelini C. Geomorphology and Species Interactions Control Facilitation Cascades in a Salt Marsh Ecosystem. Curr Biol 2020; 30:1562-1571.e4. [PMID: 32197087 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.02.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2019] [Revised: 12/20/2019] [Accepted: 02/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Facilitation cascades are chains of positive interactions that occur as frequently as trophic cascades and are equally important drivers of ecosystem function, where they involve the overlap of primary and secondary, or dependent, habitat-forming foundation species [1]. Although it is well recognized that the size and configuration of secondary foundation species' patches are critical features modulating the ecological effects of facilitation cascades [2], the mechanisms governing their spatial distribution are often challenging to discern given that they operate across multiple spatial and temporal scales [1, 3]. We therefore combined regional surveys of southeastern US salt marsh geomorphology and invertebrate communities with a predator exclusion experiment to elucidate the drivers, both geomorphic and biotic, controlling the establishment, persistence, and ecosystem functioning impacts of a regionally abundant facilitation cascade involving habitat-forming marsh cordgrass and aggregations of ribbed mussels. We discovered a hierarchy of physical and biological factors predictably controlling the strength and self-organization of this facilitation cascade across creekshed, landscape, and patch scales. These results significantly enhance our capacity to spatially predict coastal ecosystem function across scales based on easily identifiable metrics of geomorphology that are mechanistically linked to ecological processes. Replication of this approach across vegetated coastal ecosystems has the potential to support management efforts by elucidating the multi-scale linkages between geomorphology and ecology that, in turn, define spatially explicit patterns in community assembly and ecosystem functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sinéad M Crotty
- Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School for Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, PO Box 116580, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; Carbon Containment Lab, Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
| | - Christine Angelini
- Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School for Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, PO Box 116580, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
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14
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Zhao LX, Xu C, Ge ZM, van de Koppel J, Liu QX. The shaping role of self-organization: linking vegetation patterning, plant traits and ecosystem functioning. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 286:20182859. [PMID: 30966990 PMCID: PMC6501680 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Self-organized spatial patterns are increasingly recognized for their contribution to ecosystem functioning, in terms of enhanced productivity, ecosystem stability, and species diversity in terrestrial as well as marine ecosystems. Most studies on the impact of spatial self-organization have focused on systems that exhibit regular patterns. However, there is an abundance of patterns in many ecosystems which are not strictly regular. Understanding of how these patterns are formed and how they affect ecosystem function is crucial for the broad acceptance of self-organization as a keystone process in ecological theory. Here, using transplantation experiments in salt marsh ecosystems dominated by Scirpus mariqueter, we demonstrate that scale-dependent feedback is driving irregular spatial pattern formation of vegetation. Field observations and experiments have revealed that this self-organization process affects a range of plant traits, including shoot-to-root ratio, rhizome orientation, rhizome node number, and rhizome length, and enhances vegetation productivity. Moreover, patchiness in self-organized salt marsh vegetation can support a better microhabitat for macrobenthos, promoting their total abundance and spatial heterogeneity of species richness. Our results extend existing concepts of self-organization and its effects on productivity and biodiversity to the spatial irregular patterns that are observed in many systems. Our work also helps to link between the so-far largely unconnected fields of self-organization theory and trait-based, functional ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Xia Zhao
- 1 State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, People's Republic of China
| | - Chi Xu
- 2 School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University , Nanjing 210023 , China
| | - Zhen-Ming Ge
- 1 State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, People's Republic of China
| | - Johan van de Koppel
- 3 Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems , Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, PO Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke , The Netherlands
| | - Quan-Xing Liu
- 1 State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, People's Republic of China.,4 Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration & Tiantong National Station for Forest Ecosystem Research , School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241 , People's Republic of China.,5 Center for Global Change and Ecological Forecasting, School of Ecological and Environmental Science , East China Normal University, 200241 Shanghai , People's Republic of China
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15
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Bastiaansen R, Doelman A, Eppinga MB, Rietkerk M. The effect of climate change on the resilience of ecosystems with adaptive spatial pattern formation. Ecol Lett 2020; 23:414-429. [PMID: 31912954 PMCID: PMC7028049 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2019] [Revised: 08/12/2019] [Accepted: 11/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
In a rapidly changing world, quantifying ecosystem resilience is an important challenge. Historically, resilience has been defined via models that do not take spatial effects into account. These systems can only adapt via uniform adjustments. In reality, however, the response is not necessarily uniform, and can lead to the formation of (self-organised) spatial patterns - typically localised vegetation patches. Classical measures of resilience cannot capture the emerging dynamics in spatially self-organised systems, including transitions between patterned states that have limited impact on ecosystem structure and productivity. We present a framework of interlinked phase portraits that appropriately quantifies the resilience of patterned states, which depends on the number of patches, the distances between them and environmental conditions. We show how classical resilience concepts fail to distinguish between small and large pattern transitions, and find that the variance in interpatch distances provides a suitable indicator for the type of imminent transition. Subsequently, we describe the dependency of ecosystem degradation based on the rate of climatic change: slow change leads to sporadic, large transitions, whereas fast change causes a rapid sequence of smaller transitions. Finally, we discuss how pre-emptive removal of patches can minimise productivity losses during pattern transitions, constituting a viable conservation strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Arjen Doelman
- Mathematical InstituteLeiden University2300 RALeidenThe Netherlands
| | | | - Max Rietkerk
- Department of Environmental SciencesCopernicus InstituteUtrecht University3508 TCUtrechtThe Netherlands
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16
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Barnes RSK. Local patchiness of macrobenthic faunal abundance displays homogeneity across the disparate seagrass systems of an estuarine bay. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2019; 148:99-107. [PMID: 31170657 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2019.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2019] [Revised: 04/26/2019] [Accepted: 05/01/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Spatial variation in the degree of local patchiness of macrobenthic assemblage abundance was assessed across the 16 km2 warm-temperate Knysna estuarine bay (South Africa) where the seagrass Zostera (Zosterella) capensis grows under a broad spectrum of environmental conditions and supports invertebrate assemblages at a wide range of local density (<2000->320000 ind. m-2). Macrobenthic assemblage abundance at all 27 representative sites examined displayed low-level but highly-significant spatial patchiness (mean Lloyd's index, IP = 1.148). Except at high tidal levels, however, the magnitude of this local patchiness did not vary statistically across the system (CV 4.3%) regardless of assemblage abundance, location or species composition. Patchinesses well within ±1 standard deviation of Knysna's value also characterise an equivalent Z. (Zosterella) capricorni assemblage in subtropical Queensland (IP 1.169) and another, Z. (Zosterella) noltei, assemblage in cool-temperate England (IP 1.135), suggesting that at local scales intertidal dwarf-eelgrass macrobenthic abundance displays a characteristic level of patchiness.
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Affiliation(s)
- R S K Barnes
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown), Eastern Cape, 6140, South Africa; Knysna Basin Project Laboratory, Knysna, Western Cape, 6571, South Africa; Department of Zoology and Conservation Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
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17
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Coppa S, Quattrocchi G, Cucco A, de Lucia GA, Vencato S, Camedda A, Domenici P, Conforti A, Satta A, Tonielli R, Bressan M, Massaro G, Falco GD. Self-organisation in striped seagrass meadows affects the distributional pattern of the sessile bivalve Pinna nobilis. Sci Rep 2019; 9:7220. [PMID: 31076581 PMCID: PMC6510729 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-43214-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2018] [Accepted: 02/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Striped seagrass meadows are formed by narrow ribbons which are elevated over the seabed and separated by channels. Limited information on the genesis and development of this morphological pattern, including the adaptive responses of associated biota, is preventing holistic insight into the functioning of such protected ecosystems. This paper assessed the structural dynamics of a Posidonia oceanica striped meadow and the distribution and 3D orientation of the associated bivalve Pinna nobilis. Our analysis of the interaction between bedforms, bottom currents, and the distribution of P. nobilis revealed that the striped seascape is the result of a self-organisation process driven by feedback interactions among seagrass growth, sediment deposition, and hydrodynamics. The results suggest that the ribbon wall is the most suitable sub-habitat for this species, because it supports the highest density of P. nobilis, compared to the meadow top and bottom. Here, specimens can take advantage of the resuspension induced by hydrodynamics and open their shells towards the current, thus enhancing food intake. Therefore, our results show that self-organisation in striped seagrass meadow affects the distributional pattern of P. nobilis, providing new insights into the autoecology of this species beyond the conservation implications for its habitat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefania Coppa
- CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, IAS - Istituto per lo studio degli impatti Antropici e Sostenibilità in ambiente marino, Località Sa Mardini, Torregrande, Oristano, Italy
| | - Giovanni Quattrocchi
- CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, IAS - Istituto per lo studio degli impatti Antropici e Sostenibilità in ambiente marino, Località Sa Mardini, Torregrande, Oristano, Italy
| | - Andrea Cucco
- CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, IAS - Istituto per lo studio degli impatti Antropici e Sostenibilità in ambiente marino, Località Sa Mardini, Torregrande, Oristano, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Andrea de Lucia
- CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, IAS - Istituto per lo studio degli impatti Antropici e Sostenibilità in ambiente marino, Località Sa Mardini, Torregrande, Oristano, Italy.
| | - Sara Vencato
- Università di Padova, Dipartimento di Biologia, Padova, Italy
| | - Andrea Camedda
- CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, IAS - Istituto per lo studio degli impatti Antropici e Sostenibilità in ambiente marino, Località Sa Mardini, Torregrande, Oristano, Italy
| | - Paolo Domenici
- CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, IAS - Istituto per lo studio degli impatti Antropici e Sostenibilità in ambiente marino, Località Sa Mardini, Torregrande, Oristano, Italy
| | - Alessandro Conforti
- CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, IAS - Istituto per lo studio degli impatti Antropici e Sostenibilità in ambiente marino, Località Sa Mardini, Torregrande, Oristano, Italy
| | - Andrea Satta
- CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, IAS - Istituto per lo studio degli impatti Antropici e Sostenibilità in ambiente marino, Località Sa Mardini, Torregrande, Oristano, Italy
| | - Renato Tonielli
- CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, ISMAR - Istituto di Scienze Marine, Napoli, Italy
| | - Monica Bressan
- Università di Padova, Dipartimento di Biologia, Padova, Italy
| | - Giorgio Massaro
- Area marina protetta "Penisola del Sinis-Isola di Mal di Ventre", Cabras, Italy
| | - Giovanni De Falco
- CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, IAS - Istituto per lo studio degli impatti Antropici e Sostenibilità in ambiente marino, Località Sa Mardini, Torregrande, Oristano, Italy
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18
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de Fouw J, van der Heide T, van Belzen J, Govers LL, Cheikh MAS, Olff H, van de Koppel J, van Gils JA. A facultative mutualistic feedback enhances the stability of tropical intertidal seagrass beds. Sci Rep 2018; 8:12988. [PMID: 30154474 PMCID: PMC6113270 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-31060-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2017] [Accepted: 07/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Marine foundation species such as corals, seagrasses, salt marsh plants, and mangrove trees are increasingly found to engage in mutualistic interactions. Because mutualisms by their very nature generate a positive feedback between the species, subtle environmental impacts on one of the species involved may trigger mutualism breakdown, potentially leading to ecosystem regime shifts. Using an empirically parameterized model, we investigate a facultative mutualism between seagrass and lucinid bivalves with endosymbiotic sulfide-oxidizing gill bacteria in a tropical intertidal ecosystem. Model predictions for our system show that, by alleviating the build-up of toxic sulfide, this mutualism maintains an otherwise intrinsically unstable seagrass ecosystem. However, an increase in seagrass mortality above natural levels, due to e.g. desiccation stress, triggers mutualism breakdown. This pushes the system in collapse-and-recovery dynamics ('slow-fast cycles') characterized by long-term persistent states of bare and seagrass-dominated, with rapid transitions in between. Model results were consistent with remote sensing analyses that suggest feedback-mediated state shifts induced by desiccation. Overall, our combined theoretical and empirical results illustrate the potential of mutualistic feedbacks to stabilize ecosystems, but also reveal an important drawback as small environmental changes may trigger shifts. We therefore suggest that mutualisms should be considered for marine conservation and restoration of seagrass beds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jimmy de Fouw
- Department of Aquatic Ecology and Environmental Biology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. .,Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands.
| | - Tjisse van der Heide
- Department of Aquatic Ecology and Environmental Biology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands.,Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jim van Belzen
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 140, NL-4400 AC, Yerseke, The Netherlands.,Ecosystem Management Research Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Laura L Govers
- Department of Aquatic Ecology and Environmental Biology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Mohammed Ahmed Sidi Cheikh
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Han Olff
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Johan van de Koppel
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 140, NL-4400 AC, Yerseke, The Netherlands
| | - Jan A van Gils
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
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19
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Suykerbuyk W, Govers LL, van Oven WG, Giesen K, Giesen WBJT, de Jong DJ, Bouma TJ, van Katwijk MM. Living in the intertidal: desiccation and shading reduce seagrass growth, but high salinity or population of origin have no additional effect. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5234. [PMID: 30042889 PMCID: PMC6055680 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2018] [Accepted: 06/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The limiting effects of stressors like desiccation, light and salinity on seagrass growth and distribution are well-studied. However, little is known about their interactive effects, and whether such effects might differ among populations that are adapted to different local conditions. In two laboratory experiments we tested (a) if growth and development of intertidal, temperate Zostera noltii is affected by emergence time (experiment 1 and 2), and (b) how this is affected by an additional, second stressor, namely shading (experiment 1) or high salinity (25, 30 and 35, experiment 2). In addition, we tested (c) whether the effects of emergence time and salinity varied between three different European seagrass populations (Saint-Jacut/France, Oosterschelde/The Netherlands, and Sylt/Germany), which are likely adapted to different salinity levels (experiment 2). In both experiments, emergence of 8 h per tidal cycle (of 12 h) had a negative effect on seagrass relative growth rate (RGR), and aboveground biomass. Emergence furthermore reduced either rhizome length (experiment 1) or belowground biomass (experiment 2). Shading (experiment 1) resulted in lower RGR and a two-fold higher aboveground/belowground ratio. We found no interactive effects of emergence and shading stress. Salinity (experiment 2) did not affect seagrass growth or morphology of any of the three populations. The three tested populations differed greatly in morphology but showed no differential response to emergence or salinity level (experiment 2). Our results indicate that emergence time and shading show an additive negative effect (no synergistic or antagonistic effect), making the plants still vulnerable to such combination, a combination that may occur as a consequence of self-shading during emergence or resulting from algal cover. Emergence time likely determines the upper limit of Z. noltii and such shading will likely lower the upper limit. Shading resulted in higher aboveground/belowground ratios as is a general response in seagrass. Z. noltii of different populations originating from salinity 30 and 35 seem tolerant to variations in salinity within the tested range. Our results indicate that the three tested populations show morphotypic rather than ecotypic variation, at least regarding the salinity and emergence, as there were no interactive effects with origin. For restoration, this implies that the salinity regime of the donor and receptor site of Z. noltii is of no concern within the salinity range 25–35.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wouter Suykerbuyk
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, and Utrecht University, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Yerseke, Netherlands.,Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Laura L Govers
- Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands.,Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), Conservation Ecology Group, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.,Department of Aquatic Ecology and Environmental Biology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - W G van Oven
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, and Utrecht University, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Yerseke, Netherlands
| | - Kris Giesen
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, and Utrecht University, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Yerseke, Netherlands.,Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | | | - Dick J de Jong
- Zee en Delta Department, Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, Rijkswaterstaat, Middelburg, Netherlands
| | - Tjeerd J Bouma
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, and Utrecht University, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Yerseke, Netherlands
| | - Marieke M van Katwijk
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, and Utrecht University, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Yerseke, Netherlands.,Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
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20
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Rostami Z, Jafari S. Defects formation and spiral waves in a network of neurons in presence of electromagnetic induction. Cogn Neurodyn 2018; 12:235-254. [PMID: 29564031 DOI: 10.1007/s11571-017-9472-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2017] [Revised: 12/04/2017] [Accepted: 12/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Complex anatomical and physiological structure of an excitable tissue (e.g., cardiac tissue) in the body can represent different electrical activities through normal or abnormal behavior. Abnormalities of the excitable tissue coming from different biological reasons can lead to formation of some defects. Such defects can cause some successive waves that may end up to some additional reorganizing beating behaviors like spiral waves or target waves. In this study, formation of defects and the resulting emitted waves in an excitable tissue are investigated. We have considered a square array network of neurons with nearest-neighbor connections to describe the excitable tissue. Fundamentally, electrophysiological properties of ion currents in the body are responsible for exhibition of electrical spatiotemporal patterns. More precisely, fluctuation of accumulated ions inside and outside of cell causes variable electrical and magnetic field. Considering undeniable mutual effects of electrical field and magnetic field, we have proposed the new Hindmarsh-Rose (HR) neuronal model for the local dynamics of each individual neuron in the network. In this new neuronal model, the influence of magnetic flow on membrane potential is defined. This improved model holds more bifurcation parameters. Moreover, the dynamical behavior of the tissue is investigated in different states of quiescent, spiking, bursting and even chaotic state. The resulting spatiotemporal patterns are represented and the time series of some sampled neurons are displayed, as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahra Rostami
- Biomedical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, 15875-4413 Iran
| | - Sajad Jafari
- Biomedical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, 15875-4413 Iran
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21
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Irvine MA, Bull JC, Keeling MJ. Conservation of pattern as a tool for inference on spatial snapshots in ecological data. Sci Rep 2018; 8:132. [PMID: 29317656 PMCID: PMC5760736 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-17346-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2017] [Accepted: 11/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
As climate change and other anthropogenic factors increase the uncertainty of vegetation ecosystem persistence, the ability to rapidly assess their dynamics is paramount. Vegetation and sessile communities form a variety of striking regular spatial patterns such as stripes, spots and labyrinths, that have been used as indicators of ecosystem current state, through qualitative analysis of simple models. Here we describe a new method for rigorous quantitative estimation of biological parameters from a single spatial snapshot. We formulate a synthetic likelihood through consideration of the expected change in the correlation structure of the spatial pattern. This then allows Bayesian inference to be performed on the model parameters, which includes providing parameter uncertainty. The method was validated against simulated data and then applied to real data in the form of aerial photographs of seagrass banding. The inferred parameters were found to be able to reproduce similar patterns to those observed and able to detect strength of spatial competition, competition-induced mortality and the local range of reproduction. This technique points to a way of performing rapid inference of spatial competition and ecological stability from a single spatial snapshots of sessile communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Irvine
- Institute of Applied Mathematics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z2, Canada.
| | - James C Bull
- Department of Biosciences, Wallace Building, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK.
| | - Matt J Keeling
- Zeeman Institute (SBIDER), Maths Institute & School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV47AL, UK.
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22
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Fragment dispersal and plant-induced dieback explain irregular ring-shaped pattern formation in a clonal submerged macrophyte. Ecol Modell 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2017.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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23
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Irvine MA, Bull JC, Keeling MJ. Disease transmission promotes evolution of host spatial patterns. J R Soc Interface 2017; 13:rsif.2016.0463. [PMID: 27628172 PMCID: PMC5046947 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2016.0463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2016] [Accepted: 08/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecological dynamics can produce a variety of striking patterns. On ecological time scales, pattern formation has been hypothesized to be due to the interaction between a species and its local environment. On longer time scales, evolutionary factors must be taken into account. To examine the evolutionary robustness of spatial pattern formation, we construct a spatially explicit model of vegetation in the presence of a pathogen. Initially, we compare the dynamics for vegetation parameters that lead to competition induced spatial patterns and those that do not. Over ecological time scales, banded spatial patterns dramatically reduced the ability of the pathogen to spread, lowered its endemic density and hence increased the persistence of the vegetation. To gain an evolutionary understanding, each plant was given a heritable trait defining its resilience to competition; greater competition leads to lower vegetation density but stronger spatial patterns. When a disease is introduced, the selective pressure on the plant's resilience to the competition parameter is determined by the transmission of the disease. For high transmission, vegetation that has low resilience to competition and hence strong spatial patterning is an evolutionarily stable strategy. This demonstrates a novel mechanism by which striking spatial patterns can be maintained by disease-driven selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Irvine
- Centre for Complexity Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - James C Bull
- Department of Biosciences, University of Swansea, Swansea, UK
| | - Matthew J Keeling
- Mathematics Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
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24
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Siero E. Nonlocal grazing in patterned ecosystems. J Theor Biol 2017; 436:64-71. [PMID: 28986167 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2017.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2017] [Revised: 07/30/2017] [Accepted: 10/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Many ecosystems exhibit gapped, labyrinthine, striped or spotted patterns. Important examples are vegetation patterns in drylands: these patterns are viewed as precursors of a catastrophic transition to a degraded state. A possible source of degradation is overgrazing, but many current spatially extended models include grazing in a local linear way. In this article nonlocal grazing responses are derived, taking into account (1) how many consumers there are (demographic response) (2) where they are (aggregative response) and (3) how much they forage (functional response). Different assumptions lead to different grazing responses, the type of grazing has a large influence on how ecosystems adapt to changing environmental conditions. In dryland simulations the different types of grazing are shown to alter the desertification process driven by decreasing rainfall. A sufficiently strong aggregative response leads to the suppression of vegetation patterns, nuancing their role as generic early warning signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Siero
- Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Institut für Numerische und Angewandte Mathematik, Einsteinstraße 62, 48149 Münster, Germany.
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25
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Ruiz-Reynés D, Gomila D, Sintes T, Hernández-García E, Marbà N, Duarte CM. Fairy circle landscapes under the sea. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2017; 3:e1603262. [PMID: 28782035 PMCID: PMC5540242 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1603262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2017] [Accepted: 06/28/2017] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Short-scale interactions yield large-scale vegetation patterns that, in turn, shape ecosystem function across landscapes. Fairy circles, which are circular patches bare of vegetation within otherwise continuous landscapes, are characteristic features of semiarid grasslands. We report the occurrence of submarine fairy circle seascapes in seagrass meadows and propose a simple model that reproduces the diversity of seascapes observed in these ecosystems as emerging from plant interactions within the meadow. These seascapes include two extreme cases, a continuous meadow and a bare landscape, along with intermediate states that range from the occurrence of persistent but isolated fairy circles, or solitons, to seascapes with multiple fairy circles, banded vegetation, and "leopard skin" patterns consisting of bare seascapes dotted with plant patches. The model predicts that these intermediate seascapes extending across kilometers emerge as a consequence of local demographic imbalances along with facilitative and competitive interactions among the plants with a characteristic spatial scale of 20 to 30 m, consistent with known drivers of seagrass performance. The model, which can be extended to clonal growth plants in other landscapes showing fairy rings, reveals that the different seascapes observed hold diagnostic power as to the proximity of seagrass meadows to extinction points that can be used to identify ecosystems at risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Ruiz-Reynés
- IFISC (Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos) [Universidad Illes Baleares–Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UIB-CSIC)], Campus Universitat Illes Balears, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Damià Gomila
- IFISC (Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos) [Universidad Illes Baleares–Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UIB-CSIC)], Campus Universitat Illes Balears, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Tomàs Sintes
- IFISC (Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos) [Universidad Illes Baleares–Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UIB-CSIC)], Campus Universitat Illes Balears, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Emilio Hernández-García
- IFISC (Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos) [Universidad Illes Baleares–Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UIB-CSIC)], Campus Universitat Illes Balears, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Núria Marbà
- Department of Global Change Research, IMEDEA (Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies) (UIB-CSIC), Miquel Marqués 21, 07190 Esporles, Spain
| | - Carlos M. Duarte
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Red Sea Research Center, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
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26
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de Paoli H, van der Heide T, van den Berg A, Silliman BR, Herman PMJ, van de Koppel J. Behavioral self-organization underlies the resilience of a coastal ecosystem. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:8035-8040. [PMID: 28696313 PMCID: PMC5544259 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1619203114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Self-organized spatial patterns occur in many terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems. Theoretical models and observational studies suggest self-organization, the formation of patterns due to ecological interactions, is critical for enhanced ecosystem resilience. However, experimental tests of this cross-ecosystem theory are lacking. In this study, we experimentally test the hypothesis that self-organized pattern formation improves the persistence of mussel beds (Mytilus edulis) on intertidal flats. In natural beds, mussels generate self-organized patterns at two different spatial scales: regularly spaced clusters of mussels at centimeter scale driven by behavioral aggregation and large-scale, regularly spaced bands at meter scale driven by ecological feedback mechanisms. To test for the relative importance of these two spatial scales of self-organization on mussel bed persistence, we conducted field manipulations in which we factorially constructed small-scale and/or large-scale patterns. Our results revealed that both forms of self-organization enhanced the persistence of the constructed mussel beds in comparison to nonorganized beds. Small-scale, behaviorally driven cluster patterns were found to be crucial for persistence, and thus resistance to wave disturbance, whereas large-scale, self-organized patterns facilitated reformation of small-scale patterns if mussels were dislodged. This study provides experimental evidence that self-organization can be paramount to enhancing ecosystem persistence. We conclude that ecosystems with self-organized spatial patterns are likely to benefit greatly from conservation and restoration actions that use the emergent effects of self-organization to increase ecosystem resistance to disturbance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hélène de Paoli
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research and Utrecht University, 4401 NT Yerseke, The Netherlands
| | - Tjisse van der Heide
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands;
- Department of Aquatic Ecology and Environmental Biology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Aniek van den Berg
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research and Utrecht University, 4401 NT Yerseke, The Netherlands
| | - Brian R Silliman
- Division of Marine Sciences and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC 28516;
| | - Peter M J Herman
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research and Utrecht University, 4401 NT Yerseke, The Netherlands;
- Department of Aquatic Ecology and Environmental Biology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Unit for Marine and Coastal Systems, Deltares, 2629 HV Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Johan van de Koppel
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research and Utrecht University, 4401 NT Yerseke, The Netherlands;
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
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27
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Maxwell PS, Eklöf JS, van Katwijk MM, O'Brien KR, de la Torre-Castro M, Boström C, Bouma TJ, Krause-Jensen D, Unsworth RKF, van Tussenbroek BI, van der Heide T. The fundamental role of ecological feedback mechanisms for the adaptive management of seagrass ecosystems - a review. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2016; 92:1521-1538. [PMID: 27581168 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2015] [Revised: 07/03/2016] [Accepted: 07/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Seagrass meadows are vital ecosystems in coastal zones worldwide, but are also under global threat. One of the major hurdles restricting the success of seagrass conservation and restoration is our limited understanding of ecological feedback mechanisms. In these ecosystems, multiple, self-reinforcing feedbacks can undermine conservation efforts by masking environmental impacts until the decline is precipitous, or alternatively they can inhibit seagrass recovery in spite of restoration efforts. However, no clear framework yet exists for identifying or dealing with feedbacks to improve the management of seagrass ecosystems. Here we review the causes and consequences of multiple feedbacks between seagrass and biotic and/or abiotic processes. We demonstrate how feedbacks have the potential to impose or reinforce regimes of either seagrass dominance or unvegetated substrate, and how the strength and importance of these feedbacks vary across environmental gradients. Although a myriad of feedbacks have now been identified, the co-occurrence and likely interaction among feedbacks has largely been overlooked to date due to difficulties in analysis and detection. Here we take a fundamental step forward by modelling the interactions among two distinct above- and belowground feedbacks to demonstrate that interacting feedbacks are likely to be important for ecosystem resilience. On this basis, we propose a five-step adaptive management plan to address feedback dynamics for effective conservation and restoration strategies. The management plan provides guidance to aid in the identification and prioritisation of likely feedbacks in different seagrass ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul S Maxwell
- School of Chemical Engineering, University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072, Australia
| | - Johan S Eklöf
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Marieke M van Katwijk
- Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Katherine R O'Brien
- School of Chemical Engineering, University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072, Australia
| | | | - Christoffer Boström
- Environmental and Marine Biology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, Artillerigatan 6, 20520, Turku, Finland
| | - Tjeerd J Bouma
- Department of Yerseke Spatial Ecology, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, 4401 NT, Yerseke, The Netherlands
| | - Dorte Krause-Jensen
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Vejlsøvej 25, 8600, Silkeborg, Denmark.,Department of Bioscience, Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, C.F. Møllers Allé 8, 8000, Århus C, Denmark
| | - Richard K F Unsworth
- Seagrass Ecosystem Research Group, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, U.K
| | - Brigitta I van Tussenbroek
- Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Unidad Académica Sistemas Arrecifales/Puerto Morelos, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apdo. Postal 1152, Cancún 77500, Quintana Roo, Mexico
| | - Tjisse van der Heide
- Department of Aquatic Ecology & Environmental Biology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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28
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de Fouw J, Govers LL, van de Koppel J, van Belzen J, Dorigo W, Sidi Cheikh MA, Christianen MJA, van der Reijden KJ, van der Geest M, Piersma T, Smolders AJP, Olff H, Lamers LPM, van Gils JA, van der Heide T. Drought, Mutualism Breakdown, and Landscape-Scale Degradation of Seagrass Beds. Curr Biol 2016; 26:1051-6. [PMID: 26972316 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.02.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2015] [Revised: 01/19/2016] [Accepted: 02/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
In many marine ecosystems, biodiversity critically depends on foundation species such as corals and seagrasses that engage in mutualistic interactions [1-3]. Concerns grow that environmental disruption of marine mutualisms exacerbates ecosystem degradation, with breakdown of the obligate coral mutualism ("coral bleaching") being an iconic example [2, 4, 5]. However, as these mutualisms are mostly facultative rather than obligate, it remains unclear whether mutualism breakdown is a common risk in marine ecosystems, and thus a potential accelerator of ecosystem degradation. Here, we provide evidence that drought triggered landscape-scale seagrass degradation and show the consequent failure of a facultative mutualistic feedback between seagrass and sulfide-consuming lucinid bivalves that in turn appeared to exacerbate the observed collapse. Local climate and remote sensing analyses revealed seagrass collapse after a summer with intense low-tide drought stress. Potential analysis-a novel approach to detect feedback-mediated state shifts-revealed two attractors (healthy and degraded states) during the collapse, suggesting that the drought disrupted internal feedbacks to cause abrupt, patch-wise degradation. Field measurements comparing degraded patches that were healthy before the collapse with patches that remained healthy demonstrated that bivalves declined dramatically in degrading patches with associated high sediment sulfide concentrations, confirming the breakdown of the mutualistic seagrass-lucinid feedback. Our findings indicate that drought triggered mutualism breakdown, resulting in toxic sulfide concentrations that aggravated seagrass degradation. We conclude that external disturbances can cause sudden breakdown of facultative marine mutualistic feedbacks. As this may amplify ecosystem degradation, we suggest including mutualisms in marine conservation and restoration approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jimmy de Fouw
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, the Netherlands
| | - Laura L Govers
- Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Aquatic Ecology and Environmental Biology Group, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Johan van de Koppel
- Conservation Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands; Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 140, 4400 CA Yerseke, the Netherlands
| | - Jim van Belzen
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 140, 4400 CA Yerseke, the Netherlands
| | - Wouter Dorigo
- Department of Geodesy and Geo-Information, Vienna University of Technology, Gusshausstrasse 27-29, 1040 Vienna, Austria; Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Management, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Mohammed A Sidi Cheikh
- Conservation Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Marjolijn J A Christianen
- Conservation Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Karin J van der Reijden
- Conservation Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Matthijs van der Geest
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, the Netherlands; Conservation Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Theunis Piersma
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, the Netherlands; Conservation Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Alfons J P Smolders
- Aquatic Ecology and Environmental Biology Group, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands; B-WARE Research Centre, Radboud University, Mercator 3, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Han Olff
- Conservation Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Leon P M Lamers
- Aquatic Ecology and Environmental Biology Group, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Jan A van Gils
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, the Netherlands
| | - Tjisse van der Heide
- Aquatic Ecology and Environmental Biology Group, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Conservation Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands.
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29
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Suykerbuyk W, Govers LL, Bouma TJ, Giesen WBJT, de Jong DJ, van de Voort R, Giesen K, Giesen PT, van Katwijk MM. Unpredictability in seagrass restoration: analysing the role of positive feedback and environmental stress on Zostera noltii
transplants. J Appl Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Wouter Suykerbuyk
- Department of Environmental Science; Radboud University Nijmegen; NL-6500 GL Nijmegen The Netherlands
- Department of Spatial Ecology; NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research; NL-4400 AC Yerseke The Netherlands
| | - Laura L. Govers
- Department of Environmental Science; Radboud University Nijmegen; NL-6500 GL Nijmegen The Netherlands
| | - Tjeerd J. Bouma
- Department of Spatial Ecology; NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research; NL-4400 AC Yerseke The Netherlands
| | - Wim B. J. T. Giesen
- Department of Environmental Science; Radboud University Nijmegen; NL-6500 GL Nijmegen The Netherlands
- Euroconsult Mott MacDonald; NL-6800 AK Arnhem The Netherlands
| | - Dick J. de Jong
- Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment; Rijkswaterstaat; Zeeland Department; NL-4330 KA Middelburg The Netherlands
| | - Roy van de Voort
- Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment; Rijkswaterstaat; Zeeland Department; NL-4330 KA Middelburg The Netherlands
| | - Kris Giesen
- Department of Environmental Science; Radboud University Nijmegen; NL-6500 GL Nijmegen The Netherlands
| | - Paul T. Giesen
- Department of Environmental Science; Radboud University Nijmegen; NL-6500 GL Nijmegen The Netherlands
| | - Marieke M. van Katwijk
- Department of Environmental Science; Radboud University Nijmegen; NL-6500 GL Nijmegen The Netherlands
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30
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Scheffer M, Carpenter SR, Dakos V, van Nes EH. Generic Indicators of Ecological Resilience: Inferring the Chance of a Critical Transition. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2015. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 256] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marten Scheffer
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands;
| | - Stephen R. Carpenter
- Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706;
| | - Vasilis Dakos
- Center for Adaptation to a Changing Environment, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland;
| | - Egbert H. van Nes
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands;
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31
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Suykerbuyk W, Bouma TJ, Govers LL, Giesen K, de Jong DJ, Herman P, Hendriks J, van Katwijk MM. Surviving in Changing Seascapes: Sediment Dynamics as Bottleneck for Long-Term Seagrass Presence. Ecosystems 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-015-9932-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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32
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Multiple Stable States and Catastrophic Shifts in Coastal Wetlands: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities in Validating Theory Using Remote Sensing and Other Methods. REMOTE SENSING 2015. [DOI: 10.3390/rs70810184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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33
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Dai C, Zhao M, Yu H, Wang Y. Delay-induced instability in a nutrient-phytoplankton system with flow. PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL, NONLINEAR, AND SOFT MATTER PHYSICS 2015; 91:032929. [PMID: 25871194 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.91.032929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, a nutrient-phytoplankton system described by a couple of advection-diffusion-reaction equations with delay was studied analytically and numerically. The aim of this research was to provide an understanding of the impact of delay on instability. Significantly, delay cannot only induce instability, but can also promote the formation of spatial pattern via a Turing-like instability. In addition, the theoretical analysis indicates that the flow (advection term) may lead to instability when the delay term exists. By comparison, diffusion cannot result in Turing instability when flow does not exist. Results of numerical simulation were consistent with the analytical results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuanjun Dai
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
- School of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
- Alkali Soil Natural Environmental Science Center, Northeast Forestry University, Key Laboratory of Saline-Alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration in Oil Field, Ministry of Education, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150040, China
| | - Min Zhao
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
- School of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
| | - Hengguo Yu
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
| | - Yapei Wang
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
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34
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Soissons LM, Han Q, Li B, van Katwijk MM, Ysebaert T, Herman PMJ, Bouma TJ. Cover versus recovery: contrasting responses of two indicators in seagrass beds. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2014; 87:211-219. [PMID: 25131417 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.07.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2014] [Revised: 07/23/2014] [Accepted: 07/24/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Despite being a highly valuable key-stone ecosystem, seagrass meadows are threatened and declining worldwide, creating urgent need for indicators of their health status. We compared two indicators for seagrass health: standing leaf area index versus relative recovery from local disturbance. Disturbance was created by removing aboveground biomass and recording the rate of regrowth for Zostera marina meadows exposed to contrasting wave regimes and nutrient stress levels. Within the experimental period, relative regrowth in gaps was around 50% in most plots, except for the ambient nutrient treatment at the sheltered site, where it exceeded 100%. The two indicators showed an opposite response to disturbance: the higher the standing leaf area index, the lower the relative recovery from disturbance. This conflicting response raises the question on the proper interpretation of such indicators to estimate seagrass health and resilience, and how to ideally monitor seagrass ecosystems in order to predict collapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M Soissons
- Spatial Ecology Department, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ-Yerseke), P.O. Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, The Netherlands.
| | - Qiuying Han
- Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (YIC-CAS), Chunhui Road 17, Laishan District, Shandong, China
| | - Baoquan Li
- Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (YIC-CAS), Chunhui Road 17, Laishan District, Shandong, China
| | - Marieke M van Katwijk
- Spatial Ecology Department, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ-Yerseke), P.O. Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, The Netherlands; Department of Environmental Sciences, Institute for Wetland and Water Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heijendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Tom Ysebaert
- Spatial Ecology Department, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ-Yerseke), P.O. Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, The Netherlands
| | - Peter M J Herman
- Spatial Ecology Department, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ-Yerseke), P.O. Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, The Netherlands; Department of Environmental Sciences, Institute for Wetland and Water Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heijendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Tjeerd J Bouma
- Spatial Ecology Department, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ-Yerseke), P.O. Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, The Netherlands
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Govers LL, de Brouwer JHF, Suykerbuyk W, Bouma TJ, Lamers LPM, Smolders AJP, van Katwijk MM. Toxic effects of increased sediment nutrient and organic matter loading on the seagrass Zostera noltii. AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2014; 155:253-60. [PMID: 25064458 DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2014.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2013] [Revised: 06/11/2014] [Accepted: 07/06/2014] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
As a result of anthropogenic disturbances and natural stressors, seagrass beds are often patchy and heterogeneous. The effects of high loads of nutrients and organic matter in patch development and expansion in heterogeneous seagrass beds have, however, poorly been studied. We experimentally assessed the in situ effects of sediment quality on seagrass (Zostera noltii) patch dynamics by studying patch (0.35 m diameter) development and expansion for 4 sediment treatments: control, nutrient addition (NPK), organic matter addition (OM) and a combination (NPK+OM). OM addition strongly increased porewater sulfide concentrations whereas NPK increased porewater ammonium, nitrate and phosphate concentrations. As high nitrate concentrations suppressed sulfide production in NPK+OM, this treatment was biogeochemically comparable to NPK. Sulfide and ammonium concentrations differed within treatments, but over a 77 days period, seagrass patch survival and expansion were impaired by all additions compared to the control treatment. Expansion decreased at porewater ammonium concentrations >2,000 μmol L(-1). Mother patch biomass was not affected by high porewater ammonium concentrations as a result of its detoxification by higher seagrass densities. Sulfide concentrations >1,000 μmol L(-1) were toxic to both patch expansion and mother patch. We conclude that patch survival and expansion are constrained at high loads of nutrients or organic matter as a result of porewater ammonium or sulfide toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura L Govers
- Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Faculty of Science, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Jan H F de Brouwer
- Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Faculty of Science, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Wouter Suykerbuyk
- Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Faculty of Science, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Spatial Ecology, NIOZ Yerseke Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, The Netherlands
| | - Tjeerd J Bouma
- Department of Spatial Ecology, NIOZ Yerseke Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, The Netherlands
| | - Leon P M Lamers
- Department of Aquatic Ecology and Environmental Biology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Faculty of Science, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Alfons J P Smolders
- Department of Aquatic Ecology and Environmental Biology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Faculty of Science, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Marieke M van Katwijk
- Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Faculty of Science, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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van de Koppel J, van der Heide T, Altieri AH, Eriksson BK, Bouma TJ, Olff H, Silliman BR. Long-distance interactions regulate the structure and resilience of coastal ecosystems. ANNUAL REVIEW OF MARINE SCIENCE 2014; 7:139-158. [PMID: 25251274 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-marine-010814-015805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Mounting evidence indicates that spatial interactions are important in structuring coastal ecosystems. Until recently, however, most of this work has been focused on seemingly exceptional systems that are characterized by regular, self-organized patterns. In this review, we document that interactions that operate at long distances, beyond the direct neighborhood of individual organisms, are more common and have much more far-reaching implications for coastal ecosystems than was previously realized. We review studies from a variety of ecosystem types-including cobble beaches, mussel beds, coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests-that reveal a startling interplay of positive and negative interactions between habitats across distances of up to a kilometer. In addition to classical feeding relations, alterations of physical conditions constitute an important part of these long-distance interactions. This entanglement of habitats has crucial implications for how humans manage coastal ecosystems, and evaluations of anthropogenic impact should explicitly address long-distance and system-wide effects before we deem these human activities to be causing little harm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johan van de Koppel
- Department of Spatial Ecology, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, 4401 NT Yerseke, The Netherlands;
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37
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Hannam MP, Wyllie-Echeverria S. Microtopography promotes coexistence of an invasive seagrass and its native congener. Biol Invasions 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-014-0736-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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38
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Messinger SM, Ostling A. Predator attack rate evolution in space: the role of ecology mediated by complex emergent spatial structure and self-shading. Theor Popul Biol 2013; 89:55-63. [PMID: 23973393 DOI: 10.1016/j.tpb.2013.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2013] [Revised: 07/16/2013] [Accepted: 08/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Predation interactions are an important element of ecological communities. Population spatial structure has been shown to influence predator evolution, resulting in the evolution of a reduced predator attack rate; however, the evolutionary role of traits governing predator and prey ecology is unknown. The evolutionary effect of spatial structure on a predator's attack rate has primarily been explored assuming a fixed metapopulation spatial structure, and understood in terms of group selection. But endogenously generated, emergent spatial structure is common in nature. Furthermore, the evolutionary influence of ecological traits may be mediated through the spatial self-structuring process. Drawing from theory on pathogens, the evolutionary effect of emergent spatial structure can be understood in terms of self-shading, where a voracious predator limits its long-term invasion potential by reducing local prey availability. Here we formalize the effects of self-shading for predators using spatial moment equations. Then, through simulations, we show that in a spatial context self-shading leads to relationships between predator-prey ecology and the predator's attack rate that are not expected in a non-spatial context. Some relationships are analogous to relationships already shown for host-pathogen interactions, but others represent new trait dimensions. Finally, since understanding the effects of ecology using existing self-shading theory requires simplifications of the emergent spatial structure that do not apply well here, we also develop metrics describing the complex spatial structure of the predator and prey populations to help us explain the evolutionary effect of predator and prey ecology in the context of self-shading. The identification of these metrics may provide a step towards expansion of the predictive domain of self-shading theory to more complex spatial dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanna M Messinger
- University of Michigan, 2004 Kraus Natural Science Building, 830 North University, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA.
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van Gils JA, van der Geest M, Leyrer J, Oudman T, Lok T, Onrust J, de Fouw J, van der Heide T, van den Hout PJ, Spaans B, Dekinga A, Brugge M, Piersma T. Toxin constraint explains diet choice, survival and population dynamics in a molluscivore shorebird. Proc Biol Sci 2013; 280:20130861. [PMID: 23740782 PMCID: PMC3774237 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2013.0861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent insights suggest that predators should include (mildly) toxic prey when non-toxic food is scarce. However, the assumption that toxic prey is energetically as profitable as non-toxic prey misses the possibility that non-toxic prey have other ways to avoid being eaten, such as the formation of an indigestible armature. In that case, predators face a trade-off between avoiding toxins and minimizing indigestible ballast intake. Here, we report on the trophic interactions between a shorebird (red knot, Calidris canutus canutus) and its two main bivalve prey, one being mildly toxic but easily digestible, and the other being non-toxic but harder to digest. A novel toxin-based optimal diet model is developed and tested against an existing one that ignores toxin constraints on the basis of data on prey abundance, diet choice, local survival and numbers of red knots at Banc d'Arguin (Mauritania) over 8 years. Observed diet and annual survival rates closely fit the predictions of the toxin-based model, with survival and population size being highest in years when the non-toxic prey is abundant. In the 6 of 8 years when the non-toxic prey is not abundant enough to satisfy the energy requirements, red knots must rely on the toxic alternative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan A van Gils
- Department of Marine Ecology, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), PO Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg (Texel), The Netherlands.
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40
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Donadi S, van der Heide T, van der Zee EM, Eklöf JS, van de Koppel J, Weerman EJ, Piersma T, Olff H, Eriksson BK. Cross-habitat interactions among bivalve species control community structure on intertidal flats. Ecology 2013; 94:489-98. [PMID: 23691667 DOI: 10.1890/12-0048.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Increasing evidence shows that spatial interactions between sedentary organisms can structure communities and promote landscape complexity in many ecosystems. Here we tested the hypothesis that reef-forming mussels (Mytilus edulis L.), a dominant intertidal ecosystem engineer in the Wadden Sea, promote abundances of the burrowing bivalve Cerastoderma edule L. (cockle) in neighboring habitats at relatively long distances coastward from mussel beds. Field surveys within and around three mussel beds showed a peak in cockle densities at 50-100 m toward the coast from the mussel bed, while cockle abundances elsewhere in the study area were very low. Field transplantation of cockles showed higher survival of young cockles (2-3 years old) and increased spat fall coastward of the mussel bed compared to within the bed and to areas without mussels, whereas growth decreased within and coastward of the mussel bed. Our measurements suggest that the observed spatial patterns in cockle numbers resulted from (1) inhibition effects by the mussels close to the beds due to preemptive algal depletion and deteriorated sediment conditions and (2) facilitation effects by the mussels farther away from the beds due to reduction of wave energy. Our results imply that these spatial, scale-dependent interactions between reef-forming ecosystem engineers and surrounding communities of sedentary benthic organisms can be an important determinant of the large-scale community structure in intertidal ecosystems. Understanding this interplay between neighboring communities of sedentary species is therefore essential for effective conservation and restoration of soft-bottom intertidal communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serena Donadi
- Department of Marine Benthic Ecology and Evolution, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies (CEES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands.
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Christianen MJA, van Belzen J, Herman PMJ, van Katwijk MM, Lamers LPM, van Leent PJM, Bouma TJ. Low-canopy seagrass beds still provide important coastal protection services. PLoS One 2013; 8:e62413. [PMID: 23723969 PMCID: PMC3665780 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0062413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2012] [Accepted: 03/21/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the most frequently quoted ecosystem services of seagrass meadows is their value for coastal protection. Many studies emphasize the role of above-ground shoots in attenuating waves, enhancing sedimentation and preventing erosion. This raises the question if short-leaved, low density (grazed) seagrass meadows with most of their biomass in belowground tissues can also stabilize sediments. We examined this by combining manipulative field experiments and wave measurements along a typical tropical reef flat where green turtles intensively graze upon the seagrass canopy. We experimentally manipulated wave energy and grazing intensity along a transect perpendicular to the beach, and compared sediment bed level change between vegetated and experimentally created bare plots at three distances from the beach. Our experiments showed that i) even the short-leaved, low-biomass and heavily-grazed seagrass vegetation reduced wave-induced sediment erosion up to threefold, and ii) that erosion was a function of location along the vegetated reef flat. Where other studies stress the importance of the seagrass canopy for shoreline protection, our study on open, low-biomass and heavily grazed seagrass beds strongly suggests that belowground biomass also has a major effect on the immobilization of sediment. These results imply that, compared to shallow unvegetated nearshore reef flats, the presence of a short, low-biomass seagrass meadow maintains a higher bed level, attenuating waves before reaching the beach and hence lowering beach erosion rates. We propose that the sole use of aboveground biomass as a proxy for valuing coastal protection services should be reconsidered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marjolijn J A Christianen
- Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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van der Heide T, Eklöf JS, van Nes EH, van der Zee EM, Donadi S, Weerman EJ, Olff H, Eriksson BK. Ecosystem engineering by seagrasses interacts with grazing to shape an intertidal landscape. PLoS One 2012; 7:e42060. [PMID: 22905115 PMCID: PMC3414520 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0042060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2011] [Accepted: 07/02/2012] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Self-facilitation through ecosystem engineering (i.e., organism modification of the abiotic environment) and consumer-resource interactions are both major determinants of spatial patchiness in ecosystems. However, interactive effects of these two mechanisms on spatial complexity have not been extensively studied. We investigated the mechanisms underlying a spatial mosaic of low-tide exposed hummocks and waterlogged hollows on an intertidal mudflat in the Wadden Sea dominated by the seagrass Zostera noltii. A combination of field measurements, an experiment and a spatially explicit model indicated that the mosaic resulted from localized sediment accretion by seagrass followed by selective waterfowl grazing. Hollows were bare in winter, but were rapidly colonized by seagrass during the growth season. Colonized hollows were heavily grazed by brent geese and widgeon in autumn, converting these patches to a bare state again and disrupting sediment accretion by seagrass. In contrast, hummocks were covered by seagrass throughout the year and were rarely grazed, most likely because the waterfowl were not able to employ their preferred but water requiring feeding strategy ('dabbling') here. Our study exemplifies that interactions between ecosystem engineering by a foundation species (seagrass) and consumption (waterfowl grazing) can increase spatial complexity at the landscape level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tjisse van der Heide
- Community and Conservation Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
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Puhr K, Pikelj K. The effect of in situ shading on a Posidonia oceanica meadow situated within a fish farm induced moderately nutrient enriched environment. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2012; 64:1537-1548. [PMID: 22704559 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.05.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2012] [Revised: 05/07/2012] [Accepted: 05/09/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this research was to explore the possibility of a successful and balanced integration of fish farming installations into an ecosystem dominated by Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile species. We selected light, temperature, seabed topography, sediment characteristics, meadow density, bottom coverage, maximum leaf length and lower depth limit as principle components in assessing the influence of the fish farm. All P. oceanica descriptors showed significant correlation with light deprivation effect while sediment organic matter content revealed slightly higher values than normal, increasing with distance from the cages. The results point to a conclusion that in such lightly nutrient enriched ecosystems, the seagrass growth and distribution are principally controlled by the shadow that cages cast on the seabed below, and that when carefully planned, fish farms do not necessarily degrade the health status of the surrounding area, but in fact facilitate a transition into a secondary stable state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristian Puhr
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov Trg 6, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
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BARNES RSK, ELLWOOD MDFARNON. Macrobenthic assemblage structure in a cool-temperate intertidal dwarf eelgrass bed in comparison with those from lower latitudes. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2011.01738.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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van Katwijk MM, van der Welle MEW, Lucassen ECHET, Vonk JA, Christianen MJA, Kiswara W, al Hakim II, Arifin A, Bouma TJ, Roelofs JGM, Lamers LPM. Early warning indicators for river nutrient and sediment loads in tropical seagrass beds: a benchmark from a near-pristine archipelago in Indonesia. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2011; 62:1512-1520. [PMID: 21596394 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2011] [Revised: 04/06/2011] [Accepted: 04/09/2011] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
In remote, tropical areas human influences increase, potentially threatening pristine seagrass systems. We aim (i) to provide a bench-mark for a near-pristine seagrass system in an archipelago in East Kalimantan, by quantifying a large spectrum of abiotic and biotic properties in seagrass meadows and (ii) to identify early warning indicators for river sediment and nutrient loading, by comparing the seagrass meadow properties over a gradient with varying river influence. Abiotic properties of water column, pore water and sediment were less suitable indicators for increased sediment and nutrient loading than seagrass properties. Seagrass meadows strongly responded to higher sediment and nutrient loads and proximity to the coast by decreasing seagrass cover, standing stock, number of seagrass species, changing species composition and shifts in tissue contents. Our study confirms that nutrient loads are more important than water nutrient concentrations. We identify seagrass system variables that are suitable indicators for sediment and nutrient loading, also in rapid survey scenarios with once-only measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- M M van Katwijk
- Radboud University Nijmegen, Faculty of Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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van der Heide T, van Nes EH, van Katwijk MM, Olff H, Smolders AJP. Positive feedbacks in seagrass ecosystems--evidence from large-scale empirical data. PLoS One 2011; 6:e16504. [PMID: 21283684 PMCID: PMC3025983 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2010] [Accepted: 01/01/2011] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Positive feedbacks cause a nonlinear response of ecosystems to environmental change and may even cause bistability. Even though the importance of feedback mechanisms has been demonstrated for many types of ecosystems, their identification and quantification is still difficult. Here, we investigated whether positive feedbacks between seagrasses and light conditions are likely in seagrass ecosystems dominated by the temperate seagrass Zostera marina. We applied a combination of multiple linear regression and structural equation modeling (SEM) on a dataset containing 83 sites scattered across Western Europe. Results confirmed that a positive feedback between sediment conditions, light conditions and seagrass density is likely to exist in seagrass ecosystems. This feedback indicated that seagrasses are able to trap and stabilize suspended sediments, which in turn improves water clarity and seagrass growth conditions. Furthermore, our analyses demonstrated that effects of eutrophication on light conditions, as indicated by surface water total nitrogen, were on average at least as important as sediment conditions. This suggests that in general, eutrophication might be the most important factor controlling seagrasses in sheltered estuaries, while the seagrass-sediment-light feedback is a dominant mechanism in more exposed areas. Our study demonstrates the potentials of SEM to identify and quantify positive feedbacks mechanisms for ecosystems and other complex systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tjisse van der Heide
- Community and Conservation Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, Groningen University, Haren, The Netherlands.
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van der Heide T, van Nes EH, van Katwijk MM, Scheffer M, Jan Hendriks A, Smolders AJP. Alternative Stable States Driven by Density-Dependent Toxicity. Ecosystems 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-010-9358-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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