Translating Ecological Integrity terms into operational language to inform societies

It is crucial that societies are informed on the risks of impoverished ecosystem health for their well-being. For this purpose, Ecological Integrity (EI) is a useful concept that seeks to capture the complex nature of ecosystems and their interaction with social welfare. But the challenge remains to measure EI and translate scientific terminology into operational language to inform society. We propose an approach that simplifies marine ecosystem complexity by applying scientific knowledge to identify which components reflect the state or state change of ecosystems. It follows a bottom-up structure that identifies, based on expert knowledge, biological components related with past and present changing conditions. It is structured in 5 stages that interact in an adaptive way: stage 1, in situ observations suggest changes could be happening; stage 2 explores available data that represent EI; stage 3, experts' workshops target the identification of the minimum set of variables needed to define EI, or the risk of losing EI; an optative stage 4, where deviance from EI, or risk of deviance, is statistically assessed; stage 5, findings are communicated to society. We demonstrate the framework effectiveness in three case studies, including a data poor situation, an area where lack of reference sites hampers the identification of historical changes, and an area where diffuse sources of stress make it difficult to identify simple relationships with of ecological responses. The future challenge is to operationalise the approach and trigger desirable society actions to strengthen a social-nature link.

Exploitation rates of two benthic resources across management regimes in central Chile: Evidence of illegal fishing in artisanal fisheries operating in open access areas

There is an urgent need to quantify the impacts of artisanal fisheries and define management practices that allow for the recovery and conservation of exploited stocks. The extent of illegal catch is particularly critical as a driver of overexploitation in artisanal fisheries. However, the lack of data at proper spatial scales limits the evaluation of illegal fishing and effectiveness of management practices. We used a catch curve analysis to estimate total instantaneous mortality as a proxy of fishing pressure in the artisanal benthic fishery in central Chile. We compared the patterns of total mortality in fishing grounds under the well-studied territorial use rights for fisheries system (TURF) immersed in a landscape of open access areas (OAA; no access restriction), and from these patterns determined the extent of illegal fishing in open access areas focusing on the two most frequently extracted resources: locos (Concholepas concholepas) and keyhole limpets (Fissurella spp.). The beauty of this seascape is the presence of the no-take (NT) area of Las Cruces as control (no fishing), allowing us to estimate natural mortality. Loco exploitation is banned in OAAs. However, loco mortality in OAAs was 92% higher than in the NT, and 42% higher than in TURFs. Keyhole limpet mortality was similar between TURFs and the NT, but doubled in OAAs. We also found strong differences in mortality among fishing grounds with the same level of protection (i.e. TURFs), and over time. Our results highlight (a) the high level of illegal fishing that may occur in artisanal fisheries under traditional management regimes, and (b) that TURFs can be effective to reduce fishing mortality. However, large variability among TURFs suggests the need for a deeper understanding of the drivers of success of TURFs.

Effects of kelp phenolic compounds on the feeding-associated mobility of the herbivore snail Tegula tridentata

Tegula tridentata, is a common herbivore gastropod inhabiting the subtidal Lessonia trabeculata kelp forest, which tends to show higher densities after kelp harvesting. We investigated if harvested kelp beds may harbor higher densities of herbivore invertebrates, and the underlying mechanisms. Thus, we evaluated if the exudates of L. trabeculata change the seawater levels of soluble phenols, known to have a deterrent effect against the feeding behavior of some herbivore invertebrates. Finally we investigated whether the increase in T. tridentata densities in harvested kelp grounds could be related to a decrease in the seawater levels of soluble phenols. Our results showed that the density of invertebrate herbivores increased up to 32% in harvested kelp grounds. We provide the first estimate of the rate of phenolic exudation by L. trabeculata, and we demonstrate that T. tridentata changes its food dependent movement in the presence of exudates with synthetic phloroglucinol. We suggest that the recovery of harvested kelp ecosystems can be jeopardized by increased herbivory triggered by water-borne changes in the levels of herbivore deterrent compounds.

Multivariate methods and artificial neural networks in the assessment of the response of infaunal assemblages to sediment metal contamination and organic enrichment

A 4-year annual sediment survey was conducted in an organically enriched tidal channel to compare the performance of univariate community descriptors, traditional multivariate techniques (TM) and artificial neural networks (AANs), in the assessment of infaunal responses to moderate levels of sediment metal contamination. Both TM approaches and the SOM ANN revealed spatiotemporal patterns of environmental and biological variables, suggesting a causal relationship between them and further highlighting subsets of taxa and sediment variables as potential main drivers of those patterns. Namely, high values of non-natural metals and organic content prompted high abundances of opportunists, while high values of natural metals yielded typical tolerant assemblages of organically enriched areas. The two approaches yielded identical final results but ANNs showed the following advantages over TM: ability to generalise results, powerful visualization tools and the ability to account simultaneously for sediment and faunal variables in the same analysis. Therefore, the SOM ANN, combined with the K-means clustering algorithm, is suggested as a promising tool for the assessment of the ecological quality of estuarine infaunal communities, although further work is needed to ensure the accuracy of the method.

Nekton response to freshwater inputs in a temperate European estuary with regulated riverine inflow

The aim of this 12-year study was to assess the nekton (fish, decapod crustaceans) response to freshwater inputs (rainfall, dam discharges) in a temperate estuary with regulated riverine inflow. Although interannual variability in river discharges to the Guadalquivir estuary has been extremely high since the construction of a dam in 1930, a significant decreasing trend in the dam's discharges has been observed in the last 80 years. During this study, an alternation of wet, standard and dry years occurred in the estuarine area but no significant long-term trend was observed. River discharge, in turn, showed a considerable interannual variability and a significantly decreasing long-term trend. Freshwater inputs had an immediate effect on estuarine salinity and turbidity, and consequently on prey availability (mysids). Although 124 nektonic species were collected, only 47 of them (adding up to 99.7% of total abundance) were regularly present in the estuary: 32 marine migrants, 13 estuarine species and 2 diadromous species. Well-defined temporal changes in species composition and abundance yielded clear seasonal patterns in the estuarine nektonic community. Considerable intermonth and interannual changes were occasionally observed relating to freshwater inputs, mainly in winter/autumn of wet years. Thus, within each two-month period, some significant interannual differences in the nektonic community were also observed, with marine migrants tending to be more abundant in dry years. However, changes in the studied nektonic community did not show long-term trends. In conclusion, natural and human-controlled freshwater inputs currently play a significant role in determining the physicochemical conditions and the biota of the Guadalquivir estuary. However, although freshwater input seemed to transitorily affect the estuarine nekton, either directly (flushing out) or indirectly (through changes in salinity, turbidity and prey availability), a quick reestablishment of the estuarine nekton (strong resilience) was observed following freshwater inputs together with the recovery of environmental conditions within the estuary.

Bioaccumulation and biochemical markers in feral crab (Carcinus maenas) exposed to moderate environmental contamination--the impact of non-contamination-related variables

Moderate contamination is a challenging scenario for ecotoxicologists because of the occurrence of subtle biomarker responses and the increased relevance of non-contamination related variables. This investigative biomonitoring study was performed in a moderately contaminated coastal system (Óbidos lagoon, Portugal) to examine winter-summer variations on biochemical responses and accumulated metals in Carcinus maenas, searching for associations with environmental and biological factors. Males and females were collected in three sites: Barrosa (BB) and Bom-Sucesso (BS) in upper lagoon, and the middle lagoon (ML), closer to the lagoon inlet. Water and sediment were monitored for metals (Cu, Mn, Ni, Cr, Cd). Catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST), total glutathione content (GSH(t) ), lipid peroxidation (LPO), and ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD), as well as Cu, Mn, Ni, Cr and Cd were measured in the crabs' hepatopancreas. Inter-site differences, though infrequent, pointed to the presence of crab stressors at BB. This was particularly obvious in summer when higher GST as well as lower GSH(t) and EROD were found in females, and accompanied by higher Ni accumulation. Seasonal differences of biochemical responses superimposed spatial variations in line with the contrasting winter-summer conditions regarding water quality and, to a lesser extent, with metal bioaccumulation. CAT, GSH(t) , and LPO were higher in summer, whereas enhancements of GPx and GST were recorded in winter. Winter increases were in agreement with higher availability of metals in water and enhancement of accumulated levels, particularly in females as emphasized by a bioaccumulation index. On the other hand, increases in summer were mainly driven by non-contamination related factors. Males and females exhibited different patterns of metal accumulation and biochemical responses, with females being more responsive, as confirmed by a general stress index (IBR). Results recommend gender separation in biomonitoring programs using crabs. The integration of biochemical responses into IBR substantiated data interpretation. This is particularly relevant under moderate contamination allowing for better site-distinction rather than biochemical responses considered individually.

Biochemical responses of the shore crab (Carcinus maenas) in a eutrophic and metal-contaminated coastal system (Obidos lagoon, Portugal)

A eutrophic and metal-contaminated coastal system (Obidos lagoon, Portugal) was monitored combining water/sediment quality parameters and Carcinus maenas biomarkers (accumulated metals, oxidative stress and biotransformation responses). Two confined branches (Barrosa and Bom-Sucesso) were surveyed and compared with a reference area. Both crab genders from Barrosa exhibited activation of hepatopancreas CAT, GPx and GST, pointing out this area as the major impacted in the lagoon. Females captured at Barrosa were more vulnerable to peroxidative damage while only males showed decreased EROD activity, reinforcing gender specificities. In general, responses were not directly attributed to metals in hepatopancreas, as supported by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). However, higher metals (Ni, Cu, Cd) and nutrients levels registered in Barrosa water were associated with the observed oxidative stress responses by PCA. Despite the difficulty to establish cause-effect relationships due to the co-occurrence of various stressors and their interactions, the adopted integrated monitoring strategy appears to be promising.