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Becker LR, Ehrenberg A, Feldrappe V, Kröncke I, Bischof K. The role of artificial material for benthic communities - Establishing different concrete materials as hard bottom environments. Mar Environ Res 2020; 161:105081. [PMID: 33070934 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.105081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2020] [Revised: 06/29/2020] [Accepted: 07/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Concrete is used in marine coastal constructions worldwide. These structures are colonized by specialized hard-bottom biota consisting of macroalgae and benthic macrofauna. As concrete manufacturers face challenges such as limited natural resources and high CO2-emissions, the need for supplementary materials increases. Still, there has been little research on the reaction of species to the differences in concrete composition and what ecological impact these reactions could have. This study addresses the questions (1) if there are differences in settlement communities, depending on differences in concrete constitutes and (2) if so, what are the consequences for the usability of alternative concretes in marine constructions. For the experiment 15 cubes (15 × 15 × 15 cm) made of five different concretes, containing different cements (Portland cement and blast furnace cements) and aggregates (sand, gravel, iron ore and metallurgical slags) were deployed in a natural hard bottom experimental field near Helgoland Island (German Bight) in April 2016. After 12 months, all cubes were examined regarding species composition and coverage, followed by statistical analysis (PERMANOVA, SIMPER, DIVERSE). Results indicate differences in settlement communities for different surface orientation (Top, Front/Back) of the cubes. Significant differences in settlement communities of the Front/Back side were present depending on the used material type. However, the found differences in settlement between the concrete types tested are not sufficiently clear to provide recommendations for their usability in coastal constructions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lydia R Becker
- University of Bremen, INTERCOAST Research Training Group, Leobener Strasse, 28359, Bremen, Germany; Senckenberg am Meer, Dept. for Marine Research, Südstrand 40, 26382, Wilhelmshaven, Germany; University of Bremen, Department of Marine Botany, Leobener Str. NW2, 28359, Bremen, Germany.
| | - Andreas Ehrenberg
- FEhS - Institut für Baustoff-Forschung e.V., Bliersheimer Straße 62, 47229, Duisburg, Germany
| | - Volkert Feldrappe
- FEhS - Institut für Baustoff-Forschung e.V., Bliersheimer Straße 62, 47229, Duisburg, Germany
| | - Ingrid Kröncke
- Senckenberg am Meer, Dept. for Marine Research, Südstrand 40, 26382, Wilhelmshaven, Germany; Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University of Oldenburg, Schleusenstr 1, 26382, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Kai Bischof
- University of Bremen, Department of Marine Botany, Leobener Str. NW2, 28359, Bremen, Germany
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Crocetta F, Riginella E, Lezzi M, Tanduo V, Balestrieri L, Rizzo L. Bottom-trawl catch composition in a highly polluted coastal area reveals multifaceted native biodiversity and complex communities of fouling organisms on litter discharge. Mar Environ Res 2020; 155:104875. [PMID: 31965977 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.104875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2019] [Revised: 01/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Areas subjected to anthropogenic impacts are important to test the effect of stressors on local biota. We assessed with trawl net the composition and abundance of megafauna, litter, and litter-fouling communities in the soft bottoms of the National Interest Priority Site (NIPS) of Bagnoli-Coroglio (Gulf of Naples, Tyrrhenian Sea) at different depths. The megafauna accounted for 3444 specimens referred to 133 taxa (91 invertebrates and 42 fishes), for a biomass of ~102 kg and including species of wide ecological and commercial interest. Metrics of community structure yielded high values. The NIPS, hence, is characterized by a high biodiversity. Litter accounted for 3590 items, mostly in plastic and ranging between 10< × ≤20 cm, for a weight of ~260 kg, with values of 299.2 item/km2 and 21.67 kg/km2. The putative origin of most items was land-based (83.6%), whereas sea-based litter accounted for 16.4%. More than 50% of the litter items found showed colonization by invertebrates and/or molluscan egg masses. Marine benthic litter, thus, locally constitutes a complex issue since litter items hosted complex communities of fouling organisms. Future remediation procedures should take the resident NIPS biota into account and not disrupt the environmental balance of the area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Crocetta
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, I-80121, Napoli, Italy.
| | - Emilio Riginella
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, I-80121, Napoli, Italy
| | - Marco Lezzi
- ARPAT (Regional Agency for the Environmental Protection of Tuscany), via Vittorio Veneto 27, I-56127, Pisa, Italy
| | - Valentina Tanduo
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, I-80121, Napoli, Italy
| | - Liliana Balestrieri
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, I-80121, Napoli, Italy
| | - Lucia Rizzo
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, I-80121, Napoli, Italy
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Chong F, Spencer M. Analysis of relative abundances with zeros on environmental gradients: a multinomial regression model. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5643. [PMID: 30280024 PMCID: PMC6164550 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2018] [Accepted: 08/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Ecologists often analyze relative abundances, which are an example of compositional data. However, they have made surprisingly little use of recent advances in the field of compositional data analysis. Compositions form a vector space in which addition and scalar multiplication are replaced by operations known as perturbation and powering. This algebraic structure makes it easy to understand how relative abundances change along environmental gradients. We illustrate this with an analysis of changes in hard-substrate marine communities along a depth gradient. We fit a quadratic multivariate regression model with multinomial observations to point count data obtained from video transects. As well as being an appropriate observation model in this case, the multinomial deals with the problem of zeros, which often makes compositional data analysis difficult. We show how the algebra of compositions can be used to understand patterns in dissimilarity. We use the calculus of simplex-valued functions to estimate rates of change, and to summarize the structure of the community over a vertical slice. We discuss the benefits of the compositional approach in the interpretation and visualization of relative abundance data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fiona Chong
- Systems Ecology and Resource Management Research Unit, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew Spencer
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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Gestoso I, Ramalhosa P, Oliveira P, Canning-Clode J. Marine protected communities against biological invasions: A case study from an offshore island. Mar Pollut Bull 2017; 119:72-80. [PMID: 28341293 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.03.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2016] [Revised: 01/27/2017] [Accepted: 03/09/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Biological invasions are a major threat to the world's biota and are considered a major cause of biodiversity loss. Therefore, world marine policy has recognized the need for more marine protected areas (MPAs) as a major tool for biodiversity conservation. The present work experimentally evaluated how protected communities from an offshore island can face the settlement and/or expansion of nonindigenous species (NIS). First, NIS colonization success in marine protected and marina communities was compared by deploying PVC settling plates at the Garajau MPA and Funchal marina (SW Madeira Island). Then, the settling plates from the MPA were transferred to Funchal marina to test their resistance to NIS invasion under high levels of NIS pressure. Results indicated that the structure and composition of fouling communities from the MPA differed from those collected in the marina. Interestingly, communities from the protected area showed lower NIS colonization success, suggesting some degree of biotic resistance against NIS invasion.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Gestoso
- MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Quinta do Lorde Marina, Sítio da Piedade, 9200-044 Caniçal, Madeira Island, Portugal.
| | - P Ramalhosa
- MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Quinta do Lorde Marina, Sítio da Piedade, 9200-044 Caniçal, Madeira Island, Portugal
| | - P Oliveira
- Parque Natural da Madeira, Quinta Bom Sucesso, Caminho do Meio, 9050 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
| | - J Canning-Clode
- MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Quinta do Lorde Marina, Sítio da Piedade, 9200-044 Caniçal, Madeira Island, Portugal; Centre of IMAR of the University of the Azores, Department of Oceanography and Fisheries, Rua Prof. Dr. Frederico Machado, 4, PT-9901-862 Horta, Azores, Portugal; Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Road, Edgewater, MD 21037, USA
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Bolton D, Mayer-Pinto M, Clark GF, Dafforn KA, Brassil WA, Becker A, Johnston EL. Coastal urban lighting has ecological consequences for multiple trophic levels under the sea. Sci Total Environ 2017; 576:1-9. [PMID: 27780095 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.10.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2016] [Revised: 10/03/2016] [Accepted: 10/05/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Urban land and seascapes are increasingly exposed to artificial lighting at night (ALAN), which is a significant source of light pollution. A broad range of ecological effects are associated with ALAN, but the changes to ecological processes remain largely unstudied. Predation is a key ecological process that structures assemblages and responds to natural cycles of light and dark. We investigated the effect of ALAN on fish predatory behaviour, and sessile invertebrate prey assemblages. Over 21days fish and sessile assemblages were exposed to 3 light treatments (Day, Night and ALAN). An array of LED spotlights was installed under a wharf to create the ALAN treatments. We used GoPro cameras to film during the day and ALAN treatments, and a Dual frequency IDentification SONar (DIDSON) to film during the night treatments. Fish were most abundant during unlit nights, but were also relatively sedentary. Predatory behaviour was greatest during the day and under ALAN than at night, suggesting that fish are using structures for non-feeding purposes (e.g. shelter) at night, but artificial light dramatically increases their predatory behaviour. Altered predator behaviour corresponded with structural changes to sessile prey assemblages among the experimental lighting treatments. We demonstrate the direct effects of artificial lighting on fish behaviour and the concomitant indirect effects on sessile assemblage structure. Current and future projected use of artificial lights has the potential to significantly affect predator-prey interactions in marine systems by altering habitat use for both predators and prey. However, developments in lighting technology are a promising avenue for mitigation. This is among the first empirical evidence from the marine system on how ALAN can directly alter predation, a fundamental ecosystem process, and have indirect trophic consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Bolton
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - M Mayer-Pinto
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Sydney Institute of Marine Sciences, Mosman, NSW 2088, Australia.
| | - G F Clark
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - K A Dafforn
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Sydney Institute of Marine Sciences, Mosman, NSW 2088, Australia
| | - W A Brassil
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - A Becker
- NSW Department of Primary Industries, Port Stephens Fisheries Institute, Taylors Beach, NSW, Australia
| | - E L Johnston
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Sydney Institute of Marine Sciences, Mosman, NSW 2088, Australia
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