2 results
Consistent patterns of spatial variability between NE Atlantic and Mediterranean rocky shores
- Martina Dal Bello, Jean-Charles Leclerc, Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi, Giuseppe Andrea De Lucia, Christos Arvanitidis, Pim Van Avesaath, Guy Bachelet, Natalia Bojanic, Serena Como, Stefania Coppa, Jennifer Coughlan, Tasman Crowe, Steven Degraer, Free Espinosa, Sarah Faulwetter, Matt Frost, Xabier Guinda, Emilia Jankowska, Jérôme Jourde, Jose Antonio Juanes De La Pena, Francis Kerckhof, Jonne Kotta, Nicolas Lavesque, Paolo Magni, Valentina De Matos, Helen Orav-Kotta, Christina Pavloudi, Maria Luiza Pedrotti, Ohad Peleg, Angel Pérez-Ruzafa, Araceli Puente, Pedro Ribeiro, Fabienne Rigaut-Jalabert, Gil Rilov, Maria Rousou, Marcos Rubal, Tomas Ruginis, Teresa Silva, Nathalie Simon, Isabel Sousa-Pinto, Jesús Troncoso, Jan Warzocha, Jan Marcin Weslawski, Herman Hummel
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- Journal:
- Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom / Volume 97 / Issue 3 / May 2017
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 11 November 2016, pp. 539-547
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Examining how variability in population abundance and distribution is allotted among different spatial scales can inform of processes that are likely to generate that variability. Results of studies dealing with scale issues in marine benthic communities suggest that variability is concentrated at small spatial scales (from tens of centimetres to few metres) and that spatial patterns of variation are consistent across ecosystems characterized by contrasting physical and biotic conditions, but this has not been formally tested. Here we quantified the variability in the distribution of intertidal rocky shore communities at a range of spatial scales, from tens of centimetres to thousands of kilometres, both in the NE Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and tested whether the observed patterns differed between the two basins. We focused on canopy-forming macroalgae and associated understorey assemblages in the low intertidal, and on the distribution of Patella limpets at mid intertidal levels. Our results highlight that patterns of spatial variation, at each scale investigated, were consistent between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, suggesting that similar ecological processes operate in these regions. In contrast with former studies, variability in canopy cover, species richness and limpet abundance was equally distributed among spatial scales, possibly reflecting the fingerprint of multiple processes. Variability in community structure of low intertidal assemblages, instead, peaked at the largest scale, suggesting that oceanographic processes and climatic gradients may be important. We conclude that formal comparisons of variability across scales nested in contrasting systems are needed, before any generalization on patterns and processes can be made.
Geographic patterns of biodiversity in European coastal marine benthos
- Herman Hummel, Pim Van Avesaath, Sander Wijnhoven, Loran Kleine-Schaars, Steven Degraer, Francis Kerckhof, Natalia Bojanic, Sanda Skejic, Olja Vidjak, Maria Rousou, Helen Orav-Kotta, Jonne Kotta, Jérôme Jourde, Maria Luiza Pedrotti, Jean-Charles Leclerc, Nathalie Simon, Fabienne Rigaut-Jalabert, Guy Bachelet, Nicolas Lavesque, Christos Arvanitidis, Christina Pavloudi, Sarah Faulwetter, Tasman Crowe, Jennifer Coughlan, Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi, Martina Dal Bello, Paolo Magni, Serena Como, Stefania Coppa, Anda Ikauniece, Tomas Ruginis, Emilia Jankowska, Jan Marcin Weslawski, Jan Warzocha, Sławomira Gromisz, Bartosz Witalis, Teresa Silva, Pedro Ribeiro, Valentina Kirienko Fernandes De Matos, Isabel Sousa-Pinto, Puri Veiga, Jesús Troncoso, Xabier Guinda, Jose Antonio Juanes De La Pena, Araceli Puente, Free Espinosa, Angel Pérez-Ruzafa, Matt Frost, Caroline Louise Mcneill, Ohad Peleg, Gil Rilov
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- Journal:
- Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom / Volume 97 / Issue 3 / May 2017
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 14 September 2016, pp. 507-523
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Within the COST action EMBOS (European Marine Biodiversity Observatory System) the degree and variation of the diversity and densities of soft-bottom communities from the lower intertidal or the shallow subtidal was measured at 28 marine sites along the European coastline (Baltic, Atlantic, Mediterranean) using jointly agreed and harmonized protocols, tools and indicators. The hypothesis tested was that the diversity for all taxonomic groups would decrease with increasing latitude. The EMBOS system delivered accurate and comparable data on the diversity and densities of the soft sediment macrozoobenthic community over a large-scale gradient along the European coastline. In contrast to general biogeographic theory, species diversity showed no linear relationship with latitude, yet a bell-shaped relation was found. The diversity and densities of benthos were mostly positively correlated with environmental factors such as temperature, salinity, mud and organic matter content in sediment, or wave height, and related with location characteristics such as system type (lagoons, estuaries, open coast) or stratum (intertidal, subtidal). For some relationships, a maximum (e.g. temperature from 15–20°C; mud content of sediment around 40%) or bimodal curve (e.g. salinity) was found. In lagoons the densities were twice higher than in other locations, and at open coasts the diversity was much lower than in other locations. We conclude that latitudinal trends and regional differences in diversity and densities are strongly influenced by, i.e. merely the result of, particular sets and ranges of environmental factors and location characteristics specific to certain areas, such as the Baltic, with typical salinity clines (favouring insects) and the Mediterranean, with higher temperatures (favouring crustaceans). Therefore, eventual trends with latitude are primarily indirect and so can be overcome by local variation of environmental factors.