Diversity, biomass and ecosystem processes in the marine benthos.

Recent studies in terrestrial, plant-dominated systems have shown that reductions in diversity can affect essential ecosystem processes, especially productivity. However, the exact form of the relationship between diversity and ecosystem functions remains unknown, as does the relevance of these studies to other systems. We studied the relationships between macroinvertebrate species richness and ecosystem functions in a soft-bottom, intertidal system. We also considered, as a separate variable, the effects of macroinvertebrate biomass on ecosystem functions. A field experiment was conducted at Blackness, a mudflat in the Firth of Forth, Scotland, United Kingdom, using cages with different mesh sizes (195, 300, and 3000 ?m) to establish low, medium, and high species richness treatments through differential colonization of defaunated sediments. Low, medium, and high biomass treatments were established by enclosing differing amounts of ambient sediment in defaunated plots. Other treatments controlled for the effects of defaunation and caging. The experiment ran for six weeks in the summer of 1999. All treatments contained species within the same five main functional groups of macroinvertebrate, but species' identity varied both within and between treatments (thus species richness was considered a random, rather than fixed, variable). A total of 27 macroinvertebrate species were sampled across all treatments; 37% of these occurred in the low, 52% in the medium, and 74% in the high diversity treatments.At the end of the experiment, the following physical variables were measured as indicators of ecosystem functions such as sediment stabilization and nutrient fluxes: sediment shear strength (a measure of sediment cohesiveness), water content, silt/clay content, organic content, redox potential (a measure of anoxia), nitrate, nitrite, phosphate and ammonium fluxes, and community respiration. Changes in biomass and species richness were found to have significant effects on oxygen consumption; these relationships were driven in particular by the presence of the largest species in our study, Nephtys hombergii. All other variables were not significantly affected by the treatments. These results support the null hypotheses of no relationship between ecosystem functions and diversity and biomass. However, our experiment was necessarily limited in both spatial and temporal scale; the implications of this when scaling up to larger scale generalizations are discussed. Our results suggest that diversity/biomass/ecosystem function relationships in the soft sediment benthos are likely to be very complex and may depend more on functional groups than species richness

Differences in biological traits composition of benthic assemblages between unimpacted habitats

There is an implicit requirement under contemporary policy drivers to understand the characteristics of benthic communities under anthropogenically-unimpacted scenarios. We used a trait-based approach on a large dataset from across the European shelf to determine how functional characteristics of unimpacted benthic assemblages vary between different sedimentary habitats. Assemblages in deep, muddy environments unaffected by anthropogenic disturbance show increased proportions of downward conveyors and surface deposit-feeders, while burrowing, diffusive mixing, scavenging and predation traits assume greater numerical proportions in shallower habitats. Deep, coarser sediments are numerically more dominated by sessile, upward conveyors and suspension feeders. In contrast, unimpacted assemblages of coarse sediments in shallower regions are proportionally dominated by the diffusive mixers, burrowers, scavengers and predators. Finally, assemblages of gravelly sediments exhibit a relatively greater numerical dominance of non-bioturbators and asexual reproducers. These findings may be used to form the basis of ranking habitats along a functional sensitivity gradient

Evaluation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Pollution From the HMS Royal Oak Shipwreck and Effects on Sediment Microbial Community Structure

Despite many shipwrecks containing oil there is a paucity of studies investigating their impact on surrounding environments. This study evaluates any potential effect the World War II shipwreck HMS Royal Oak is having on surrounding benthic sediments in Scapa Flow, Scotland. HMS (Her Majesty’s Ship) Royal Oak sank in 1939, subsequently leaked oil in the 1960s and 1990s, and is estimated to still hold 697 tonnes of fuel oil. In this study, sediments were analysed, over a 17.5 cm depth profile, along a 50–950 m cruciform transect away from the shipwreck. Analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) revealed low concentrations (205.91 ± 50.15 μg kg‾¹ of dry sediment), which did not significantly differ with either distance from the shipwreck or sediment depth. PAH concentrations were well below the effects-range low (ERL) for the OSPAR (Oslo/Paris convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic) maritime area. The average Pyrogenic Index, in sediments around HMS Royal Oak, was 1.06 (±0.34), indicating PAHs were pyrogenic rather than petrogenic. Moreover, analysis of sediment microbiomes revealed no significant differences in bacterial community structure with distance from the shipwreck, with extremely low levels of obligate hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria (OHCB; 0.21% ± 0.54%). Both lines of evidence suggest that sampled sediments are not currently being impacted by petrogenic hydrocarbons and show no long-term impact by previous oil-spills from HMS Royal Oa

Trawl fishing impacts on the status of seabed fauna in diverse regions of the globe

Bottom trawl fishing is a controversial activity. It yields about a quarter of the world's wild seafood, but also has impacts on the marine environment. Recent advances have quantified and improved understanding of large-scale impacts of trawling on the seabed. However, such information needs to be coupled with distributions of benthic invertebrates (benthos) to assess whether these populations are being sustained under current trawling regimes. This study collated data from 13 diverse regions of the globe spanning four continents. Within each region, we combined trawl intensity distributions and predicted abundance distributions of benthos groups with impact and recovery parameters for taxonomic classes in a risk assessment model to estimate benthos status. The exposure of 220 predicted benthos-group distributions to trawling intensity (as swept area ratio) ranged between 0% and 210% (mean = 37%) of abundance. However, benthos status, an indicator of the depleted abundance under chronic trawling pressure as a proportion of untrawled state, ranged between 0.86 and 1 (mean = 0.99), with 78% of benthos groups > 0.95. Mean benthos status was lowest in regions of Europe and Africa, and for taxonomic classes Bivalvia and Gastropoda. Our results demonstrate that while spatial overlap studies can help infer general patterns of potential risk, actual risks cannot be evaluated without using an assessment model that incorporates trawl impact and recovery metrics. These quantitative outputs are essential for sustainability assessments, and together with reference points and thresholds, can help managers ensure use of the marine environment is sustainable under the ecosystem approach to management

An investigation into the processes responsible for the generation of the spatial pattern of the spionid polychaete pygospio elegans claparede

The spionid polychaete Pygospio elegans Claparede (1863) is a small, tube-building opportunist. On the intertidal sandflat Drum Sands, Firth of Forth, Scotland, this species is numerically dominant and forms areas of increased density or 'patches'.Grid surveys, together with mapping and spatial autocorrelation analysis, revealed that these patches were areas of statistically significant higher numbers of P. eleganscompared with surrounding areas where this species was present in very low numbers. These patches, 1-1.5m2, could be seen as areas of smooth, raised sediment within anotherwise wave-rippled sandflat. The majority of the other macrobenthic invertebrate species also exhibited small- or meso-scale patchiness, but none of these patches werespatially coincident with those of P. elegans.Although life history characteristics and disturbance have previously been postulated as being responsible for the generation of spionid patches, these have never beenexplicitly tested. The P. elegans population on Drum Sands was studied with respect to its population structure and reproductive biology and its response to macroalgal matestablishment and sediment disturbance. The possible role of these in the formation of small-scale patches of P. elegans are discussed.The P. elegans population on Drum Sands displayed reproductive activity for the majority of the year although intense larval recruitment was confined to two acuteperiods, April/May and November/December. P. elegans reproduced exclusively via planktotrophic larvae: no evidence of asexual proliferation or benthic larval productionwas found. This life history provides a large larval availability for patch formation.The role of macroalgal mat establishment in structuring the spatial distribution of P. elegans was investigated by a controlled, weed-implantation experiment and acomparative survey. Implanted Enteromorpha prolifera and naturally establishing Vaucheria subsimplex caused underlying sediments to have increased silt/clayfractions, increased organic and water contents and increased sorting coefficients andmedium grain size. The sediment below these macroalgal mats also becamesignificantly more reduced. While the communities under E. prolifera mats became dominated by C. capitata, those under V. subsimplex mats were dominated by P. elegans.The effect of sediment disturbance on the faunal communities of Drum Sands was investigated by studying the initial colonisation of defaunated sediments. P. elegansnumerically dominated the early stages of succession only during periods of high larval availability, C. capitata dominated at other times. Furthermore, P. elegans larval recruitment and adult immigration to defaunated sediments within P. elegans patches were higher compared with non-patch defaunated sediments.The micro-scale spatial distribution of P. elegans within small-scale patches was examined. P. elegans was found to be non-randomly distributed throughout the year, patches formed were commonly less than 3cm square. Correlation analyses implied that these micro-scale patches may have been generated and maintained by adult-juvenileinteractions and/or sediment heterogeneity.Small-scale P. elegans patches were found to be distinct ecological areas when compared with surrounding sediments. Sediment properties and invertebratecommunity structure of P. elegans patches were significantly different to those of nonpatch areas. These findings emphasise the ecological importance of patches of tubebuilding spionid polychaetes in allowing certain species to occur in habitats where they would otherwise be unable to survive

Differential response of nematode colonist communities to the intertidal placement of dredged material

The use of fine-grained maintenance dredged material for habitat enhancement has increased in recent years, particularly recharge schemes which provide a means of combating the erosion of intertidal flats and saltmarsh. This article investigates the development of meiofaunal nematode communities following a natural experiment in 2003, when fine-grained dredged material was deposited concurrently at four adjacent intertidal recharge sites on the southeast coast of the United Kingdom. A 12-month survey of nematode assemblages was carried out to compare univariate, multivariate, allometric and functional attributes of colonist communities in relation to the different environmental conditions prevailing at the four sites. Developing assemblages were increasingly affected by the spatial differences in the elevation, consolidation and exposure of bed material. The results indicated that the colonisation sequence was the result of random settling of suspended nematodes, sequential reproduction and differential survival and reproductive success of colonising species. For the first time, this experiment provided insights into the development of adaptive and functional types of meiofaunal nematodes following the intertidal deposition of uncontaminated fine-grained dredged material. This, in turn, will contribute considerably to the development of ecological models of the evolution of the large-scale placement of muddy dredged material in the intertidal environment