Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T18:36:52.443Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

An experimental evaluation of the short-term effects of trawling on infaunal assemblages of the coast off southern Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2012

Alessandro Lívio Prantoni*
Affiliation:
Centro de Estudos do Mar, Universidade Federal do Paraná, PO Box 50002, zip code 83255-000, Pontal do Paraná, PR, Brazil
Paulo da Cunha Lana
Affiliation:
Centro de Estudos do Mar, Universidade Federal do Paraná, PO Box 50002, zip code 83255-000, Pontal do Paraná, PR, Brazil
Leonardo Sandrini-Neto
Affiliation:
Centro de Estudos do Mar, Universidade Federal do Paraná, PO Box 50002, zip code 83255-000, Pontal do Paraná, PR, Brazil
Orlei Antônio Negrello Filho
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Núcleo de Estudos do Mar, ZIP CODE 88040-900, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Verônica Maria de Oliveira
Affiliation:
Centro de Estudos do Mar, Universidade Federal do Paraná, PO Box 50002, zip code 83255-000, Pontal do Paraná, PR, Brazil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: A.L. Prantoni, Centro de Estudos do Mar, Universidade Federal do Paraná, PO Box 50002, zip code 83255-000, Pontal do Paraná, PR, Brazil email: aprantoni@gmail.com

Abstract

Bottom trawling is a large-scale fishing activity along the Brazilian coast, but its effects on benthic infauna are still poorly known. This is the first experimental evaluation of benthic responses to bottom trawling along the Brazilian coast. We tested the effects of trawling on macroinfaunal assemblages on the inner continental shelf off Paraná (southern Brazil) by using a sampling design with adjacent trawl and control areas. We hypothesized that if trawl fishing has a negative effect then we should expect lower numbers of species and lower benthic densities after an experimental trawling. Sampling was conducted at adjacent sites within each area to minimize confounding due to spatial variation. Five sites were sampled at a control, and five at an experimental area for infaunal and sedimentological variables. Sampling was carried out just before and one hour after experimental trawling. Multidimensional scaling followed by a PERMANOVA did not show any clear variation tendencies in the structure of the benthic assemblages in the impacted area before and after trawling. However, variance analysis showed a significant and unexpected increase in infaunal total density, in the density of the numerically dominant species (except for the polychaetes Capitella sp. and Loandalia tricuspis) and in species richness in the experimental area. Conversely, no significant variations were recorded in the control area. We suggest that the overall increase in benthic density after a disturbance is correlated with the reworking of the sediment matrix and benefits the suspension-feeders after sediment resuspension.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Anderson, M.J. (2005) PERMANOVA: a Fortran computer program for permutational multivariate analysis of variance. Department of Statistics, University of Auckland, New Zealand, 24 pp.Google Scholar
Atkinson, L.J., Field, J.G. and Hutchings, L. (2011) Effects of demersal trawling along the west coast of southern Africa: multivariate analysis of benthic assemblages. Marine Ecology Progress Series 430, 241255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergman, M.J.N. and Van Santbrink, J.W. (2000) Mortality in megafaunal benthic populations caused by trawl fisheries on the Dutch continental shelf in the North Sea in 1994. ICES Journal of Marine Science 57 13211331.Google Scholar
Borzone, C.A., Pezzuto, P.R. and Marone, E. (1999) Oceanographic characteristics of a multispecific fishing ground of the Central South Brazil Bight. Marine Ecology 20, 131146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brandini, F.P., Silva, A.S., Silva, E.T. and Kolm, H. (2007) Sources of nutrients and seasonal dynamics of chlorophyll in the inner shelf off Paraná state—South Brazil Bight. Journal of Coastal Research 23, 11311140.Google Scholar
Burridge, C.D., Pitcher, C.R., Wassenberg, T.J., Poiner, I.R. and Hill, B.J. (2003) Measurement of the rate of depletion of benthic fauna by prawn (shrimp) otter trawls: an experiment in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Fisheries Research 60, 237253.Google Scholar
Camargo, M.G. (2006) SysGran: um sistema de código aberto para análises granulométricas do sedimento. Revista Brasileira de Geociências 36, 345352.Google Scholar
Chapman, M.G. and Tolhurst, T.J. (2007) Relationships between benthic macrofauna and biogeochemical properties of sediments at different spatial scales and among different habitats in mangrove forests. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 343, 96109.Google Scholar
Chapman, M.G., Tolhurst, T. J., Murphy, R.J. and Underwood, A.J. (2010) Complex and inconsistent patterns of variation in benthos, micro-algae and sediment over multiple spatial scales. Marine Ecology Progress Series 398, 3347.Google Scholar
Collie, J.S., Hall, S.J., Kaiser, M.J. and Poiner, I.R. (2000) A quantitative analysis of fishing impacts on shelf-sea benthos. Journal of Animal Ecology 69, 785799.Google Scholar
De Biasi, A.N. (2004) Impact of experimental trawling on the benthic assemblage along the Tuscany coast (North Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy). ICES Journal of Marine Science 61, 12601266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drabsch, S.L., Tanner, J.E. and Connell, S.D. (2001) Limited infaunal response to experimental trawling in previously untrawled areas. ICES Journal of Marine Science 58, 12611271.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliott, J.M. (1977) Some methods for the statistical analysis of samples of benthic invertebrates. 2nd edition: Ambleside, UK: Freshwater Biological Association, 159 pp.Google Scholar
Gonçalves, E.M. and Lana, P.C. (1991) Padrões de distribuição de Bivalvia e Gastropoda na plataforma continental da costa sudeste do Brasil (24°S– 27°S). Nerítica 6, 7392.Google Scholar
Gray, J.S., Dayton, P., Trush, S. and Kaiser, M.J. (2006) On effects of trawling, benthos and sampling design. Marine Pollution Bulletin 52, 840843.Google Scholar
Gray, J.S, Dayton, P., Thrush, S. and Kaiser, M.J. (2007) Fishing for facts on the environmental effects of trawling and dredge fisheries: reply to Lokkeborg. Marine Pollution Bulletin 54, 497500.Google Scholar
Haimovici, M. and Klippel, S. (1999) Diagnóstico da biodiversidade dos peixes teleósteos demersais marinhos e estuarinos do Brasil. Ministério do Meio Ambiente (Technical Report), Rio Grande, 69 pp.Google Scholar
Hiddink, J.G., Jennings, S., Kaiser, M.J., Queirós, A.M., Duplisea, D.E. and Piet, G.J. (2006) Cumulative impacts of seabed trawl disturbance on benthic biomass, production, and species richness in different habitats. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 63, 721736.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hinz, H., Prieto, V. and Kaiser, M. (2009) Trawl disturbance on benthic communities: chronic effects and experimental predictions. Ecological Applications 19, 761773.Google Scholar
Hixon, M.A. and Tissot, B.N. (2007) Comparison of trawled vs untrawled mud sea floor assemblages of fish and macroinvertebrates at Coquille Bank, Oregon. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 334, 2334.Google Scholar
Jennings, S., Pinnegar, J.K., Polunin, N.V.C. and Warr, K.J. (2001) Impacts of trawling disturbance on the trophic structure of benthic invertebrate communities. Marine Ecology Progress Series 213, 127142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jennings, S. and Kaiser, M.J. (1998) The effects of fishing on marine ecosystems. Advances in Marine Biology 34, 201351.Google Scholar
Kaiser, M.J., Clarke, K.R., Hinz, H., Austen, M.C.V., Somerfield, P.J. and Karakassis, I. (2006) Global analysis of response and recovery of benthic biota to fishing. Marine Ecology Progress Series 311, 114.Google Scholar
Kaiser, M.J., Collie, J.S., Hall, S.J., Jennings, S. and Poiner, I.R. (2001) Impacts of fishing gear on marine benthic habitats. In Reykjavik Conference on Responsible Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem, FAO Fisheries Report 658. FAO: Rome, pp. 1–19.Google Scholar
Kaiser, M.J., Collie, J.S., Hall, S.J., Jennings, S. and Poiner, I.R. (2002) Modification of marine habitats by trawling activities: prognosis and solutions. Fish and Fisheries 3, 114133.Google Scholar
Kaiser, M.J., Ramsay, K., Richardson, C.A., Spence, F.E. and Brand, A.R. (2000) Chronic fishing disturbance has changed shelf sea benthic community structure. Journal of Animal Ecology 69, 494503.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaiser, M.J. and Spencer, B.E. (1996) The effects of beam trawl disturbance on infaunal communities in different habitats. Journal of Animal Ecology 65, 348358.Google Scholar
Kenchington, E.L., Prena, J., Gilkinson, K.D., Gordon, D.C., Macisaac, K., Bourbonnais, C., Schwinghamer, P.J., Rowell, T.W., Mckeown, D.L. and Vass, W.P. (2001) Effects of experimental otter trawling on the macrofauna of a sandy bottom ecosystem on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 58, 10431057.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lana, P.C., Almeida, M.V.O., Freitas, C.A.F., Couto, E.C.G., Conti, L.M.P., Gonzales-Peronti, A.L., Giles, A.G., Lopes, M.J.S., Silva, M.H.C. and Pedroso, L.A. (1989) Estrutura espacial de associações macrobênticas sublitorais da gamboa Perequê (Pontal do Sul, Paraná). Nerítica 4, 119136.Google Scholar
Lokkeborg, S. (2005) Impacts of trawling and scallop dredging on benthic habitats and communities. FAO Fisheries, Technical Paper 472.Google Scholar
Lokkeborg, S. (2007) Insufficient understanding of benthic impacts of trawling is due to methodological deficiencies—a reply to Gray et al. (2006). Marine Pollution Bulletin 54, 494496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Longhurst, A. (2007) Doubt and certainty in fishery science: are we really headed for a global collapse of stocks? Fisheries Research 86, 15.Google Scholar
Martins, G.J., Marone, E., Ângulo, R.J., Noernberg, M.A. and Quadros, C.J.L. (2004) Dinâmica da zona de rasa de shoaling e o transporte de sedimentos na desembocadura sul do Complexo Estuarino de Paranaguá. Revista Brasileira de Geociências 54, 5164.Google Scholar
Matsuura, Y. (1986) Contribuição ao estudo da estrutura oceanográfica da região sudeste entre Cabo Frio (RJ) e Cabo de Santa Marta (RS). Ciência e Cultura 38, 14391450.Google Scholar
McCammon, R.B. (1962) Efficiencies of percentile measurements for describing the mean size and sorting of sedimentary particles. Journal of Geology 70, 453465.Google Scholar
Morales, M. (2011) sciplot: scientific graphing functions for factorial designs. R package version 1.0-9. Available at http://www.R-project.org (accessed 15 December 2011).Google Scholar
Morrisey, D.J., Howitt, L., Underwood, A.J. and Stark, J.S. (1992) Spatial variation in soft-sediment benthos. Marine Ecology Progress Series 81, 197204.Google Scholar
Noernberg, M.A., Marone, E. and Angulo, R.J. (2007) Coastal currents and sediment transport in Paranaguá estuary complex navigation channel. Boletim Paranaense de Geociências 60–61, 4554.Google Scholar
Oksanen, J., Blanchet, F.G., Kindt, R., Legendre, P., O'Hara, R.B., Simpson, G.L., Solymos, P., Henry, M., Stevens, H. and Wagner, H. (2011) vegan: community ecology package. R package version 3.1-96. Available at http://www.R-project.org (accessed 15 December 2011).Google Scholar
Olsgard, F., Schaanning, M.T., Widdicombe, S., Kendall, M.A. and Austen, M.C. (2008) Effects of bottom trawling on ecosystem functioning. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 366, 123133.Google Scholar
Palanques, A., Guillen, J. and Puig, P. (2001) Impact of bottom trawling on water turbidity and muddy sediments of an unfished continental shelf. Limnology and Oceanography 46, 11001110.Google Scholar
Pelaes, M.A.L. and Borzone, C.A. (2007). Effects of shrimp trawling on the structure of macrobenthic communities of Paraná's inner shelf. Brazilian Journal of Aquatic Science and Technology 11, 4551.Google Scholar
Perez, J.A.A., Pezzuto, P.R., Rodrigues, L.F., Valentini, H. and Vooren, C.M. (2001) Relatório da reunião técnica de ordenamento da pesca de arrasto nas regiões sudeste e sul do Brasil. Notas Técnicas da FACIMAR 5, 134.Google Scholar
Pranovi, F., Raicevich, S., Franceschini, G., Farrace, M.G. and Giovanardi, O. (2000) Rapido trawling in the northern Adriatic Sea: effects on benthic communities in an experimental area. ICES Journal of Marine Science 57, 517524.Google Scholar
Queirós, A.M., Hiddink, J.G., Kaiser, M.J. and Hinz, H. (2006) Effects of chronic bottom trawling disturbance on benthic biomass, production and size spectra in different habitats. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecolgy 335, 91103.Google Scholar
R Development Core Team (2011) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. ISBN 3-900051-07-0. Available at http://www.R-project.org (accessed 15 December 2011).Google Scholar
Sandrini-Neto, L. and Camargo, M.G. (2011) GAD: an R package for ANOVA designs from general principles. R package version 1.1.1. Available at http://www.R-project.org (accessed 15 December 2011).Google Scholar
Schwinghamer, P., Gordon, D.C. Jr, Rowell, T.W., Prena, J., McKeown, D.L., Sonnichsen, G. and Guignés, J.Y. (1998) Effects of experimental otter trawling properties of a sandy bottom ecosystem on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Conservation Biology 12, 12151222.Google Scholar
Soares-Gomes, A. and Pires-Vanin, A.M.S. (2003) Padrões de abundância, riqueza e diversidade de moluscos bivalves na plataforma continental ao largo de Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brasil: uma comparação metodológica. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 20, 717725.Google Scholar
Thrush, S.F. and Dayton, P.K. (2002) Disturbance to marine benthic habitats by trawling and dredging: implications to marine biodiversity. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 33, 449473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Underwood, A.J. (1997) Experiments in ecology: their logical design and interpretation using analysis of variance. New York: Cambridge University Press, 504 pp.Google Scholar
Veiga, F.A., Angulo, R.J., Marone, E. and Brandini, F.P. (2005) Características sedimentológicas do plataforma continental interna rasa na porção central do litoral paranaense. Revista Brasileira de Geociências 55, 6775.Google Scholar
Watling, L. and Norse, E.A. (1998) Disturbance of the sea bed by mobile fishing gear: a comparison to forest clearcutting. Conservation Biology 12, 11801197.Google Scholar
Zajac, R.N., Lewis, R.S., Poppe, L.J., Twichell, D.C., Vosarick, L.J. and Digiacomo, M.L. (2000) Relationships among sea floor structure and benthic communities in Long Island Sound at regional and benthoscape scales. Journal of Coastal Research 13, 627640.Google Scholar