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Essence of the patterns of cover and richness of intertidal hard bottom communities: a pan-European study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2016

Jonne Kotta ,
Helen Orav-Kotta ,
Holger Jänes ,
Herman Hummel ,
Christos Arvanitidis ,
Pim Van Avesaath ,
Guy Bachelet ,
Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi ,
Natalia Bojanić  and
Serena Como
...Show all authors
Jonne Kotta*
Affiliation:
Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu, Tallinn, Estonia
Helen Orav-Kotta
Affiliation:
Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu, Tallinn, Estonia
Holger Jänes
Affiliation:
Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu, Tallinn, Estonia
Herman Hummel
Affiliation:
Monitor Taskforce, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Yerseke, the Netherlands
Christos Arvanitidis
Affiliation:
Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Pim Van Avesaath
Affiliation:
Monitor Taskforce, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Yerseke, the Netherlands
Guy Bachelet
Affiliation:
Arcachon Marine Station, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, EPOC, Arcachon, France
Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Natalia Bojanić
Affiliation:
Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Split, Croatia
Serena Como
Affiliation:
CNR, Institute for Coastal Marine Environment, Torregrande, Oristano, Italy
Stefania Coppa
Affiliation:
CNR, Institute for Coastal Marine Environment, Torregrande, Oristano, Italy
Jennifer Coughlan
Affiliation:
School of Biology and Environmental Science and Earth Institute, University College Dublin, Ireland
Tasman Crowe
Affiliation:
School of Biology and Environmental Science and Earth Institute, University College Dublin, Ireland
Martina Dal Bello
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Steven Degraer
Affiliation:
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Operational Directorate Natural Environment, Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecology, Marine Ecology and Management, Brussels and Oostende, Belgium
Jose Antonio Juanes De La Pena
Affiliation:
Environmental Hydraulics Institute, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain
Valentina Kirienko Fernandes De Matos
Affiliation:
MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre and IMAR – Institute of Marine Research, University of the Azores, 9901-862 Horta, Portugal
Free Espinosa
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Biología Marina, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
Sarah Faulwetter
Affiliation:
Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Matt Frost
Affiliation:
Marine Biological Association, Plymouth, UK
Xabier Guinda
Affiliation:
Environmental Hydraulics Institute, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain
Emilia Jankowska
Affiliation:
Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sopot, Poland
Jérôme Jourde
Affiliation:
Observatoire de la biodiversité (OBIONE), UMR 7266 LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés, CNRS/University of La Rochelle, France
Francis Kerckhof
Affiliation:
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Operational Directorate Natural Environment, Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecology, Marine Ecology and Management, Brussels and Oostende, Belgium
Nicolas Lavesque
Affiliation:
Arcachon Marine Station, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, EPOC, Arcachon, France
Jean-Charles Leclerc
Affiliation:
Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 6, Station Biologique, Place Georges Teissier, 29680 Roscoff, France CNRS, UMR 7144, Station Biologique, Place Georges Teissier, 29680 Roscoff, France
Paolo Magni
Affiliation:
CNR, Institute for Coastal Marine Environment, Torregrande, Oristano, Italy
Christina Pavloudi
Affiliation:
Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Maria Luiza Pedrotti
Affiliation:
Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 6, UMR 7093, LOV, Villefranche-sur-mer, France
Ohad Peleg
Affiliation:
National Institute of Oceanography, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, Haifa, Israel
Angel Pérez-Ruzafa
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Hydrology, Regional Campus of International Excellence ‘Campus Mare Nostrum’, University of Murcia, Spain
Araceli Puente
Affiliation:
Environmental Hydraulics Institute, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain
Pedro Ribeiro
Affiliation:
MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre and IMAR – Institute of Marine Research, University of the Azores, 9901-862 Horta, Portugal
Gil Rilov
Affiliation:
National Institute of Oceanography, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, Haifa, Israel
Maria Rousou
Affiliation:
Marine and Environmental Research Lab Ltd, Nicosia, Cyprus
Tomas Ruginis
Affiliation:
Open Access Centre for Marine Research, Klaipeda University, Lithuania
Teresa Silva
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Ciências do Mar, Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre (MARE), Universidade de Évora, Sines, Portugal
Nathalie Simon
Affiliation:
Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 6, Station Biologique, Place Georges Teissier, 29680 Roscoff, France CNRS, UMR 7144, Station Biologique, Place Georges Teissier, 29680 Roscoff, France
Isabel Sousa-Pinto
Affiliation:
Centre for Marine and Environmental Research, CIIMAR, Porto, Portugal
Jesús Troncoso
Affiliation:
ECIMAT, Station of Marine Sciences of Toralla, Department of Ecology and Animal Biology, University of Vigo, Spain
Jan Warzocha
Affiliation:
Marine Fisheries Institute, Gdynia, Poland
Jan Marcin Weslawski
Affiliation:
Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sopot, Poland
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: J. Kotta, Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu, Tallinn, Estonia Email: jonne@sea.ee
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Abstract

Coastal ecosystems are highly complex and driven by multiple environmental factors. To date we lack scientific evidence for the relative contribution of natural and anthropogenic drivers for the majority of marine habitats in order to adequately assess the role of different stressors across the European seas. Such relationship can be investigated by analysing the correlation between environmental variables and biotic patterns in multivariate space and taking into account non-linearities. Within the framework of the EMBOS (European Marine Biodiversity Observatory System) programme, hard bottom intertidal communities were sampled in a standardized way across European seas. Links between key natural and anthropogenic drivers and hard bottom communities were analysed using Boosted Regression Trees modelling. The study identified strong interregional variability and showed that patterns of hard bottom macroalgal and invertebrate communities were primarily a function of tidal regime, nutrient loading and water temperature (anomalies). The strength and shape of functional form relationships varied widely however among types of organisms (understorey algae composing mostly filamentous species, canopy-forming algae or sessile invertebrates) and aggregated community variables (cover or richness). Tidal regime significantly modulated the effect of nutrient load on the cover and richness of understorey algae and sessile invertebrates. In contrast, hydroclimate was more important for canopy algae and temperature anomalies and hydroclimate separately or interactively contributed to the observed patterns. The analyses also suggested that climate-induced shifts in weather patterns may result in the loss of algal richness and thereby in the loss of functional diversity in European hard bottom intertidal areas.

Keywords

Macroalgaebenthic invertebratesregional-scale patternstidal regimeeutrophicationclimate change
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 97 , Special Issue 3: European Marine Biology Symposium , May 2017 , pp. 525 - 538
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2016 

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