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Publication
Severe shifts of Zostera marina epifauna: comparative study between 1997 and 2018 on the Swedish Skagerrak coast
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
The interaction between bottom-up and top-down processes in coastal ecosystems has been scarcely studied so
far. Temporal changes in trophic interactions of Zostera marina along the Swedish west coast are relatively well
studied, with the exception of epifaunal communities. Epifauna was used as a model study to explore resource
(bottom-up) or predator (top-down) regulated in a vegetated ecosystem. We conducted a 21-year comparative
study (1997 and 2018) using epifauna of 19 Zostera marina meadows along the Swedish Skagerrak coast. Large
changes were observed in the composition of small (0.2–1 mm) and large (> 1 mm) epifauna. In the small-sized
epifauna, the nematode Southernia zosterae and harpacticoids showed an increase of 90% and a decrease of 50%
of their abundances, respectively. In the large-sized epifauna, the polychaete Platynereis dumerilii and chironomid
larvae were absent in 1997 but thrived in 2018 (> 2000 ind. m−2
). Mesoherbivores (Idoteids and gammarids)
were locally very abundant in 1997 but disappeared in 2018. An 83% decline of mytilids settling in Zostera
marina leaves was observed. Our results showed that epifauna is predominantly top-down regulated. An in tegrative framework of the study area is outlined to shed light on the causes and consequences of the en vironmental shifts reported in Zostera meadows from the northern Skagerrak area throughout the last three
decades.
Description
Keywords
Trophic cascade Epifauna Filamentous algae Zostera marina meadows Swedish west coast Northern Skagerrak area . Faculdade de Ciências da Vida
Citation
Riera, R., Vasconcelos, J., Baden, S., Gerhardt, L., Sousa, R., & Infantes, E. (2020). Severe shifts of Zostera marina epifauna: comparative study between 1997 and 2018 on the Swedish Skagerrak coast. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 158, 111434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111434
Publisher
Elsevier