Search results for "intertidal"

Latitudinal- and local-scale variations in a rocky intertidal interaction web

2015

Natural assemblages are structured by a complex combination of positive and negative interactions, and the relative importance of each interaction can vary across spatial scales. By using a simple interaction web (barnacles-grazers-microphytobenthos) in a rocky intertidal system, we tested the hypothesis that the relative strength of positive and negative interactions would vary as a function of different environmental stress between 2 latitudinal levels and local environmental conditions. We manipulated the cover of barnacles and the presence of limpets at 2 sites in northern and southern Italy and non-destructively examined the response of microphyto - benthos (MPB) (photosynthetic biomas…

The neglected status of the vermetid reefs in the Mediterranean Sea: A systematic map

2022

Studied since late 1800, vermetid reefs are marine bioconstructions of well-acknowledged importance in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite their persistence being jeopardized in the whole basin, recent studies have referred to this bioconstruction as a neglected habitat. In this study, we assessed the neglected status of the Mediterranean vermetid reefs in the scientific literature producing a systematic map through a multi-method bibliometric protocol. Scopus and Web of Science databases were jointly used for data collection. Vermetid reefs publication rate (i.e., number of publications per year) was investigated compared to the other Mediterranean bio-constructions using ANOVA analysis and Zer…

Biogenic habitat shifts under long-term ocean acidification show nonlinear community responses and unbalanced functions of associated invertebrates

2019

Este artículo contiene 8 páginas, 4 figuras.

Strontium/lithium ratio in aragonitic shells of Cerastoderma edule (Bivalvia) — A new potential temperature proxy for brackish environments

2015

Abstract Quantitative reconstruction of water temperature from shells of bivalve mollusks is still a very challenging task. For example, in highly variable environments such as intertidal zones, shell oxygen isotope values can only provide reliable temperature estimates if the δ18Owater signature during the time of growth is known. Furthermore, trace element-to-calcium ratios such as Sr/Ca or Mg/Ca often do not serve as reliable paleothermometers, because their incorporation into bivalve shells is known to be strongly biologically controlled. Here, we present a potential novel temperature proxy which is based on the Sr/Lishell ratio of the intertidal bivalve Cerastoderma edule. Up to 81% of…

Intertidal epilithic bacteria diversity changes along a naturally occurring carbon dioxide and pH gradient.

2014

Intertidal epilithic bacteria communities are important components of coastal ecosystems, yet few studies have assessed their diversity and how it may be affected by changing environmental parameters. Submarine CO2 seeps produce localised areas of CO2-enriched seawater with reduced pH levels. We utilised the seawater pH/CO2 gradient at Levante Bay (Italy) to test the hypothesis that epilithic bacteria communities are modified by exposure to seawater with the varying chemical parameters. Biofilms were sampled from three sites exposed to seawater with different pH/CO2 levels and diversity determined using high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. Seawater pCO2 concentrations were increase…

Genesis of the Lower Triassic bonebeds from Gogolin (S Poland): The impact of microbial mats on trapping of vertebrate remains

2017

Three bone-bearing horizons, consis ting of seven bone-bearing beds with fi sh and reptile remains, were recently discovered in the Uppermost Röt (Buntsandstein, Lower Tri assic) peritidal and shallow marine carbonates in the vi- cinity of Gogolin (S Poland). The aim of this study is to reco gnize the genesis and deposi tional environments of the bonebeds. Detailed fi eldwork, microfacies analysis, and SEM-EDS anal ysis reveal that the vertebrate remains occur to a great extent alongside evidence for former microbial activity. The reptile remains represent at least Dactylosaurus and Nothosaurus (Sauropterygia) genera, while the fi sh remains belong to the Chondrichthyes and Actinopterygii. …

Investigation into the ecosystem services of intertidal bioconstruction in the context of coastal erosion and rock breakdown

2014

Getting into the groove: Opportunities to enhance the ecological value of hard coastal infrastructure using fine-scale surface textures

2015

Concrete flood defences, erosion control structures, port and harbour facilities, and renewable energy infrastructure are increasingly being built in the world’s coastal regions. There is, however, strong evidence to suggest that these structures are poor surrogates for natural rocky shores, often supporting assemblages with lower species abundance and diversity. Ecological engineering opportunities to enhance structures for biodiversity conservation (and other management goals) are therefore being sought, but the majority of work so far has concentrated on structural design features at the centimetre–meter scale.\ud \ud We deployed concrete tiles with four easily-reproducible fine-scale (m…

Testing the effects of temporal data resolution on predictions of the effects of climate change on bivalves

2014

a b s t r a c t The spatial-temporal scales on which environmental observations are made can significantly affect our perceptions of ecological patterns in nature. Understanding potential mismatches between environmen- tal data used as inputs to predictive models, and the forecasts of ecological responses that these models generate are particularly difficult when predicting responses to climate change since the assumption of model stationarity in time cannot be tested. In the last four decades, increases in computational capacity (by a factor of a million), and the evolution of new modeling tools, have permitted a corresponding increase in model complexity, in the length of the simulations,…

Ocean acidification and elevated temperature negatively affect recruitment, oxygen consumption and calcification of the reef-building Dendropoma cris…

2019

Expected temperature rise and seawater pH decrease may affect marine organism fitness. By a transplant experiment involving air-temperature manipulation along a natural CO2 gradient, we investigated the effects of high pCO(2) (similar to 1100 mu atm) and elevated temperature (up to +2 degrees C than ambient conditions) on the reproductive success, recruitment, growth, shell chemical composition and oxygen consumption of the early life stages of the intertidal reef-building vermetid Dendropoma cristatum. Reproductive success was predominantly affected by temperature increase, with encapsulated embryos exhibiting higher survival in control than elevated temperature conditions, which were in t…