Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
Bottom trawling has widespread impacts on benthic communities and habitats. It is argued that the... more Bottom trawling has widespread impacts on benthic communities and habitats. It is argued that the impact of chronic bottom trawling on benthic infauna depends on the natural disturbance levels to which benthic communities are adapted. We analysed biomass, production and size structure of two communities from a muddy and a sandy habitat, in relation to quantified gradients of trawling disturbance on real fishing grounds. We used an allometric relationship between body mass and individual production to biomass ratio to estimate community production. Chronic trawling had a negative impact on the biomass and production of benthic communities in the muddy habitat, while no impact was identified on benthic communities from the sandy habitat. These differences are the result of differences in size structure within the two communities that occur in response to increasing trawling disturbance.
Assessing how natural environmental drivers affect biodiversity underpins our understanding of th... more Assessing how natural environmental drivers affect biodiversity underpins our understanding of the relationships between complex biotic and ecological factors in natural ecosystems. Of all ecosystems, anthropogenically important estuaries represent a 'melting pot' of environmental stressors, typified by extreme salinity variations and associated biological complexity. Although existing models attempt to predict macroorganismal diversity over estuarine salinity gradients, attempts to model microbial biodiversity are limited for eukaryotes. Although diatoms commonly feature as bioindicator species, additional microbial eukaryotes represent a huge resource for assessing ecosystem health. Of these, meiofaunal communities may represent the optimal compromise between functional diversity that can be assessed using morphology and phenotype–environment interactions as compared with smaller life fractions. Here, using 454 Roche sequencing of the 18S nSSU barcode we investigate which ...
Rice, J., C. Arvanitidis, A. Borja, C. Frid, J. Hiddink, J. Krause, P. Lorance, S. A. Ragnarsson,... more Rice, J., C. Arvanitidis, A. Borja, C. Frid, J. Hiddink, J. Krause, P. Lorance, S. A. Ragnarsson, M. Skold, B. Trabucco, 2010. Marine Strategy Framework Directive – Task Group 6 Report Seafloor integrity. EUR 24334 EN – Joint Research Centre, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities: 73 pp.
ABSTRACT One of the most widespread yet manageable pressures we impose on the seabed is disturban... more ABSTRACT One of the most widespread yet manageable pressures we impose on the seabed is disturbance of the substrate by towed demersal fishing gear (bottom trawling and dredging). Over the past forty to fifty years, many studies have been conducted specifically aiming to understand the impacts of such fishing gear on the seabed communities. Their outcomes have demonstrated dramatic effects of bottom trawling on the structure of marine ecosystems although impacts tend to be wide-ranging, depending upon the gear, intensity, spatial area and the nature of the seabed habitats. However, understanding the functional impacts of this activity (as opposed to impacts on the structure of benthic assemblages) has only recently been attempted. Advances in the application of biological traits analysis (BTA) wherein the assemblages are described in terms of their life history, behavioural and morphological characteristics, have allowed us to better understand the interactions between the benthic fauna and their environment at a functional level. We present the initial findings of work conducted under the auspices of the EU-funded project ‘BENTHIS’ which aims to improve our understanding of the impacts of trawling on benthic ecosystem functioning over much larger spatial scales than previously undertaken. Biological traits information from 887 stations across European waters (Norwegian, UK, Belgian, Dutch, Danish waters, the Mediterranean and Black Sea) were analysed to: i) quantify the relationships between infaunal trait composition and environmental variables (depth, sediment granulometry); ii) determine the relationship between traits and habitat type (EUNIS level 4); and iii) assess the relationships between trawling pressure (using data derived under BENTHIS; see Eigaard et al., this volume) and traits composition
Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society, Jan 22, 2015
The effects of bottom trawling on benthic invertebrates include reductions of biomass, diversity ... more The effects of bottom trawling on benthic invertebrates include reductions of biomass, diversity and body size. These changes may negatively affect prey availability for demersal fishes, potentially leading to reduced food intake, body condition and yield of fishes in chronically trawled areas. Here, the effect of trawling on the prey availability and diet of two commercially important flatfish species, plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) and dab (Limanda limanda), was investigated over a trawling intensity gradient in the Irish Sea. Previous work in this area has shown that trawling negatively affects the condition of plaice but not of dab. This study showed that reductions in local prey availability did not result in reduced feeding of fish. As trawling frequency increased, both fish and prey biomass declined, such that the ratio of fish to prey remained unchanged. Consequently, even at frequently trawled sites with low prey biomass, both plaice and dab maintained constant levels of st...
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
Bottom trawling has widespread impacts on benthic communities and habitats. It is argued that the... more Bottom trawling has widespread impacts on benthic communities and habitats. It is argued that the impact of chronic bottom trawling on benthic infauna depends on the natural disturbance levels to which benthic communities are adapted. We analysed biomass, production and size structure of two communities from a muddy and a sandy habitat, in relation to quantified gradients of trawling disturbance on real fishing grounds. We used an allometric relationship between body mass and individual production to biomass ratio to estimate community production. Chronic trawling had a negative impact on the biomass and production of benthic communities in the muddy habitat, while no impact was identified on benthic communities from the sandy habitat. These differences are the result of differences in size structure within the two communities that occur in response to increasing trawling disturbance.
Assessing how natural environmental drivers affect biodiversity underpins our understanding of th... more Assessing how natural environmental drivers affect biodiversity underpins our understanding of the relationships between complex biotic and ecological factors in natural ecosystems. Of all ecosystems, anthropogenically important estuaries represent a 'melting pot' of environmental stressors, typified by extreme salinity variations and associated biological complexity. Although existing models attempt to predict macroorganismal diversity over estuarine salinity gradients, attempts to model microbial biodiversity are limited for eukaryotes. Although diatoms commonly feature as bioindicator species, additional microbial eukaryotes represent a huge resource for assessing ecosystem health. Of these, meiofaunal communities may represent the optimal compromise between functional diversity that can be assessed using morphology and phenotype–environment interactions as compared with smaller life fractions. Here, using 454 Roche sequencing of the 18S nSSU barcode we investigate which ...
Rice, J., C. Arvanitidis, A. Borja, C. Frid, J. Hiddink, J. Krause, P. Lorance, S. A. Ragnarsson,... more Rice, J., C. Arvanitidis, A. Borja, C. Frid, J. Hiddink, J. Krause, P. Lorance, S. A. Ragnarsson, M. Skold, B. Trabucco, 2010. Marine Strategy Framework Directive – Task Group 6 Report Seafloor integrity. EUR 24334 EN – Joint Research Centre, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities: 73 pp.
ABSTRACT One of the most widespread yet manageable pressures we impose on the seabed is disturban... more ABSTRACT One of the most widespread yet manageable pressures we impose on the seabed is disturbance of the substrate by towed demersal fishing gear (bottom trawling and dredging). Over the past forty to fifty years, many studies have been conducted specifically aiming to understand the impacts of such fishing gear on the seabed communities. Their outcomes have demonstrated dramatic effects of bottom trawling on the structure of marine ecosystems although impacts tend to be wide-ranging, depending upon the gear, intensity, spatial area and the nature of the seabed habitats. However, understanding the functional impacts of this activity (as opposed to impacts on the structure of benthic assemblages) has only recently been attempted. Advances in the application of biological traits analysis (BTA) wherein the assemblages are described in terms of their life history, behavioural and morphological characteristics, have allowed us to better understand the interactions between the benthic fauna and their environment at a functional level. We present the initial findings of work conducted under the auspices of the EU-funded project ‘BENTHIS’ which aims to improve our understanding of the impacts of trawling on benthic ecosystem functioning over much larger spatial scales than previously undertaken. Biological traits information from 887 stations across European waters (Norwegian, UK, Belgian, Dutch, Danish waters, the Mediterranean and Black Sea) were analysed to: i) quantify the relationships between infaunal trait composition and environmental variables (depth, sediment granulometry); ii) determine the relationship between traits and habitat type (EUNIS level 4); and iii) assess the relationships between trawling pressure (using data derived under BENTHIS; see Eigaard et al., this volume) and traits composition
Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society, Jan 22, 2015
The effects of bottom trawling on benthic invertebrates include reductions of biomass, diversity ... more The effects of bottom trawling on benthic invertebrates include reductions of biomass, diversity and body size. These changes may negatively affect prey availability for demersal fishes, potentially leading to reduced food intake, body condition and yield of fishes in chronically trawled areas. Here, the effect of trawling on the prey availability and diet of two commercially important flatfish species, plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) and dab (Limanda limanda), was investigated over a trawling intensity gradient in the Irish Sea. Previous work in this area has shown that trawling negatively affects the condition of plaice but not of dab. This study showed that reductions in local prey availability did not result in reduced feeding of fish. As trawling frequency increased, both fish and prey biomass declined, such that the ratio of fish to prey remained unchanged. Consequently, even at frequently trawled sites with low prey biomass, both plaice and dab maintained constant levels of st...
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