Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T20:18:42.659Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Small-scale spatial variability of zoobenthic communities in a commercial Mediterranean port

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2010

Chryssanthi Antoniadou ,
Sarantis Sarantidis  and
Chariton Chintiroglou
Chryssanthi Antoniadou*
Affiliation:
Aristotle University, School of Biology, Department of Zoology, Thessaloniki, Greece
Sarantis Sarantidis
Affiliation:
Aristotle University, School of Biology, Department of Zoology, Thessaloniki, Greece
Chariton Chintiroglou
Affiliation:
Aristotle University, School of Biology, Department of Zoology, Thessaloniki, Greece
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: C. Antoniadou, Aristotle University, School of Biology, Department of Zoology, Thessaloniki, Greece email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In the context of the limited information on the ecology of port communities, the present work aims at assessing the small-scale spatial variability of zoobenthos inhabiting hard and soft substrata, in a Mediterranean port with high levels of commercial shipment. Samples were collected in summer from three stations and four depth levels, using core and quadrate samplers. A total of 34,578 individuals were collected, identified to 118 animal species. Soft substratum communities were impoverished and their structure varied spatially according to sediment composition. At a functional level deposit feeders dominated; their abundance decreased at the silty sites. Biotic indices were found inadequate for the assessment of ecological quality, due to the very low abundance of the fauna. Fouling communities varied spatially in vertical scales; diversity indices and the abundance of Bivalvia varied also in horizontal scales. Suspension and deposit feeders dominated showing a decreasing trend with depth. Two animal-dominated communities, serpulid blocks in the lower midlittoral zone and mussel beds in the sublittoral, substituted an algal-dominated community, which has been previously recorded from the same port quays. This substitution may be due to the intensive mussel farming in the nearby area contributing to the rapid expansion of mussels and of their serpulid biofoulers. Despite the existence of biogenic substrata, which enhance habitat complexity, the diversity of the associated fauna decreased and most species were tolerant to organic pollution. Recursive biomonitoring seems necessary to assess the ecological status of communities and to develop integrated management plans for temperate ports.

Keywords

foulingbiomonitoringspatial patternsfunctional levelAegean Sea
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 91 , Issue 1 , February 2011 , pp. 77 - 89
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2010

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

Antoniadou, C., Krestenitis, Y. and Chintiroglou, C. (2004) Structure of the ‘amphioxus sand’ community in Thermaikos Bay (eastern Mediterranean). Fresenius Environmental Bulletin 11, 1122–1128.Google Scholar
Antoniadou, C., Voultsiadou, E. and Chintiroglou, C. (2010) Benthic colonization and succession on temperate sublittoral rocky cliffs. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 382, 145–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alyakrinskaya, I.O. (2004) Adaptations of certain Mediterranean mollusks to living in the littoral zone. Biological Bulletin. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole 31, 406–415.Google Scholar
Bellan, G. (1967a) Pollution et peuplement benthique sur substrat meuble dans la région de Marseille. Première partie. Le secteur de Cortiou. Revue Internationale Océanographique Méditerranée 6-7, 51–95.Google Scholar
Bellan, G. (1967b) Pollution et peuplement benthique sur substrat meuble dans la région de Marseille. Deuxième partie. L'ensemble portuaire marseillais. Revue Internationale Océanographique Méditerranée 8, 51–95.Google Scholar
Bellan, G. (1980) Relationships of pollution to rocky substratum polychaetes on the French Mediterranean coast. Marine Pollution Bulletin 11, 318–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bellan, G. (1991) Effects of pollution and man-made modifications on marine benthic communities in the Méditerranean: a review. In Moraitou-Apostolopoulou, M. and Kiortsis, V. (eds) Mediterranean marine ecosystems. New York: Plenum Publisher Company, pp. 163–194.Google Scholar
Bellan-Santini, D. (1998) Ecology. In Ruffo, S. (ed.) The Amphipoda of the Mediterranean. Mémoires de l'Institut Océanographique, Monaco, pp. 869–894.Google Scholar
Bianchi, C.N. (1981) Guide per il riconoscimento delle specie animali delle acque lagunari e costiere italiane. Policheti Serpuloidei. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Pavia, Italy.Google Scholar
Bitar, G. (1982) Influence d'un grand émissaire urbain sur la distribution de substrat dur dans la région de Marseille (Méditerranée nord-occidentale). Téthys 10, 200–210.Google Scholar
Borja, A. and Dauer, D.M. (2008) Assessing the environmental quality status in estuarine and coastal systems: comparing methodologies and indices. Ecological Indicators 8, 331–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borja, A. and Muxica, I. (2005) Guidelines for the use of AMBI (AZTI's Marine Biotic Index) in the assessment of the benthic ecological quality. Marine Pollution Bulletin 50, 787–789.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Borja, A., Franco, J. and Pérez, V. (2000) A marine biotic index to establish the ecological quality of soft-bottom benthos within European estuarine and coastal environments. Marine Pollution Bulletin 40, 1100–1114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boudouresque, C.F. and Verlaque, M. (2002) Biological pollution in the Mediterranean Sea: invasive versus introduced macrophytes. Marine Pollution Bulletin 44, 32–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bownes, S.J. and McQuaid, C.D. (2006) Will the invasive mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck replace the indigenous Perna perna L. on the south coast of South Africa? Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 338, 140–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chintiroglou, C. and Antoniadou, C. (2009) Ecology of temperate port communities. In Nairne, G.H. (ed.) Aquatic ecosystem research trends. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, pp. 1–14.Google Scholar
Chintiroglou, C., Antoniadou, C., Baxevanis, A., Damianidis, P., Karalis, P. and Vafidis, D. (2004a) Peracarida populations of hard substrate assemblages in ports of the NW Aegean Sea (eastern Mediterranean). Helgoland Marine Research 58, 54–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chintiroglou, C., Damianidis, P., Antoniadou, C., Lantzouni, M. and Vafidis, D. (2004b) Macrofauna biodiversity of mussel bed assemblages in Thermaikos Gulf (northern Aegean Sea). Helgoland Marine Research 58, 62–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chintiroglou, C., Antoniadou, C. and Krestenitis, Y. (2006) Can polychaetes be used as a surrogate group in assessing ecological quality in soft bottom communities (NE Thermaikos Gulf)? Fresenius Environmental Bulletin 15, 1199–1207.Google Scholar
Çinar, M.E., Katağan, T., Koçak, F., Öztürk, B., Ergen, Z., Kocatas, A., Önen, M., Kirkim, F., Kurt, G., Dağli, E., Açik, S., Doğan, A. and Özcan, T. (2008) Faunal assemblages of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis in and around Alsancak Harbour (Izmir Bay, eastern Mediterranean) with special emphasis on alien species. Journal of Marine System 71, 1–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, K.R. and Gorley, N.R. (2006) PRIMER v6: user manual/tutorial. Plymouth, UK: Primer-E.Google Scholar
Commito, J.A., Celano, E.A., Celico, H.J., Como, S. and Johnson, C.P. (2005) Mussels matter: postlarval dispersal dynamics altered by a spatially complex ecosystem engineer. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 316, 133–147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Currie, D.R. and Parry, G.D. (1999) Changes to benthic communities over 20 years in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, Australia. Marine Pollution Bulletin 38, 36–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Damianidis, P. and Chintiroglou, C. (2000) Structure and function of polychaetofauna living in Mytilus galloprovincialis assemblages in Thermaikos Gulf (N. Aegean Sea). Oceanologica Acta 23, 323–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dean, R.L. and Connell, J.H. (1987) Marine invertebrates in an algal succession. III. Mechanisms linking habitat complexity with diversity. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 109, 217–247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dimitriadis, C. and Koutsoubas, D. (2008) Community properties of benthic mollusks as indicators of environmental stress induced by organic enrichment. Journal of Natural History 42, 559–574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fichet, D., Radenac, G. and Miramand, P. (1998) Experimental studies of impacts of harbour sediments resuspension to marine invertebrate larvae: bioavailability of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn toxicity. Marine Pollution Bulletin 36, 509–518.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gee, G.W. and Bauder, J. (1986) Particle size analysis. In Klute, A. (ed.) Methods of soil analysis. Part 1, Physical and mineralogical methods. Madison, USA: Agronomy, ASA and SSSA, pp. 383–411.Google Scholar
Grall, J. and Glémarec, M. (1997) Using biotic indices to estimate macrobenthic community perturbations in the Bay of Brest. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 44, 43–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gupta, A.K., Gupta, S.K. and Patil, R.S. (2005) Environmental management plan for port and harbour projects. Clean Technology and Environmental Policy 7, 133–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall-Spencer, J. and Bamber, R. (2007) Effects of salmon farming on benthic Crustacea. Ciencias Marinas 33, 353–366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hyder, P., Simpson, J.H., Christopoulos, S. and Krestenitis, Y. (2002) The seasonal cycles of stratification and circulation in the Thermaikos Gulf Region of Freshwater Influence (ROFI), northwest Aegean. Continental Shelf Research 22, 2573–2597.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, C.G., Lawton, J.H. and Shachak, M. (1994) Organisms as ecosystem engineers. Oikos 69, 373–386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karalis, P., Antoniadou, C. and Chintiroglou, C. (2003) Structure of the artificial hard substrate assemblages in ports, in Thermaikos Gulf (North Aegean Sea). Oceanologica Acta 26, 215–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koçak, F. (2008) Bryozoan assemblages at some marinas in the Aegean Sea. Marine Biodiversity Records 1, 1–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koçak, F., Ergen, Z. and Çinar, M.E. (1999) Fouling organisms and their developments in a polluted and an unpolluted marina in the Aegean Sea (Turkey). Ophelia 50, 1–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kombiadou, K.D., Krestenitis, Y.N., Antoniadou, C. and Chintiroglou, C. (2010) Mathematical investigation of the applicability of benthic ascidians as biological filters in coastal areas. Journal of Marine Environmental Engineering 9, 85–97.Google Scholar
Krestenitis, Y., Kombiadou, K. and Savvidis, Y. (2007) Modelling the cohesive sediment transport in the marine environment: the case of Thermaikos Gulf. Ocean Science 3, 91–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leung Tack Kit, D. (1972) Etude du milieu pollué: Le Vieux Port de Marseille. Influence des conditions physiques et chimiques sur la physionomie du peuplement du quai. Téthys 3, 767–826.Google Scholar
Mancinelli, G., Fazi, S. and Rossi, L. (1998) Sediment structural properties mediating dominant feeding types patterns in soft-bottom macrobenthos of the Northern Adriatic Sea. Hydrobiologia 367, 211–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manoudis, G., Antoniadou, C., Dounas, K. and Chintiroglou, C. (2005) Successional stages of experimental artificial reefs deployed in Vistonikos gulf (N. Aegean Sea, Greece): Preliminary results. Belgian Journal of Zoology 135, 209–215.Google Scholar
Pearson, T. and Rosenberg, R. (1978) Macrobenthic succession in relation to organic enrichment and pollution of the marine environment. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 16, 229–311.Google Scholar
Pérès, J.M. and Picard, J. (1964) Nouveau manuel de la bionomie benthique de la mer Méditerranée. Recueille de Travailles Station Marine Endoume 31, 1–137.Google Scholar
Qiu, J.W. and Qian, P.Y. (1997) Combined effects of salinity, temperature and food on early development of the polychaete Hydroides elegans. Marine Ecology Progress Series 152, 79–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramadan, S.E., Kheirallah, A.M. and Abdel-Salam, K.M. (2006) Marine fouling community in the eastern harbour of Alexandria, Egypt compared with four decades of previous studies. Mediterranean Marine Science 7, 19–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Redfield, A.C. and Deevy, G.B. (1952) The fouling community. In Columbus, I. (ed.) Marine fouling and its prevention. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts, Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland, Menasha, WI, USA, pp. 37–41.Google Scholar
Relini, G. (1993) Mediterranean macrofouling. Oebalia 19, 103–154.Google Scholar
Saiz-Salinas, J.I. and Urkiaga-Alberdi, J. (1999) Use of faunal indicators for assessing the impact of a port enlargement near Bilbao (Spain). Environmental Monitoring Assessment 56, 305–330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simboura, N. and Reizopoulou, S. (2007) A comparative approach of assessing ecological status in two coastal areas of eastern Mediterranean. Ecological Indicators 7, 455–468.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simboura, N. and Zenetos, A. (2002) Benthic indicators to use in ecological quality classification of Mediterranean soft bottom marine ecosystems, including a new biotic index. Mediterranean Marine Science 3, 77–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simonini, R., Ansaloni, I., Bonvicini Pagliai, A.M. and Prevedelli, D. (2004) Organic enrichment and structure of the macrozoobenthic community in the northern Adriatic Sea in an area facing Adige and Po mouths. ICES Journal of Marine Science 61, 871–881.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simonini, R., Ansaloni, I., Cavallini, F., Graziosi, F., Iotti, M., Massamba N'Siala, G., Mauri, M., Preti, M. and Prevedelli, D. (2005) Effects of long term dumping of harbor-dredged material on macrozoobenthos at four disposal sites along the Emilia-Romagna coast (Northern Adriatic Sea, Italy). Marine Pollution Bulletin 50, 1595–1605.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tillin, H.M., Rogers, S.I. and Frid, C.L.J. (2008) Approaches to classifying benthic habitat quality. Marine Policy 32, 455–464.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Townend, I. (2002) Marine science for strategic planning and management: the requirements for estuaries. Marine Policy 26, 209–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turon, X., Codina, M., Tarjuelo, I., Uriz, M.J. and Becerro, M.A. (2000) Mass recruitment of Ophiothrix fragilis (Ophiuoroidea) on sponges: settlement patterns and post-settlement dynamics. Marine Ecology Progress Series 200, 201–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Underwood, A.J. (1997) Experiments in ecology. Their logical design and interpretation using analysis of variance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Voultsiadou, E., Pyrounaki, M.M. and Chintiroglou, C. (2007) The habitat engineering tunicate Microcosmus sabatieri Roule, 1885 and its associate peracarid epifauna. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 74, 197–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zibrowius, H. (1991) Ongoing modification of the Mediterranean marine fauna and flora by the establishment of exotic species. Mésogée 51, 83–107.Google Scholar