vrije universiteit amsterdam eloise - porto roz institute for environmental studies (ivm) 1 habitat...

ELOISE - Porto RozInstitute for Environmental Studies (IVM) 1vrije Universiteit amsterdam

habitat dynamics at the catchment-coast interface, a digest

AimTo summarise ELOISE findings on the dynamics of European coastal habitats, including the open high sea, for a range of end users.

TOC: approach / habitat? / findings / conclusions

Jan Vermaat, Alison Gilbert Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam


approach ‘digest’: a brief review (20 pp) material: published output of ELOISE

projects method: draft subject to electronic

discussion and two review cycles (external + internal within the consortium).


habitat Ecologists often use ‘habitat’ loosely in their M&M to

indicate their working area Textbooks offer different definitions: from ‘real places’

to ‘the spatial subdivision of the environment within an ecosystem into convenient units’ (Desmukh)

My favorite: Southwoods population-oriented approach, predictability in time and space scaled against life span and dispersal capacity


habitat typology

Several exist. For the EC a typology has been developed entitled ‘EUNIS’

Has developed into a legal entity, with phonebook lists of categories and their area.

We aggregated EUNIS into 8 categories

http://eunis.eea.eu.int/


8 aggregate coastal habitat types

Cliffs, shingle beaches, kelp beds Wetlands and dune complexes Salt marsh Sand-banks and mudflats Seagrass beds Lagoons Subtidal sediments Open sea pelagic


dynamics We searched for ‘dynamics’ or

variability, .. Within habitat: internal, due to

physical forcing at different time scales, tides, seasons, pluvials (sequences of years)

Between habitats: transition, externally forced or internal and cyclic


findings: 6 lengthy tables

Much of ELOISE research has been devoted to biogeochemistry of nutrients, heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (cf Ledoux et al.)

Still we found a substantial contribution:– Understanding natural dynamics (13 proj)– Understanding anthropogenic state change

(27)– Provide indicators (13)


findings 2Much of the work was focused on the open water, particularly the upper fringe (cliffs, dunes and

saltmarshes) was poorly represented in ELOISE projects

0 4 8 12 16

Cliffs, shingle beaches, kelp beds

Wetlands and dune complexes

Salt marsh

Sand-banks and mudflats

Seagrass beds

Lagoons

Subtidal sediments

Open sea pelagic


findings 3: what happens to these habitats? Mostly related to increased human

use, directly or indirectly

Cliffs, shingle beaches, kelp bedsWetlands and dune complexesSalt marshSand-banks and mudflats SLR, port,

contaminSeagrass beds shallower depths, less area, less dense, get lost eutr, urbanLagoons eutr, aquacultSubtidal sediments eutr, fish, aquacultOpen sea pelagic eutr, fishaltered plankton + foodweb composition

erode, move inland, coastal squeeze, get lost SLR, port, tou, eutr, urban

redistribute, submerge, altered species distribution

more nutrients, anoxiamore nutrients, trawling disturbance, sediment anoxia

{

This is an excerpt of a DPSIR analysis, idenitfying major driving pressures and their impacts in different European coastal seas


findings 4: what have we learned?

natural anthropo indicatorsCliffs, shingle beaches, kelp beds flushing vs eutr monitoring tool erosionWetlands and dune complexes vulnerability index for

dunesSalt marsh saltmarsh-mudflat

interactions, sediment trapping, burial sensitivity

Sand-banks and mudflats benthic interactions, self-organisation and pattern, geochemistry, foodwebs

benthos composition zoobenthos composition

Seagrass beds seasonality in fluxes turbidity - colonization depth

colonization depth

Lagoons C,N,P fluxe eutrophication sediment anoxia, N/P ratio

Subtidal sediments Mediterranean shelf sediments

benthos and plankton change

anoxia

Open sea pelagic turbulence spectra and plankton, sediment redistribution over shelf, food webs

nutrient fluxes, DOC/POC, eutr-related changes in foodweb, incidence harmful algal blooms

DOC, N/P, plankton composition, toxic blooms


conclusions1. coastal research occurred outside ELOISE as well, but

received less attention…2. Most of the work has ‘increased our understanding’. A clear

focus has been on biogeochemistry of pollution and effects on plankton and benthos.

3. Three habitat types have been studied most intensively: the pelagic, lagoons, and mudflats + sandbanks.

4. Salt marshes, coastal dunes + wetlands and cliffs were under-represented within ELOISE, as was the Atlantic seaboard.

5. Major ongoing societal change across the EU will enhance the pressures affecting the extent and quality of coastal ecosystems.


gaps for future research

1.Comparative surveys of spatial pattern such as habitat mosaics and state transitions 2.The Atlantic seaboard and under-represented habitats3.Fisheries and aquaculture effects 4.Europe-wide stock taking – research or monitoring -- EEA? 5.Disciplinary integration is ‘reaching secondary school stage’ but needs maturation

Sweeping statement to close off: see the last paragraph of the digest (http://www.research.plymouth.ac.uk/marine-policy/eloise/index.htm)

vrije universiteit amsterdam eloise - porto roz institute for environmental studies (ivm) 1 habitat...

Documents

amsterdam slide

environmental studies

eloise findings

eloise research

habitat dynamics

cyclic slide

approach habitat

habitat typology