Mangrove-mudflat connectivity shapes benthic communities in a tropical intertidal system

Understanding the connectivity among seascape habitats is an important emerging topic in marine ecology and coastal management. Mangroves are known to provide many ecosystem services such as coastal protection and carbon cycling, but their functional relationships with adjacent benthic intertidal co...

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Main Authors: Kasper J. Meijer, El-Hacen M. El-Hacen, Laura L. Govers, Marc Lavaleye, Theunis Piersma, Han Olff
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-11-01
Series:Ecological Indicators
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X21006956
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author Kasper J. Meijer
El-Hacen M. El-Hacen
Laura L. Govers
Marc Lavaleye
Theunis Piersma
Han Olff
author_facet Kasper J. Meijer
El-Hacen M. El-Hacen
Laura L. Govers
Marc Lavaleye
Theunis Piersma
Han Olff
author_sort Kasper J. Meijer
collection DOAJ
description Understanding the connectivity among seascape habitats is an important emerging topic in marine ecology and coastal management. Mangroves are known to provide many ecosystem services such as coastal protection and carbon cycling, but their functional relationships with adjacent benthic intertidal communities are less clear. We examined how spatial adjacency to mangroves affects macrobenthic communities of intertidal mudflats in a tropical estuarine ecosystem. In the Bijagós Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau, benthic macrofauna assemblages were compared among sampling locations with different connectivities between intertidal mudflats and mangrove stands. We explored how a single mangrove connectivity index (MCI), combining mangrove tidal basin size and the distance to the mangrove edge, affected macrobenthic composition, and compared this effect to sediment properties. In addition, we used structural equation modelling (SEM) and ordination to determine how different environmental predictors directly and indirectly affected macrobenthic communities. MCI strongly affected macrobenthic composition and species abundance, and SEM revealed that this effect contained both a direct component and an indirect component through mudflat NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index, an indicator for microphytobenthos). Sediment properties (grain size, organic matter) affected macrobenthos independently from MCI, nevertheless sediment properties were also affected by MCI. We show the importance of accounting for the seascape structure of tidal basins when investigating the connectivity between mangroves and macrobenthic communities of intertidal mudflats. As benthic macrofauna is a key food source for endangered fish and waders in these systems, our findings provide strong arguments for the integrative conservation of intertidal mudflats and mangroves at the seascape scale.
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spelling doaj.art-9262e456746949db9dedf4d78f1f2c962022-12-21T20:36:31ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2021-11-01130108030Mangrove-mudflat connectivity shapes benthic communities in a tropical intertidal systemKasper J. Meijer0El-Hacen M. El-Hacen1Laura L. Govers2Marc Lavaleye3Theunis Piersma4Han Olff5Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands; Corresponding author.Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands; Parc National du Banc d’Arguin (PNBA), Chami, Wilaya de Dakhlet Nouadhibou B.P. 5355, MauritaniaConservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands; NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, the NetherlandsNIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, the NetherlandsConservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands; NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, the NetherlandsConservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, the NetherlandsUnderstanding the connectivity among seascape habitats is an important emerging topic in marine ecology and coastal management. Mangroves are known to provide many ecosystem services such as coastal protection and carbon cycling, but their functional relationships with adjacent benthic intertidal communities are less clear. We examined how spatial adjacency to mangroves affects macrobenthic communities of intertidal mudflats in a tropical estuarine ecosystem. In the Bijagós Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau, benthic macrofauna assemblages were compared among sampling locations with different connectivities between intertidal mudflats and mangrove stands. We explored how a single mangrove connectivity index (MCI), combining mangrove tidal basin size and the distance to the mangrove edge, affected macrobenthic composition, and compared this effect to sediment properties. In addition, we used structural equation modelling (SEM) and ordination to determine how different environmental predictors directly and indirectly affected macrobenthic communities. MCI strongly affected macrobenthic composition and species abundance, and SEM revealed that this effect contained both a direct component and an indirect component through mudflat NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index, an indicator for microphytobenthos). Sediment properties (grain size, organic matter) affected macrobenthos independently from MCI, nevertheless sediment properties were also affected by MCI. We show the importance of accounting for the seascape structure of tidal basins when investigating the connectivity between mangroves and macrobenthic communities of intertidal mudflats. As benthic macrofauna is a key food source for endangered fish and waders in these systems, our findings provide strong arguments for the integrative conservation of intertidal mudflats and mangroves at the seascape scale.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X21006956Bijagós Archipelago Guinea-BissauConnectivityIntertidal mudflatsLandscape ecologyMangrovesSeascape conservation
spellingShingle Kasper J. Meijer
El-Hacen M. El-Hacen
Laura L. Govers
Marc Lavaleye
Theunis Piersma
Han Olff
Mangrove-mudflat connectivity shapes benthic communities in a tropical intertidal system
Ecological Indicators
Bijagós Archipelago Guinea-Bissau
Connectivity
Intertidal mudflats
Landscape ecology
Mangroves
Seascape conservation
title Mangrove-mudflat connectivity shapes benthic communities in a tropical intertidal system
title_full Mangrove-mudflat connectivity shapes benthic communities in a tropical intertidal system
title_fullStr Mangrove-mudflat connectivity shapes benthic communities in a tropical intertidal system
title_full_unstemmed Mangrove-mudflat connectivity shapes benthic communities in a tropical intertidal system
title_short Mangrove-mudflat connectivity shapes benthic communities in a tropical intertidal system
title_sort mangrove mudflat connectivity shapes benthic communities in a tropical intertidal system
topic Bijagós Archipelago Guinea-Bissau
Connectivity
Intertidal mudflats
Landscape ecology
Mangroves
Seascape conservation
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X21006956
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