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Impacts of physical disturbance on the recovery of a macrofaunal community: a comparative analysis using traditional and novel approaches

Impacts of physical disturbance on the recovery of a macrofaunal community: a comparative analysis using traditional and novel approaches
Impacts of physical disturbance on the recovery of a macrofaunal community: a comparative analysis using traditional and novel approaches
The recovery of macrofaunal communities after marine aggregate dredging was assessed using both traditional indices (abundance, biomass and species diversity), and functional analysis techniques (Somatic Production, Taxonomic Distinctness, Infaunal Trophic Index, Biological Traits Analysis and Rao's Quadratic Entropy). A previously dredged area (Area 222), located off the southeast coast of England was selected for this investigation. Area 222 was split into sites that had been subjected to relatively high dredging intensity, relatively low dredging intensity, and undisturbed reference areas. Both traditional and functional analyses indicated that macrofauna at the low dredging intensity site had fully recovered at least 7 years after the dredging ceased. Recovery times at the high intensity site had a greater variability and most of the techniques recorded the recovery had yet to take place even 11 years after the dredging had ceased. Since Area 222 was dredged for a long period of time (approx. 25 years), it is suggested that a longer time series of study be carried out so that the definitive recovery period in this high intensity site can be determined. While a longer time series study is not always a realistic or cost effective, the present study could be useful to facilitate the selection of metrics to support in the assessment of macrofaunal recovery.
Functional analysis, Macrofaunal communities, Marine aggregate dredging, Recovery
1470-160X
37-45
Wan Hussin, W. M.Rauhan
a5fcd33f-60dd-478b-9d86-e32bf75709ff
Cooper, Keith M.
b8572558-f149-4bd9-b7f3-532182106055
Barrio Froján, Christopher R.S.
4935e7ee-ac0f-41bd-b00b-2c5806561d74
Defew, Emma C.
ad9f7afc-13b2-4063-ab1e-f7656efa2079
Paterson, David M.
cb3a1995-cd31-46b5-970c-71d0f571d63b
Wan Hussin, W. M.Rauhan
a5fcd33f-60dd-478b-9d86-e32bf75709ff
Cooper, Keith M.
b8572558-f149-4bd9-b7f3-532182106055
Barrio Froján, Christopher R.S.
4935e7ee-ac0f-41bd-b00b-2c5806561d74
Defew, Emma C.
ad9f7afc-13b2-4063-ab1e-f7656efa2079
Paterson, David M.
cb3a1995-cd31-46b5-970c-71d0f571d63b

Wan Hussin, W. M.Rauhan, Cooper, Keith M., Barrio Froján, Christopher R.S., Defew, Emma C. and Paterson, David M. (2012) Impacts of physical disturbance on the recovery of a macrofaunal community: a comparative analysis using traditional and novel approaches. Ecological Indicators, 12 (1), 37-45. (doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2011.03.016).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The recovery of macrofaunal communities after marine aggregate dredging was assessed using both traditional indices (abundance, biomass and species diversity), and functional analysis techniques (Somatic Production, Taxonomic Distinctness, Infaunal Trophic Index, Biological Traits Analysis and Rao's Quadratic Entropy). A previously dredged area (Area 222), located off the southeast coast of England was selected for this investigation. Area 222 was split into sites that had been subjected to relatively high dredging intensity, relatively low dredging intensity, and undisturbed reference areas. Both traditional and functional analyses indicated that macrofauna at the low dredging intensity site had fully recovered at least 7 years after the dredging ceased. Recovery times at the high intensity site had a greater variability and most of the techniques recorded the recovery had yet to take place even 11 years after the dredging had ceased. Since Area 222 was dredged for a long period of time (approx. 25 years), it is suggested that a longer time series of study be carried out so that the definitive recovery period in this high intensity site can be determined. While a longer time series study is not always a realistic or cost effective, the present study could be useful to facilitate the selection of metrics to support in the assessment of macrofaunal recovery.

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More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 13 April 2011
Published date: 1 January 2012
Keywords: Functional analysis, Macrofaunal communities, Marine aggregate dredging, Recovery

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 479882
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/479882
ISSN: 1470-160X
PURE UUID: 09ff3dda-5528-47c5-856e-43a19b8f38d0
ORCID for Christopher R.S. Barrio Froján: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5562-5508

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Date deposited: 28 Jul 2023 16:39
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 02:17

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Contributors

Author: W. M.Rauhan Wan Hussin
Author: Keith M. Cooper
Author: Christopher R.S. Barrio Froján ORCID iD
Author: Emma C. Defew
Author: David M. Paterson

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