Document of bibliographic reference 390989

BibliographicReference record

Type

Bibliographic resource

Type of document

Book/Monograph

Type of document

Dissertation

BibLvlCode

M

Title

Assessing macrobenthic community functional response to natural and human pressures in estuarine ecosystems using biological trait analysis (BTA)

Abstract

Understanding an ecosystem's resilience, and potential for recovery in the face of anthropogenic and natural disturbance is crucial. Due to the influx of fresh and sea water, estuaries are naturally stressed ecosystems, but they are also vulnerable to high levels of human pressure. Benthic macroinvertebrates are a well-known component of estuaries, playing an important role in regulating their functioning. These communities respond predictably to disturbance due to their varying traits. Trait-based approaches can be useful to detect anthropogenic and natural pressures, since these will act as filters, selecting species with more suitable traits. The present dissertation investigates the macrozoobenthic community functional response to natural and human disturbances using Biological Trait Analysis (BTA) and Functional Diversity Indices (FDI). The study was carried out in two temperate estuaries using different case studies: i) the recipient area of a WWTP located in the Tagus estuary, after the implementation of secondary and tertiary treatments, to understand the effects of water quality improvement (WQI) and ii) the estuarine gradient of the Mira estuary to investigate the effects of climate change. Nine traits were selected, covering different aspects of morphology, behavior, and life history of each taxa, which might respond to disturbance. BTA combined with FDI, were able to detect spatial and temporal changes along the different disturbance gradients. Functional Richness index (FRic) proved to be the more effective FDI to detect different types of disturbance. The Mira estuary remained mostly stable at a functional level, despite the increase in species resulting from the augmented saltwater intrusion, showing a highly resilient community in an estuary strongly influenced by natural variations. The area near the Tagus WWTP continues to be under pressure, however there were improvements in functional diversity associated to WQI. This functional-based approach demonstrated the potential to be incorporated in estuarine monitoring/quality assessment programs.

Bibliographic citation

Ribeiro, R.S. (2023). Assessing macrobenthic community functional response to natural and human pressures in estuarine ecosystems using biological trait analysis (BTA). MSc Thesis. Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências: Lisbon. xii, 57 pp.

Topic

Marine