Biodiversity as Tools to Assess Impacts on Coastal Ecosystems

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 2562

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Animal Biology, Instituto of Biology, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, São Paulo 13083-970, Brazil
Interests: macrobenthos; ecology and evolution; community ecology; marine ecology; ecological statistics

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Guest Editor
College of Science and Mathematics, University of Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, VI 00802-9990, USA
Interests: ecology and conservation; coastal marine ecosystems; marine biodiversity; reproduction and population dynamics of marine benthic species

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Guest Editor
Oceanografía y Ecología Marina (OEM), Instituto de Ecología y Ciencias Ambientales (IECA), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo 11400, Uruguay
Interests: oceanography; marine ecology; environmental sciences; invertebrate zoology; benthic ecosystems; marine and estuarine pollution; polychaete ecology and taxonomy; aquatic alien species; health ecosystem assessment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Healthy and resilient ecosystems are essential for the preservation of biodiversity and support of human societies. Accordingly, the 2022 United Nations Conference emphasized the incalculable economic and social value of coastal and marine resources and ecosystem services. The increasing influence of human activities on coastal ecosystems, however, poses a serious threat to the maintenance of their biodiversity and provision of essential ecosystem services; thus, there is an urgent need to efficiently assess ecosystem health and mitigate impacts. The diversity of life forms among the many faunal groups in coastal ecosystems provides an array of opportunities to apply biodiversity to the assessment of ecosystem health, in the form of approaches such as indicator taxa, biomonitors, umbrella species, and biotic indices. Although efforts have been made to achieve this, there are still many areas in need of evaluation, such as the delimitation of bioindicators, the performance of current methods in different ecosystems, the consideration of under-evaluated groups, and the development of new approaches.

For this Special Issue, we are seeking submissions that address the use of coastal biodiversity to evaluate ecological integrity and monitor the impacts and recovery of coastal environments. We encourage submissions that apply established methods, especially in areas with pronounced knowledge gaps, as well as those that develop new strategies for assessing and monitoring ecosystem health. We also encourage submissions that explore the potential of different groups and species as biological indicators and/or suggest how biodiversity measurements can inform management initiatives.

Dr. Hélio Hermínio Checon
Dr. Guilherme N. Corte
Prof. Dr. Pablo Muniz
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • coastal management
  • bioindicators
  • biomonitors
  • biotic indices
  • sandy beaches
  • mangroves
  • estuaries
  • rocky shores
  • benthos
  • plankton
  • nekton

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4216 KiB  
Article
Linking Biodiversity and Functional Patterns of Estuarine Free-Living Nematodes with Sedimentary Organic Matter Lability in an Atlantic Coastal Lagoon (Uruguay, South America)
by Noelia Kandratavicius, Luis Giménez, Catalina Pastor de Ward, Natalia Venturini and Pablo Muniz
Diversity 2024, 16(11), 688; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16110688 - 12 Nov 2024
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Abstract
We examined the taxonomical and functional traits of free-living nematodes, focusing on their density by genus, maturity index (MI), and trophic diversity index (ITD) to determine whether these indices are sensitive to changes in the organic content of the sediment. Samples were collected [...] Read more.
We examined the taxonomical and functional traits of free-living nematodes, focusing on their density by genus, maturity index (MI), and trophic diversity index (ITD) to determine whether these indices are sensitive to changes in the organic content of the sediment. Samples were collected in autumn and spring from 12 subtidal sampling stations in Rocha Lagoon, distributed between the outer (near the mouth) and the inner sector. We identified 26 genera, with higher abundance in the inner sector, likely due to increased organic matter and biopolymers. In spring, both sectors had sediments rich in fresh organic matter, dominated by deposit-feeding nematodes and showing low trophic diversity (high ITD values). In autumn, the inner sector maintained similar characteristics to spring sampling, while the outer one was dominated by older organic matter, predatory nematodes and higher trophic diversity. The MI showed low variation between sectors, suggesting a disturbed environment. Our findings support the use of ITD to assess other aspects of communities such as the response of trophic groups to the freshness of organic matter, while the MI seems less effective for assessing the ecological status of Rocha Lagoon. Understanding nematode biodiversity and functional traits is crucial for effective ecological quality assessments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity as Tools to Assess Impacts on Coastal Ecosystems)
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18 pages, 2337 KiB  
Article
Hemolymph Parameters Are a Useful Tool for Assessing Bivalve Health and Water Quality
by Andrei Grinchenko, Yulia Sokolnikova, Ayna Tumas, Mariia Mokrina, Elizaveta Tsoy, Ivan Buriak, Vadim Kumeiko and Mariia Onishchenko
Diversity 2024, 16(7), 404; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16070404 - 13 Jul 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1069
Abstract
Bivalves play a key role in aquatic ecosystems and are a valuable commercial resource. The prosperity of these aquatic organisms depends mainly on the effectiveness of their immune defense, in which the hemolymph plays a central role. Hemolymph may be used as an [...] Read more.
Bivalves play a key role in aquatic ecosystems and are a valuable commercial resource. The prosperity of these aquatic organisms depends mainly on the effectiveness of their immune defense, in which the hemolymph plays a central role. Hemolymph may be used as an effective non-lethal criterion of health. However, the predictive value of hemolymph analysis depends on the comparison between the obtained results and reference data from healthy individuals living in natural aquatic environments. We collected hemolymph from 15 commercially important species from wild populations at stations located in non-impacted and impacted water areas of the Sea of Japan. Of the 11 hemolymph parameters we analyzed, the total hemocyte count, percentage of hemocyte types, phagocytic activity, presence of reactive oxygen species, and protein concentration differed significantly between populations from non-impacted and impacted water areas. The most responsive species to pollution were Magallana gigas, Crenomytilus grayanus, Mizuhopecten yessoensis, and Mactra chinensis. This work is the first to examine a large number of commercially important species simultaneously. The results of this study are the basis for establishing the health status criteria of commercial bivalves for veterinary control in aquaculture and biomonitoring. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity as Tools to Assess Impacts on Coastal Ecosystems)
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