Developments in German Bight benthic ecology driven by climate change and anthropogenic utilisation

• Main Author: Shojaei, Mehdi
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: North Atlantic; North Atlantic oscillation; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/43150/; https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/43150/4/DissShojaei16.pdf; https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.49631; https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.49631.d004

Marine ecosystems are subjected to an unprecedented range of natural and anthropogenic disturbance with an increasing frequency of occurrence over recent decades. Among others, rising sea water temperature, ocean acidification, and coastal water pollution have resulted in alteration of habitats and subsequent changes in the structures of species assemblages. In the face of these challenges, ecological research needs to predict responses of assemblages to global change, a requisite for the adequate prevention of further environmental degradation. However, predicting assemblage responses requires a thorough understanding of ecological processes and of the structure and functioning of assemblages. The present thesis comprises four manuscripts which address in detail a) the temporal variability of benthic macrozoobenthos assemblages and the relative role of different environmental drivers of abundance variations in the North Sea, b) the functional diversity and the dominant functional characteristics of benthic species of the southern North Sea, c) the temporal variations in the functional trait composition, the contribution of different biotic and abiotic predictors to the variation in ecological functioning, the relationship between species diversity and functional diversity and the extent of functional redundancy within benthic communities and d) the degree of functional homogenization and the identification of dynamically-dominant-traits that likely have the greatest effect on biodiversity and ecosystem function. In ‘Manuscript I,’ the model results revealed that temperature and anomalies of the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI) play a distinct role in controlling the temporal variation of the benthic assemblages. The results also showed substantial variation in the composition of macrozoobenthos assemblages in the North Sea at decadal and sub-decadal scales. Species react differently to environmental disturbances with generalist species being dominant in the region. ‘Manuscript II’ and ‘Manuscript III’ on ...