Small-Scale and Long-Term Variability in Population Dynamics of the Cockle Cerastoderma edule in a Southern North Sea Tidal Flat System
The cockle Cerastoderma edule is one of the most common macrofauna species in the Wadden Sea areas of the North Sea. Cockle population dynamics are influenced by various abiotic and biotic factors such as temperature, food availability, and inter- and intraspecific competition. Cockles play an impor...
Published in: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.698467 https://doaj.org/article/7fec44a6fce44f3896b84e17b4631777 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:7fec44a6fce44f3896b84e17b4631777 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:7fec44a6fce44f3896b84e17b4631777 2023-05-15T15:55:58+02:00 Small-Scale and Long-Term Variability in Population Dynamics of the Cockle Cerastoderma edule in a Southern North Sea Tidal Flat System Julia Meyer Ingrid Kröncke Alexander Bartholomä Mathias Heckroth Gregor Scheiffarth 2021-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.698467 https://doaj.org/article/7fec44a6fce44f3896b84e17b4631777 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.698467/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.698467 https://doaj.org/article/7fec44a6fce44f3896b84e17b4631777 Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 8 (2021) min/max autocorrelation factor analysis feeding pressure long-term data Wadden Sea bottom-up versus top-down Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.698467 2022-12-31T07:18:43Z The cockle Cerastoderma edule is one of the most common macrofauna species in the Wadden Sea areas of the North Sea. Cockle population dynamics are influenced by various abiotic and biotic factors such as temperature, food availability, and inter- and intraspecific competition. Cockles play an important role in the food web of the Wadden Sea, for instance, large shellfish-eating birds, such as oystercatchers and common eiders, use the cockle C. edule and the blue mussel Mytilus edulis as a main diet component. However, the populations of shellfish-eating bird species have been declining dramatically across the Wadden Sea since the beginning of the 21st century. While there are detailed monitoring programs in blue mussels due to commercial interests, little information is known about the stocks and long-term dynamics of cockles in the German Wadden Sea. To fill this gap, in 2005 a local conservation society (“Der Mellumrat e.V.”) initiated a study to sample cockles at one transect per year south of the island of Mellum, which was extended by 5 more transects in 2011. In addition to the spatial analysis, we analyzed the long-term variability in cockle population dynamics. Min/max autocorrelation factor analysis (MAFA) revealed a decline in cockle abundance, while no clear length trends were found. Canonical and spearman correlation analyses exposed significant correlations between cockle abundance and length and chlorophyll a, mussel bank area as well as oystercatcher and common eider populations. This study clearly shows that there is an urgent need for comprehensive time series of cockle data to analyze and explain ecological long-term changes in cockle population dynamics in relation to environmental changes and to point out how parts of the Wadden Sea food web, such as shellfish-eating birds are affected by these changes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Common Eider Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Frontiers in Marine Science 8 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
min/max autocorrelation factor analysis feeding pressure long-term data Wadden Sea bottom-up versus top-down Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
min/max autocorrelation factor analysis feeding pressure long-term data Wadden Sea bottom-up versus top-down Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Julia Meyer Ingrid Kröncke Alexander Bartholomä Mathias Heckroth Gregor Scheiffarth Small-Scale and Long-Term Variability in Population Dynamics of the Cockle Cerastoderma edule in a Southern North Sea Tidal Flat System |
topic_facet |
min/max autocorrelation factor analysis feeding pressure long-term data Wadden Sea bottom-up versus top-down Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
The cockle Cerastoderma edule is one of the most common macrofauna species in the Wadden Sea areas of the North Sea. Cockle population dynamics are influenced by various abiotic and biotic factors such as temperature, food availability, and inter- and intraspecific competition. Cockles play an important role in the food web of the Wadden Sea, for instance, large shellfish-eating birds, such as oystercatchers and common eiders, use the cockle C. edule and the blue mussel Mytilus edulis as a main diet component. However, the populations of shellfish-eating bird species have been declining dramatically across the Wadden Sea since the beginning of the 21st century. While there are detailed monitoring programs in blue mussels due to commercial interests, little information is known about the stocks and long-term dynamics of cockles in the German Wadden Sea. To fill this gap, in 2005 a local conservation society (“Der Mellumrat e.V.”) initiated a study to sample cockles at one transect per year south of the island of Mellum, which was extended by 5 more transects in 2011. In addition to the spatial analysis, we analyzed the long-term variability in cockle population dynamics. Min/max autocorrelation factor analysis (MAFA) revealed a decline in cockle abundance, while no clear length trends were found. Canonical and spearman correlation analyses exposed significant correlations between cockle abundance and length and chlorophyll a, mussel bank area as well as oystercatcher and common eider populations. This study clearly shows that there is an urgent need for comprehensive time series of cockle data to analyze and explain ecological long-term changes in cockle population dynamics in relation to environmental changes and to point out how parts of the Wadden Sea food web, such as shellfish-eating birds are affected by these changes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Julia Meyer Ingrid Kröncke Alexander Bartholomä Mathias Heckroth Gregor Scheiffarth |
author_facet |
Julia Meyer Ingrid Kröncke Alexander Bartholomä Mathias Heckroth Gregor Scheiffarth |
author_sort |
Julia Meyer |
title |
Small-Scale and Long-Term Variability in Population Dynamics of the Cockle Cerastoderma edule in a Southern North Sea Tidal Flat System |
title_short |
Small-Scale and Long-Term Variability in Population Dynamics of the Cockle Cerastoderma edule in a Southern North Sea Tidal Flat System |
title_full |
Small-Scale and Long-Term Variability in Population Dynamics of the Cockle Cerastoderma edule in a Southern North Sea Tidal Flat System |
title_fullStr |
Small-Scale and Long-Term Variability in Population Dynamics of the Cockle Cerastoderma edule in a Southern North Sea Tidal Flat System |
title_full_unstemmed |
Small-Scale and Long-Term Variability in Population Dynamics of the Cockle Cerastoderma edule in a Southern North Sea Tidal Flat System |
title_sort |
small-scale and long-term variability in population dynamics of the cockle cerastoderma edule in a southern north sea tidal flat system |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.698467 https://doaj.org/article/7fec44a6fce44f3896b84e17b4631777 |
genre |
Common Eider |
genre_facet |
Common Eider |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 8 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.698467/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.698467 https://doaj.org/article/7fec44a6fce44f3896b84e17b4631777 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.698467 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
8 |
_version_ |
1766391447298244608 |