The ecology of natural and artificial hard substrata in marine coastal environments: substrate characteristics as facilitator of settlement and community stability
Natural hard bottom ecosystems worldwide provide unique ecological functions and services within their respective environments. They protect coastlines by dampening large waves, reducing flooding, and preventing erosion. They act as nursery grounds for the associated fauna and play an important role...
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| Other Authors: | , |
| Format: | Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Universität Bremen
2021
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| Online Access: | https://media.suub.uni-bremen.de/handle/elib/5400 https://doi.org/10.26092/elib/1145 https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:gbv:46-elib54009 |
| Summary: | Natural hard bottom ecosystems worldwide provide unique ecological functions and services within their respective environments. They protect coastlines by dampening large waves, reducing flooding, and preventing erosion. They act as nursery grounds for the associated fauna and play an important role in benthic-pelagic coupling, nutrient cycling and water purification. The rapid growth of the coastal infrastructure due to an ever-increasing population in coastal regions, as well as the growing challenge of global climate change (sea level rise, ocean acidification), are a serious threat to these ecosystems. The management focus on supporting local biodiversity in order to maintain natural ecosystem functioning and services is essential to safeguard a sustainable coastal development. Hence, while there is a strong need in protecting the still remaining natural hard bottom ecosystems, there is also an upcoming demand for reconsidering the way new coastal infrastructure is to be built. Engineering solutions need to focus on the objective to maintain local species richness, while also reducing the demand for natural resources in the production process of new building materials. The main objective of this doctoral project was to define drivers, which influence benthic community establishment in marine natural and artificial hard bottom systems. The influence of different physical environmental conditions and substrate characteristics in the settlement processes and community establishment was evaluated. Risks of invasion by neobiota in natural and artificial structures and options to implement natural ecosystem services in artificial environments as protection against invasion were discussed. The first part of this dissertation focusses on habitat characteristics of natural hard bottom systems of the southern North Sea, Germany. The southern North Sea is a marine environment with relatively low proportion of natural hard bottom ecosystems. Observation and monitoring of these protected grounds is often difficult due to ... |
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