Evaluating the extent and impact of the extreme Storm Gloria on Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows.

Autor: Marco-Méndez C; Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB, CSIC), Carrer Accés Cala Sant Francesc, 14, 17300 Blanes, Girona, Spain. Electronic address: c.marco@ceab.csic.es., Marbà N; Marine technologies, operational and coastal oceanography Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB) Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Miquel Marqués 21, 07190 Esporles, Spain., Amores Á; Marine technologies, operational and coastal oceanography Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB) Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Miquel Marqués 21, 07190 Esporles, Spain; Department of Physics, University of the Balearic Islands, Cra. de Valldemossa km 7.5, 07122 Palma, Spain., Romero J; Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals Secció d'Ecologia, Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain., Minguito-Frutos M; Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB, CSIC), Carrer Accés Cala Sant Francesc, 14, 17300 Blanes, Girona, Spain., García M; Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB, CSIC), Carrer Accés Cala Sant Francesc, 14, 17300 Blanes, Girona, Spain., Pagès JF; Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB, CSIC), Carrer Accés Cala Sant Francesc, 14, 17300 Blanes, Girona, Spain., Prado P; IRTA, Aquatic ecosystems, Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Ctra. Poble Nou km 5.5, 43540 Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Tarragona, Spain; Institute of Environment and Marine Science Research (IMEDMAR-UCV), Universidad Católica de Valencia SVM, C/Explanada del Puerto S/n, 03710 Calpe, Alicante, Spain., Boada J; Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB, CSIC), Carrer Accés Cala Sant Francesc, 14, 17300 Blanes, Girona, Spain., Sánchez-Lizaso JL; Department of Marine Science and Applied Biology, University of Alicante, Carretera San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, 03690 Alicante, Spain., Ruiz JM; Centro Oceanográfico de Murcia, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, C/Varadero s/n, 30740 San Pedro del Pinatar, Murcia, Spain., Muñoz-Ramos G; Escola del Mar, Ajuntament de Badalona, Spain., Sanmartí N; Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals Secció d'Ecologia, Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain., Mayol E; Global Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB) Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Miquel Marqués 21, c7190 Esporles, Spain., Buñuel X; Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB, CSIC), Carrer Accés Cala Sant Francesc, 14, 17300 Blanes, Girona, Spain., Bernardeau-Esteller J; Centro Oceanográfico de Murcia, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, C/Varadero s/n, 30740 San Pedro del Pinatar, Murcia, Spain., Navarro-Martinez PC; Centro Oceanográfico de Murcia, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, C/Varadero s/n, 30740 San Pedro del Pinatar, Murcia, Spain., Marín-Guirao L; Centro Oceanográfico de Murcia, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, C/Varadero s/n, 30740 San Pedro del Pinatar, Murcia, Spain., Morell C; Global Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB) Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Miquel Marqués 21, c7190 Esporles, Spain., Wesselmann M; Global Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB) Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Miquel Marqués 21, c7190 Esporles, Spain., Font R; Global Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB) Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Miquel Marqués 21, c7190 Esporles, Spain., Hendriks IE; Global Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB) Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Miquel Marqués 21, c7190 Esporles, Spain., Seglar X; Escola del Mar, Ajuntament de Badalona, Spain., Camps-Castella J; IRTA, Aquatic ecosystems, Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Ctra. Poble Nou km 5.5, 43540 Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Tarragona, Spain., Bonfill E; Plàncton, Divulgació y Serveis Marins, Calle Número Vint-i-tres, 284, local 2 (Urb. Les 3 Cales), L'Ametlla de Mar, Spain., Requena-Gutiérrez A; Plàncton, Divulgació y Serveis Marins, Calle Número Vint-i-tres, 284, local 2 (Urb. Les 3 Cales), L'Ametlla de Mar, Spain., Blanco-Murillo F; Department of Marine Science and Applied Biology, University of Alicante, Carretera San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, 03690 Alicante, Spain., Aguilar-Escribano J; Department of Marine Science and Applied Biology, University of Alicante, Carretera San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, 03690 Alicante, Spain., Jimenez-Gutierrez S; Institut de Ecología Litoral, Carrer de Sta. Teresa, 50, 03560 El Campello, Alicante, Spain., Martínez-Vidal J; Institut de Ecología Litoral, Carrer de Sta. Teresa, 50, 03560 El Campello, Alicante, Spain., Guillén JE; Institut de Ecología Litoral, Carrer de Sta. Teresa, 50, 03560 El Campello, Alicante, Spain., Cefalì ME; Estació d'Investigació Jaume Ferrer, Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Mahón, Spain., Pérez M; Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals Secció d'Ecologia, Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain., Marcos M; Marine technologies, operational and coastal oceanography Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB) Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Miquel Marqués 21, 07190 Esporles, Spain; Department of Physics, University of the Balearic Islands, Cra. de Valldemossa km 7.5, 07122 Palma, Spain., Alcoverro T; Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB, CSIC), Carrer Accés Cala Sant Francesc, 14, 17300 Blanes, Girona, Spain.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2024 Jan 15; Vol. 908, pp. 168404. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Nov 07.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168404
Abstrakt: Extreme storms can trigger abrupt and often lasting changes in ecosystems by affecting foundational (habitat-forming) species. While the frequency and intensity of extreme events are projected to increase under climate change, its impacts on seagrass ecosystems remain poorly documented. In January 2020, the Spanish Mediterranean coast was hit by Storm Gloria, one of the most devastating recent climate events in terms of intensity and duration. We conducted rapid surveys of 42 Posidonia oceanica meadows across the region to evaluate the extent and type of impact (burial, unburial and uprooting). We investigated the significance of oceanographic (wave impact model), geomorphological (latitude, depth, exposure), and structural (patchiness) factors in predicting impact extent and intensity. The predominant impact of Storm Gloria was shoot unburial. More than half of the surveyed sites revealed recent unburial, with up to 40 cm of sediment removed, affecting over 50 % of the meadow. Burial, although less extensive, was still significant, with 10-80 % of meadow cover being buried under 7 cm of sediment, which is considered a survival threshold for P. oceanica. In addition, we observed evident signs of recently dead matte in some meadows and large amounts of detached drifting shoots on the sea bottom or accumulated as debris on the beaches. Crucially, exposed and patchy meadows were much more vulnerable to the overall impact than sheltered or continuous meadows. Given how slow P. oceanica is able to recover after disturbances, we state that it could take from decades to centuries for it to recoup its losses. Seagrass ecosystems play a vital role as coastal ecological infrastructure. Protecting vulnerable meadows from anthropogenic fragmentation is crucial for ensuring the resilience of these ecosystems in the face of the climate crisis.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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