M Martins Gustavo, Hipólito Cláudia, Parreira Filipe, C L Prestes Afonso, Dionísio Maria A, N Azevedo José M, Neto Ana I
CE3C - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes/Azorean Biodiversity Group, Portugal; Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Biologia, 9501-801, Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal.
CE3C - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes/Azorean Biodiversity Group, Portugal; Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Biologia, 9501-801, Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal.
Mar Environ Res. 2016 May;116:71-7. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2016.03.004. Epub 2016 Mar 22.
In many coastal regions, vegetated habitats (e.g. kelps forests, seagrass beds) play a key role in the structure and functioning of shallow subtidal reef ecosystems, by modifying local environmental conditions and by providing food and habitat for a wide range of organisms. In some regions of the world, however, such idiosyncratic ecosystems are largely absent and are often replaced by less notable ecosystem formers. In the present study, we empirically compared the structure and functioning of two distinct shallow-water habitats present in the Azores: one dominated by smaller frondose brown macroalgae (Dictyotaceae and Halopteris) and one dominated by low-lying turfs. Two replicated areas of each habitat were sampled at two different times of the year, to assess spatial and temporal consistency of results. Habitats dominated by small fronds were significantly (ca. 3 times) more productive (when standardized per algal mass) compared to the turf-dominated habitats, and supported a distinct assemblage (both in terms of composition and abundance) of associated macrofauna. Unlike other well-known and studied vegetated habitats (i.e. kelp forests), however, no effects of habitat were found on the structure of benthonic fish assemblages. Results were spatially and temporally consistent suggesting that, in warmer temperate oceans, habitats dominated by species of smaller frondose brown algae can also play an important role in the structure and functioning of subtidal communities and may, to a certain extent, be considered analogous to other well-known vegetated habitats around the world (i.e. kelp forests, seagrass beds).
在许多沿海地区，植被丰富的栖息地（如海带森林、海草床）通过改变当地环境条件以及为多种生物提供食物和栖息地，在浅海潮汐礁生态系统的结构和功能中发挥着关键作用。然而，在世界上的一些地区，这种独特的生态系统基本不存在，往往被不太显著的生态系统形成者所取代。在本研究中，我们通过实证比较了亚速尔群岛存在的两种不同的浅水栖息地的结构和功能：一种以较小的叶状褐藻（网地藻科和羽藻属）为主，另一种以低矮的草皮为主。在一年中的两个不同时间对每个栖息地的两个重复区域进行了采样，以评估结果的空间和时间一致性。与以草皮为主的栖息地相比，以小叶状藻类为主的栖息地（按藻类质量标准化后）生产力显著更高（约3倍），并支持着不同的大型动物组合（在组成和丰度方面）。然而，与其他知名且已研究的植被丰富的栖息地（即海带森林）不同，未发现栖息地对底栖鱼类组合结构有影响。结果在空间和时间上具有一致性，这表明，在温暖的温带海洋中，以较小叶状褐藻物种为主的栖息地在潮下带群落的结构和功能中也可以发挥重要作用，并且在一定程度上可以被认为类似于世界上其他知名的植被丰富的栖息地（即海带森林、海草床）。
