Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Sacramento, CA, USA.
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, 0843-03092, Ancon, Panama.
Ecol Lett. 2018 Mar;21(3):422-438. doi: 10.1111/ele.12899. Epub 2018 Jan 4.
Bioerosion, the breakdown of hard substrata by organisms, is a fundamental and widespread ecological process that can alter habitat structure, biodiversity and biogeochemical cycling. Bioerosion occurs in all biomes of the world from the ocean floor to arid deserts, and involves a wide diversity of taxa and mechanisms with varying ecological effects. Many abiotic and biotic factors affect bioerosion by acting on the bioeroder, substratum, or both. Bioerosion also has socio-economic impacts when objects of economic or cultural value such as coastal defences or monuments are damaged. We present a unifying definition and advance a conceptual framework for (a) examining the effects of bioerosion on natural systems and human infrastructure and (b) identifying and predicting the impacts of anthropogenic factors (e.g. climate change, eutrophication) on bioerosion. Bioerosion is responding to anthropogenic changes in multiple, complex ways with significant and wide-ranging effects across systems. Emerging data further underscore the importance of bioerosion, and need for mitigating its impacts, especially at the dynamic land-sea boundary. Generalised predictions remain challenging, due to context-dependent effects and nonlinear relationships that are poorly resolved. An integrative and interdisciplinary approach is needed to understand how future changes will alter bioerosion dynamics across biomes and taxa.
生物侵蚀，即生物体对硬底质的破坏，是一种基本且广泛存在的生态过程，它可以改变栖息地结构、生物多样性和生物地球化学循环。生物侵蚀发生在世界上所有的生物群落中，从海底到干旱的沙漠，涉及到具有不同生态影响的广泛多样的类群和机制。许多非生物和生物因素通过作用于生物侵蚀者、底质或两者来影响生物侵蚀。当具有经济或文化价值的物体（如沿海防御工事或纪念碑）受到破坏时，生物侵蚀也会产生社会经济影响。我们提出了一个统一的定义，并提出了一个概念框架，用于（a）研究生物侵蚀对自然系统和人类基础设施的影响，以及（b）识别和预测人为因素（如气候变化、富营养化）对生物侵蚀的影响。生物侵蚀正在以多种复杂的方式对人为变化做出反应，对系统产生重大而广泛的影响。新出现的数据进一步强调了生物侵蚀的重要性和减轻其影响的必要性，特别是在动态的陆海边界。由于受限于上下文的影响和非线性关系，广义预测仍然具有挑战性，这些关系还没有得到很好的解决。需要采取一种综合的和跨学科的方法来理解未来的变化将如何改变生物侵蚀在生物群落和类群中的动态。
