Nozarpour Rahil, Shojaei Mehdi Ghodrati, Naderloo Reza, Nasi Federica
Department of Marine Biology, Faculty of Natural Resources and Marine Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, 4641776489, Noor, Iran.
Department of Marine Biology, Faculty of Natural Resources and Marine Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, 4641776489, Noor, Iran.
Mar Environ Res. 2023 Apr;186:105919. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.105919. Epub 2023 Feb 10.
The effects of mangrove vegetation on functional features of crustacean assemblages were investigated using the Biological Traits Analysis (BTA). The study was carried out at four major sites in the arid mangrove ecosystem of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. Samples of Crustacea and associated environmental variables were taken seasonally (February 2018 and June 2019) from two habitats: a vegetated area with both mangrove trees and pneumatophores, and an adjacent mudflat. In each site, functional traits for the species were assigned using seven categories based on bioturbation, adult mobility, feeding habits and life-strategy traits. The results showed that the crabs (i.e., Opusia indica, Nasima dotilliformis and Ilyoplax frater) were widely distributed across all sites and habitats. The vegetated habitats supported higher taxonomic diversity than the mudflats, which highlights the importance of mangrove structural complexity for crustacean assemblages. Species inhabiting vegetated habitats were characterized by stronger presence of conveyor building species, detritivore, predator, grazer, lecithotrophic larval development, body size of 50-100 mm, and swimmer trait modalities. While, mudflat habitat enhanced the occurrences of surface deposit feeder, planktotrophic larval development, body size of <5 mm, and life span of 2-5 years. The results of our study showed that taxonomic diversity increased from the mudflats to the mangrove vegetated habitats. However, functional diversity did not differ between habitats. The significant differences in species and functional trait composition were observed between vegetated habitats and adjacent mudflats, stressing that different habitats may harbor different species and trait sets, likely as a result of habitat complexity. The use of taxonomic and functional attributes generate complementary information that can helps us to reach more efficient conclusions in terms of biodiversity conservation and ecosystem functionality in mangrove ecosystems.
利用生物特征分析（BTA）研究了红树林植被对甲壳类动物群落功能特征的影响。该研究在波斯湾和阿曼湾干旱红树林生态系统的四个主要地点进行。甲壳纲动物样本及相关环境变量于2018年2月和2019年6月分季节从两个栖息地采集：一个既有红树林树木又有呼吸根的植被区，以及相邻的泥滩。在每个地点，根据生物扰动、成虫活动能力、摄食习性和生活策略特征，将物种的功能特征分为七类。结果表明，螃蟹（即印度奥普蟹、圆点娜氏蟹和兄弟泥蟹）广泛分布于所有地点和栖息地。植被栖息地的分类多样性高于泥滩，这突出了红树林结构复杂性对甲壳类动物群落的重要性。栖息在植被栖息地的物种具有以下特征：输送器建造物种、碎屑食性动物、捕食者、食草动物、卵黄营养型幼体发育、体长50 - 100毫米以及游泳者特征模式的出现更为明显。而泥滩栖息地增加了表面沉积食性动物、浮游营养型幼体发育、体长小于5毫米以及寿命为2 - 5年的物种出现频率。我们的研究结果表明，分类多样性从泥滩到红树林植被栖息地增加。然而，功能多样性在不同栖息地之间没有差异。在植被栖息地和相邻泥滩之间观察到物种和功能性状组成的显著差异，强调不同栖息地可能容纳不同的物种和性状组合，这可能是栖息地复杂性的结果。分类和功能属性的使用产生了互补信息，有助于我们在红树林生态系统的生物多样性保护和生态系统功能方面得出更有效的结论。
