School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, United Kingdom; Zoology Department, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland; School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, United Kingdom; Current address: School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, United Kingdom.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Nov 20;952:175675. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175675. Epub 2024 Sep 2.
In degraded urban habitats, nature-based solutions aim to enhance ecosystem functioning and service provision. Bivalves are increasingly reintroduced to urban environments to enhance water quality through biofiltration, yet their long-term sustainability remains uncertain. Following the restoration of the disused South Docks in Liverpool in the 1980s, natural colonization of mussels rapidly improved dock-basin water quality and supported diverse taxa, including other filter feeders. While the initial colonization phase has been well documented, there has been limited published research since the mid-1990s, despite ongoing routine water quality monitoring. Here, we assessed the long-term persistence of mussel populations, their associated biodiversity, and physico-chemical parameters of the water in Queens and Albert Docks by comparing historical (1980s to 1990s) and contemporary data from follow-up surveys (2012,2022). Following an initial period of poor water quality (high contamination and turbidity, low oxygen), the natural colonization of mussels from Albert Dock in 1988 extended throughout the South Docks. By the mid-1990s, the environment of the South Docks and its mussel populations had stabilized. The dock walls were dominated by mussels which provided important complex secondary substrate for invertebrates and macroalgae. Surveys conducted in 2012 and 2022 confirmed the continued dominance of mussels and estimates of mussel biofiltration rates confirm that mussels are continuing to contribute to maintaining water quality. A decline in salinity was observed in both docks in 2022, with evidence of recovery. While these ecosystems appear relatively stable, careful management of the hydrological regime is crucial to ensuring the persistence of mussels and resilient ecosystem service provision through biofiltration.
在退化的城市生境中，基于自然的解决方案旨在增强生态系统功能和服务提供。贝类越来越多地被重新引入城市环境中，通过生物过滤来提高水质，但它们的长期可持续性仍不确定。20 世纪 80 年代利物浦废弃的南码头恢复后，贻贝的自然定殖迅速改善了码头盆地的水质，并支持了包括其他滤食动物在内的多种生物。虽然初始定殖阶段已有详细记录，但自 20 世纪 90 年代中期以来，由于持续进行常规水质监测，发表的研究有限。在这里，我们通过比较历史（80 年代至 90 年代）和后续调查（2012 年、2022 年）的当代数据，评估了皇后码头和艾伯特码头贻贝种群的长期持久性、它们的相关生物多样性以及水的理化参数。在最初水质较差（高污染和浑浊度、低氧）的一段时间后，1988 年从艾伯特码头自然定殖的贻贝扩展到了整个南码头。到 20 世纪 90 年代中期，南码头及其贻贝种群的环境已经稳定下来。码头墙壁主要由贻贝占据，为无脊椎动物和大型藻类提供了重要的复杂次生基质。2012 年和 2022 年进行的调查证实了贻贝的持续主导地位，并且贻贝生物过滤率的估计证实，贻贝仍在继续为维持水质做出贡献。2022 年两个码头的盐度都有所下降，并有恢复的迹象。虽然这些生态系统似乎相对稳定，但对水文状况的谨慎管理对于确保贻贝的持久性和通过生物过滤提供有弹性的生态系统服务至关重要。
