van Denderen P Daniël, Plaza-Morlote Maider, Vaz Sandrine, Wijnhoven Sander, Borja Angel, Fernandez-Arcaya Ulla, González-Irusta José M, Hansen Jørgen L S, Katsiaras Nikolaos, Pierucci Andrea, Serrano Alberto, Reizopoulou Sofia, Papadopoulou Nadia, Sköld Mattias, Smith Christopher J, Nygård Henrik, Van Hoey Gert, Dinesen Grete E, Virtanen Elina A, Boyé Aurélien, García-Alegre Ana, Bellas Juan, Bolam Stefan, Muñoz Pablo Durán, Sacau Mar, Riva Giada, Kenchington Ellen, Raicevich Saša, Reid David, Roux Marie Julie, Hiddink Jan Geert, Valanko Sebastian
DTU Aqua, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, Rhode Island, USA.
Ecol Appl. 2024 Dec;34(8):e3050. doi: 10.1002/eap.3050. Epub 2024 Oct 12.
Many indicators have been developed to assess the state of benthic communities and identify seabed habitats most at risk from bottom trawling disturbance. However, the large variety of indicators and their development and application under specific geographic areas and management contexts has made it difficult to evaluate their wider utility. We compared the complementarity/uniqueness, sensitivity, and selectivity of 18 benthic indicators to pressure of bottom trawling. Seventeen common datasets with broad regional representation covering a range of pressure gradients from bottom trawling disturbance (n = 14), eutrophication (n = 1), marine pollution (n = 1), and oxygen depletion (n = 1) were used for the comparison. The outcomes of most indicators were correlated to a certain extent with response to bottom trawling disturbance, and two complementary groups of indicators were identified: diversity-based and biological trait-based indicators. Trait-based indicators that quantify the changes in relative abundance of sensitive taxa were most effective in identifying benthic community change in response to bottom trawling disturbance. None of the indicators responded to the trawling pressure gradient in all datasets, and some showed a response that were opposed to the theoretical expectation for some gradients. Indicators that showed clear responses to bottom trawling disturbance also showed clear responses in at least one other pressure gradient, suggesting those indicators are not pressure specific. These results emphasize the importance of selecting several indicators, at least one from each group (diversity and trait-based), to capture the broader signals of change in benthic communities due to bottom trawling activities. Our systematic approach offers the basis from which scientific advisors and/or managers can select suitable combinations of indicators to arrive at a sensitive and comprehensive benthic status assessment.
已经开发了许多指标来评估底栖生物群落的状态，并确定最易受底拖网捕捞干扰影响的海底栖息地。然而，指标种类繁多，且它们在特定地理区域和管理背景下的开发与应用，使得评估其更广泛的效用变得困难。我们比较了18种底栖生物指标对于底拖网捕捞压力的互补性/独特性、敏感性和选择性。使用了17个具有广泛区域代表性的通用数据集，这些数据集涵盖了来自底拖网捕捞干扰（n = 14）、富营养化（n = 1）、海洋污染（n = 1）和缺氧（n = 1）等一系列压力梯度，用于此次比较。大多数指标的结果在一定程度上与对底拖网捕捞干扰的响应相关，并识别出了两组互补的指标：基于多样性的指标和基于生物特征的指标。基于特征的指标量化了敏感类群相对丰度的变化，在识别底栖生物群落因底拖网捕捞干扰而发生的变化方面最为有效。没有一个指标在所有数据集中都对拖网捕捞压力梯度做出响应，并且有些指标在某些梯度上的响应与理论预期相反。对底拖网捕捞干扰表现出明显响应的指标，在至少一个其他压力梯度上也表现出明显响应，这表明这些指标并非特定于某种压力。这些结果强调了选择几个指标的重要性，每组（基于多样性和基于特征的）至少选择一个，以捕捉由于底拖网捕捞活动导致的底栖生物群落变化的更广泛信号。我们的系统方法为科学顾问和/或管理者提供了基础，使他们能够选择合适的指标组合，以进行敏感且全面的底栖生物状况评估。
