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Functional diversity in marine fish assemblages
Publication . Henriques, Sofia; Dolbeth, Marina; Matos, Paula; Pecuchet, Laurene; Bernardo, Cristiane Palaretti; Weigel, Benjamin; McLean, Matthew; Hidalgo, Manuel; Tzanatos, Evangelos; Vasconcelos, Rita P.
In the last decades, the rising interest in trait-based ecology
is closely related to a growing demand for knowledge on
ecosystems’ functioning and on mechanisms generating
ecological patterns and processes, and with the urgency
for approaches that allow to predict the consequences
of climate change and anthropogenic impacts (McGill
et al., 2006; De Bello et al., 2021a,b). This fundamental
knowledge is difficult to obtain when considering specific
species (i.e., taxonomic-based ecology), therefore ecologists are increasingly using functional diversity approaches
(i.e., trait-based ecology), with the added advantage of
allowing the comparison across different ecosystems and
biogeographical regions, which due to biogeographical
reasons support different species compositions (e.g.,
Henriques et al., 2017a,b).
Functional diversity (FD) refers to the distribution and
range of what species do (as determined by their functional
traits) in a given ecosystem, influencing how the ecosystem
operates or functions (e.g., stability, dynamics, productivity; Tilman, 2001; Petchey and Gaston, 2006). Currently,
the most accepted definition of the trait was proposed by
Violle and colleagues in which a trait is defined as “any
morphological, physiological or phenological feature measurable at the individual level, from the cell to the whole
organism” (Violle et al., 2007). For a trait to be considered
a functional trait, it needs to influence organismal performance (fitness), meaning its growth, reproduction, and/or
survival (McGill et al., 2006; Violle et al., 2007). Additionally, traits can also be related to the effect of organisms
on ecosystem properties, or on the other hand, to how they
respond to a disturbance or environmental change (Hooper
et al., 2005). In this way, traits can be further divided into the
following: (1) effect traits, those that significantly affect
another trophic level (e.g., predator-prey interactions)
and/or an ecosystem process (e.g., nutrient cycling, primary
productivity), regardless of whether they affect or not the
organismal performance; (2) response traits, those that
allow organisms to survive, grow, and reproduce under different disturbances and/or environmental conditions (biotic
and abiotic factors; Lavorel and Garnier, 2002).
Stable isotope composition to validate ecological network models: the case of Arrábida Marine Park rocky reefs
Publication . Pires, Helena Cristina Rosa; Tanner, Susanne; Henriques, Sofia
Coastal marine habitats provide important environmental and socio-economic services, and adjacent
coastal areas are very attractive to human populations. Like other coastal marine habitats, rocky reefs
are heavily impacted by anthropogenic activity. As these are considered important breeding, nursery
and feeding areas for several marine species, their protection is imperative. To improve conservation
methods, it is necessary to understand the structure and processes of rocky reef communities. Trophic
relationships are one of the ways in which species are connected, with food webs representing the flow
of matter and energy from producers to consumers and from prey to predators. Stable isotope analysis
(δ13C and δ15N) was used to characterize the food web of the rocky reef of Arrábida Marine Protected
Area. The results showed a relatively short food web, most likely due to high abundances of juveniles
with consumers with diverse diets and feeding strategies, exploiting different sources of organic matter,
of both benthic (macroalgae and benthic POM) and pelagic origin (phytoplankton and pelagic POM).
However, the benthic pathway was more important with more than half of the diet of most secondary
and tertiary consumers following this route and thus, suggesting a bottom-up control, and hinting at the
importance held by macroalgae and benthic production in this ecosystem. There was also a high
incidence of omnivores in all trophic groups, which could contribute to the similar trophic redundancy
and trophic evenness found between groups. Even so, primary consumers showed greater trophic
richness related to basal resources.
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Entidade financiadora
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Programa de financiamento
3599-PPCDT
Número da atribuição
PTDC/BIA-ECO/28687/2017