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Environmental Context Mediates Biodiversity–Ecosystem Functioning Relationships in Coastal Soft-sediment Habitats

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Abstract

The ongoing loss of biodiversity and global environmental changes severely affect the structure of coastal ecosystems. Consequences, in terms of ecosystem functioning, are, however, difficult to predict because the context dependency of the biodiversity–ecosystem function relationships within these heterogeneous seascapes is poorly understood. To assess the effects of biological and environmental factors in mediating ecosystem functioning (nutrient cycling) in different natural habitats, intact sediment cores were collected at 18 sites on a grain size gradient from coarse sand to silt, with varying organic matter content and vegetation. To assess ecosystem functioning, solute fluxes (O2, NH4+, PO43−, Si) across the sediment–water interface were measured. The macrofaunal communities changed along the grain size gradient with higher abundance, biomass and number of species in coarser sediments and in habitats with more vegetation. Across the whole gradient, the macrofauna cumulatively accounted for 25% of the variability in the multivariate solute fluxes, whereas environmental variables cumulatively accounted for 20%. Only the biomass and abundance of a few of the most dominant macrofauna species, not the number of species, appeared to contribute significantly to the nutrient recycling processes. Closer analyses of different sediment types (grouped into coarse, medium and fine sediment) showed that the macrofauna was an important predictor in all sediment types, but had the largest impact in fine and medium sediments. The results imply that even if the ecosystem functioning is similar in different sediment types, the underpinning mechanisms are different, which makes it challenging to generalize patterns of functioning across the heterogeneous shallow coastal zones.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by Walter and Andrée de Nottbeck Foundation (JG, GB) and the BONUS COCOA project, which was supported by BONUS (Art 185), funded jointly by the EU and the Academy of Finland (AN), and the University of Helsinki (3-year grant to JN). We sincerely thank Judi Hewitt for valuable advice on statistical analyses, Emmi Hänninen for video analyses, and Hanna Halonen and trainees at Tvärminne Zoological Station for valuable practical assistance.

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  1. Author Contributions JG, MJ, GB, JN and AN designed the study and performed the research; JG, MJ and GB conducted the laboratory analyses; JG analyzed the data; JG wrote the first draft of the manuscript; and all authors contributed substantially to revisions

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tvärminne Zoological Station, University of Helsinki, J.A. Palméns väg 260, 10900, Hangö, Finland

    Johanna Gammal, Guillaume Bernard, Joanna Norkko & Alf Norkko

  2. Environmental and Marine Biology, Åbo Akademi University, Artillerigatan 6, 20520, Åbo, Finland

    Marie Järnström

  3. UMR5805, EPOC, CNRS, 33400, Talence, France

    Guillaume Bernard

  4. Baltic Sea Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Alf Norkko

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Gammal, J., Järnström, M., Bernard, G. et al. Environmental Context Mediates Biodiversity–Ecosystem Functioning Relationships in Coastal Soft-sediment Habitats. Ecosystems 22, 137–151 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-018-0258-9

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