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On the use of predator traits and distribution in environmental impact assessment: the trophic/dispersal sufficiency concept

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Abstract

Environmental change can alter both species distribution range patterns at a regional scale and their feeding habits at a local scale. While several studies have highlighted the mechanisms driving such changes separately, little is known on their combined effect on the local communities. In this manuscript, we used both feeding and distributional traits of macro-benthic species and examined their combined response across an environmental gradient induced by an aquaculture unit. Our results mainly suggest that specialized predators with narrow geographic distributions and niches were more sensitive to environmental change than the less specialized groups. Moreover, under harsh environmental conditions, predatory species with a wide dispersion capacity can sustain viable populations through niche generalization. In contrast, in areas of low environmental disturbance, predatory species with a more restricted dispersal capability (i.e. some endemic species) can coexist via niche differentiation. In this context, our findings contribute towards a better understanding of benthic communities’ functional response to environmental change and may be of use in environmental impact assessment.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Associate Editor Lars Gamfeldt and the anonymous reviewers for valuable comments and improvements on the manuscript. The manuscript was improved by linguistic correction by Margaret Eleftheriou.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Marine Park of Zakynthos, El. Venizelou 1, Zakynthos Island, 29100, Greece

    Charalampos Dimitriadis & Drosos Koutsoubas

  2. Department of Marine Sciences, Faculty of Environment, University of the Aegean, Lesvos Island, 81100, Greece

    Drosos Koutsoubas

  3. Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Thalassokosmos, Former US Base at Gournes, Heraklion, Crete, 71003, Greece

    Christos Arvanitidis

Authors
  1. Charalampos Dimitriadis
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  2. Drosos Koutsoubas
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  3. Christos Arvanitidis
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Correspondence to Charalampos Dimitriadis.

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Communicated by L. Gamfeldt

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Dimitriadis, C., Koutsoubas, D. & Arvanitidis, C. On the use of predator traits and distribution in environmental impact assessment: the trophic/dispersal sufficiency concept. Mar Biodiv 46, 603–613 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-015-0407-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-015-0407-8

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