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Diversity
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Functional Diversity of Soft-Bottom Benthic Communities in the Anthropocene
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Functional Diversity of Soft-Bottom Benthic Communities in the Anthropocene

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Diversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2025 | Viewed by 3462

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Américo Montiel

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Laboratorio de Ecología Funcional, Instituto de la Patagonia, Universidad de Magallanes, Av. Bulnes, Punta Arenas 01890, Chile
Interests: benthos; polychaeta taxonomy and marine biogeography; research on marine proglacial areas and ecological restoration; marine ecology; biodiversity; conservation biology; species diversity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

On the one hand, the Anthropocene is the new geological epoch, which is characterized by the rapid accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the irreversible damage caused by human overconsumption of natural resources, and its concomitant impacts on both the climate and ecosystems. On the other hand, behind the oceans, marine soft sediment is the second largest habitat on the planet. Therefore, the communities’ changes occurring in the new Anthropocene epoch are undoubtedly under intense scientific debate. However, functional ecology is one of the most underexplored aspects of this debate and how these roles are affected by the environmental drivers of the new geological epoch. Indeed, how ecological functions change with the loss of polar or sub-polar ice masses, and how biodiversity is affected by high rates of pollution or by the changes brought about by marine acidification or the carbon sink fate. These are just some of the open questions that this Special Issue aims to summarize.

In this Special Issue dedicated to “Functional diversity of soft-bottom benthic communities in the Anthropocene”, we are calling for papers with innovative insights, including research papers on different aspects of functional ecology and functional biodiversity from deep sea to the intertidal soft bottom benthic communities.

Dr. Américo Montiel
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • infauna
  • deposit-feeders
  • filter-feeders
  • trophic guild
  • trophic source
  • carbon sinks
  • macrofauna
  • meiofauna
  • global change
  • deep-sea
  • intertidal
  • acidification

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 3721 KiB  
Article
Detritus from Ice and Plankton Algae as an Important Food Source for Macroinfaunal Communities in the Canadian Arctic
by Gonzalo Bravo, Philippe Archambault, Ursula Witte, Anni Mäkelä, Georgios Kazanidis, Javier E. Ciancio, Solveig Bourgeois and Christian Nozais
Diversity 2024, 16(10), 605; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16100605 - 1 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1864
Abstract
Most deep-sea organisms feed on the organic matter produced in surface waters and settle on the seafloor. In polar regions, sea ice algal detritus and phytoplankton detritus are the main food sources for benthic fauna that reach the seafloor in pulses. Climate change [...] Read more.
Most deep-sea organisms feed on the organic matter produced in surface waters and settle on the seafloor. In polar regions, sea ice algal detritus and phytoplankton detritus are the main food sources for benthic fauna that reach the seafloor in pulses. Climate change affects the extension and duration of sea ice cover, which may affect the quantity and quality of food reaching the seafloor, resulting in less ice algae and more phytoplankton biomass. We conducted onboard pulse-chase experiments using sediment cores collected from Baffin Bay, Amundsen Gulf, and the Beaufort Sea to study how macroinfaunal communities in the Canadian Arctic use both food sources. Dual-labeled (13C and 15N) diatoms, Thalassiosira nordenskioeldii (phytoplankton treatment) and Synedra hyperborea (ice algae treatment), were used as tracers of food consumption by macroinfaunal groups. Community structure was analyzed in each region and differences were found among sites. The total uptake of both food sources was higher in Baffin Bay; the macroinfaunal biomass was the highest, with facultative filter/surface-deposit feeders accounting for more than 70% of the total biomass. The Baffin Bay station was the only location where there were notable variations in the biomass-specific uptake of ice algae and phytoplankton detritus by the bivalves and polychaetes, as well as by the community as a whole. At the same time, both food sources were consumed in equal quantities at the Amundsen Gulf and Beaufort Sea stations. This suggests that ice algae are not preferentially uptaken, and macroinfaunal communities may be resilient to a decrease in ice algal input to the seafloor inflicted by sea ice reduction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Diversity of Soft-Bottom Benthic Communities in the Anthropocene)
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20 pages, 3798 KiB  
Article
The Roles of Alpha, Beta, and Functional Diversity Indices in the Ecological Connectivity between Two Sub-Antarctic Macrobenthic Assemblages
by Jara Nykol, Montiel Americo and Cáceres Benjamin
Diversity 2024, 16(7), 430; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16070430 - 22 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1048
Abstract
The study of ecological connectivity is a global priority due to the important role it plays in the conservation of diversity. However, few studies in this context have focused on marine benthic ecosystems. To address this issue, the present work determines the ecological [...] Read more.
The study of ecological connectivity is a global priority due to the important role it plays in the conservation of diversity. However, few studies in this context have focused on marine benthic ecosystems. To address this issue, the present work determines the ecological connectivity between two sub-Antarctic macrobenthic assemblages through assessment of the α-, β-, and functional diversity indices. Samples were collected using a van Veen grab at stations located in Bahia Inútil and Seno Almirantazgo. The ecological analysis was based on a total of 113 invertebrate taxa. The mean abundance values were lower in Bahia Inútil (888.9 ± 26.8 ind m−2) than in Seno Almirantazgo (1358.6 ± 43.4 ind m−2). While the mean α-diversity values showed significant differences between assemblages, β- and functional diversity indices presented no significant differences. These results indicate that, despite the distance (56 km) separating the two basins from each other, there is a high degree of connectivity at the functional level between the assemblages due to the high number of shared species and their functional traits. The species most responsible for this observation were the polychaetes Capitela capitata and Aricidia (Acmira) finitima, as well as the bivalves Nucula pisum and Yoldiella sp. 1. In terms of functional biodiversity, species characterized as omnivorous and with lecithotrophic larval development were mostly responsible for connectivity between assemblages. These results suggest the importance of including β- and functional diversity indices as criteria in the future planning of marine protected areas for the maintenance of marine ecosystem integrity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Diversity of Soft-Bottom Benthic Communities in the Anthropocene)
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