TY - JOUR
T1 - Consistent patterns of spatial variability between NE Atlantic and Mediterranean rocky shores
AU - Dal Bello, Martina
AU - Leclerc, Jean Charles
AU - Benedetti-Cecchi, Lisandro
AU - Andrea De Lucia, Giuseppe
AU - Arvanitidis, Christos
AU - Van Avesaath, Pim
AU - Bachelet, Guy
AU - Bojanic, Natalia
AU - Como, Serena
AU - Coppa, Stefania
AU - Coughlan, Jennifer
AU - Crowe, Tasman
AU - Degraer, Steven
AU - Espinosa, Free
AU - Faulwetter, Sarah
AU - Frost, Matt
AU - Guinda, Xabier
AU - Jankowska, Emilia
AU - Jourde, Jérôme
AU - Juanes De La Pena, Jose Antonio
AU - Kerckhof, Francis
AU - Kotta, Jonne
AU - Lavesque, Nicolas
AU - Magni, Paolo
AU - De Matos, Valentina
AU - Orav-Kotta, Helen
AU - Pavloudi, Christina
AU - Pedrotti, Maria Luiza
AU - Peleg, Ohad
AU - Pérez-Ruzafa, Angel
AU - Puente, Araceli
AU - Ribeiro, Pedro
AU - Rigaut-Jalabert, Fabienne
AU - Rilov, Gil
AU - Rousou, Maria
AU - Rubal, Marcos
AU - Ruginis, Tomas
AU - Silva, Teresa
AU - Simon, Nathalie
AU - Sousa-Pinto, Isabel
AU - Troncoso, Jesús
AU - Warzocha, Jan
AU - Weslawski, Jan Marcin
AU - Hummel, Herman
N1 - Publisher Copyright: Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2016.
PY - 2017/5/1
Y1 - 2017/5/1
N2 - Examining how variability in population abundance and distribution is allotted among different spatial scales can inform of processes that are likely to generate that variability. Results of studies dealing with scale issues in marine benthic communities suggest that variability is concentrated at small spatial scales (from tens of centimetres to few metres) and that spatial patterns of variation are consistent across ecosystems characterized by contrasting physical and biotic conditions, but this has not been formally tested. Here we quantified the variability in the distribution of intertidal rocky shore communities at a range of spatial scales, from tens of centimetres to thousands of kilometres, both in the NE Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and tested whether the observed patterns differed between the two basins. We focused on canopy-forming macroalgae and associated understorey assemblages in the low intertidal, and on the distribution of Patella limpets at mid intertidal levels. Our results highlight that patterns of spatial variation, at each scale investigated, were consistent between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, suggesting that similar ecological processes operate in these regions. In contrast with former studies, variability in canopy cover, species richness and limpet abundance was equally distributed among spatial scales, possibly reflecting the fingerprint of multiple processes. Variability in community structure of low intertidal assemblages, instead, peaked at the largest scale, suggesting that oceanographic processes and climatic gradients may be important. We conclude that formal comparisons of variability across scales nested in contrasting systems are needed, before any generalization on patterns and processes can be made.
AB - Examining how variability in population abundance and distribution is allotted among different spatial scales can inform of processes that are likely to generate that variability. Results of studies dealing with scale issues in marine benthic communities suggest that variability is concentrated at small spatial scales (from tens of centimetres to few metres) and that spatial patterns of variation are consistent across ecosystems characterized by contrasting physical and biotic conditions, but this has not been formally tested. Here we quantified the variability in the distribution of intertidal rocky shore communities at a range of spatial scales, from tens of centimetres to thousands of kilometres, both in the NE Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and tested whether the observed patterns differed between the two basins. We focused on canopy-forming macroalgae and associated understorey assemblages in the low intertidal, and on the distribution of Patella limpets at mid intertidal levels. Our results highlight that patterns of spatial variation, at each scale investigated, were consistent between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, suggesting that similar ecological processes operate in these regions. In contrast with former studies, variability in canopy cover, species richness and limpet abundance was equally distributed among spatial scales, possibly reflecting the fingerprint of multiple processes. Variability in community structure of low intertidal assemblages, instead, peaked at the largest scale, suggesting that oceanographic processes and climatic gradients may be important. We conclude that formal comparisons of variability across scales nested in contrasting systems are needed, before any generalization on patterns and processes can be made.
KW - Canopy-forming macroalgae
KW - Patella spp.
KW - biodiversity
KW - hierarchical analyses
KW - rocky shores
KW - spatial scale
KW - spatial variability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84995532117&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315416001491
DO - https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315416001491
M3 - Article
SN - 0025-3154
VL - 97
SP - 539
EP - 547
JO - Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
JF - Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
IS - 3
ER -