Abstract
The composition of benthic species communities in the nearshore zone is closely related to the hydrodynamic and morphodynamic conditions. Sustainable management of the coastal ecosystem requires knowledge about the natural dynamics as well as human-induced changes on the ecosystem. To improve our knowledge of the benthic species distribution along a dissipative sandy shore with multiple breaker bars, an extensive dataset was collected in the nearshore zone of the barrier islands Ameland and Schiermonnikoog in the Dutch North Sea. From 2010 to 2014, every year, approximately 180 grab samples along 18 cross-shore transects were collected and analyzed for sediment characteristics and macrobenthic species composition. Mixed-effect-models and partial redundancy analysis were used to analyze the importance of morphological features (i.e., slopes, bar crests, and troughs) as an explanatory variable for the benthic species distribution. The results indicate that the morphological features in themselves explain three times more variation than the environmental parameters used. This demonstrates the importance of morphological features as a factor in explaining the distribution of benthic species communities in the nearshore. Detailed information on morphological features is easy to obtain from bathymetry maps or visual inspection. Incorporating morphological features in species distribution models will therefore help to improve sustainable management of our valuable sandy coastal systems.
Highlights
Sandy beaches are one of the world’s dominant coastal types [1]
The slopes were mostly oriented in northern direction i.e., seaward dipping, except for the beach slope (SB) with some locations directed in a southern direction
Our results showed that the contribution of morphological features such as bar crests, troughs, and slopes was three times larger than the environmental parameters together, above and besides the general impact of the slope towards deeper water (Figure 7)
Summary
Sandy beaches are one of the world’s dominant coastal types [1] They constitute important habitats for benthic species, fish, and birds and provide a multitude of ecosystem services ranging from flood safety to food provision and recreation [2]. Beach and foreshore erosion is a common problem in the world, that may aggravate due to climate change and sea level rise [3]. Sand nourishments are applied to mitigate the effects of erosion [4,5], and these efforts are expected to increase in the future. Nourishments alter the natural morphodynamics of the coast [6,7] and may thereby affect the quality of nearshore habitats This is especially relevant for macrobenthic species that live close to and in the bed
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