Does coastal armoring affect biodiversity and its functional composition on beaches?

Autor(es)

Laurino, Ivan R. A. ; Checon, Helio H. ; Corte, Guilherme N. ; Turra, Alexander

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH; v. 181, p. 13-pg., 2022-10-04.

Resumo

Sandy beaches are increasingly squeezed due to the construction of backshore man-made structures (i.e., coastal armoring) and current global changes. Coastal armoring impacts beach sediment dynamics, inducing erosion and habitat loss, threatening biodiversity processes and the functional roles of sandy beach organisms. Here, we examine how the abundance, taxonomic richness, and functional richness of sandy beach fauna are affected by coastal armoring. We compared macrobenthic infaunal communities on five armored beaches (with backshore urban structures) and five vegetated beaches (not-armored). We also evaluated the abundance and biomass of upper-beach arthropods using pitfall traps, comparing armored and vegetated segments within the beaches. Infaunal richness and abundance were lower at armored beaches, mainly in the subtidal zones, because of a reduction in polychaete and molluscan abundance. There was no difference in overall functional richness be-tween the armored and vegetated beaches. Nevertheless, we found that functional groups such as small sus-pension feeders were more associated with armored beaches, while large-bodied species and predators were more frequent at vegetated beaches. Pitfall traps showed that coastal armoring also reduced the abundance of the upper-beach coleopteran Phaleria testacea, leading to a loss of biomass. Therefore, our data suggest that coastal armoring can influence the functional composition of sandy beach biodiversity and significantly impact mac-robenthic abundance and biomass. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 18/19776-2 - Promovendo o planejamento espacial e conservação de praias por meio de uma abordagem ecossistêmica
• Beneficiário: Alexander Turra
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa BIOTA - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 18/22036-0 - Avaliação do potencial de diferentes índices bentônicos para determiner a integridade ecólogica de praias arenosas: subsídios para práticas de manejo e monitoramento
• Beneficiário: Hélio Hermínio Checon
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 15/03804-9 - Governança ambiental da macrometrópole paulista face à variabilidade climática
• Beneficiário: Pedro Roberto Jacobi
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa de Pesquisa sobre Mudanças Climáticas Globais - Temático
• Processo FAPESP: 17/17071-9 - Preservando praias arenosas: biodiversidade, bens e serviços e impactos em um ecossistema negligenciado
• Beneficiário: Guilherme Nascimento Corte
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado