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Linking food web functioning and habitat diversity for an ecosystem based management: a Mediterranean lagoon
D Brigolin1, C Facca1, A Franco2
1Centre for Estuarine and Coastal Marine Sciences, DAIS, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy.
Marine Environmental Research
|March 25, 2014
Summary
Transitional ecosystems like the Venice lagoon face reduced energy processing due to habitat loss. Short-term fishery and seagrass management can improve ecosystem health, but long-term habitat trends are crucial for effective strategies.
Area of Science:
- Ecosystem modeling
- Ecology
- Environmental science
Background:
- Transitional ecosystems are sensitive to habitat changes.
- EU directives require ecosystem management and monitoring.
- Understanding drivers of ecosystem change is vital.
Purpose of the Study:
- To model the relationship between habitat and ecosystem functioning in transitional environments.
- To assess the impact of habitat loss and management strategies on the Venice lagoon's food web.
- To evaluate short-term management effectiveness within long-term ecological trends.
Main Methods:
- Utilized steady-state food web models to estimate energy fluxes.
- Employed network analysis to compute food web functioning indices.
- Simulated effects of habitat changes and management interventions.
Main Results:
- Long-term salt marsh loss is predicted to decrease lagoon energy processing efficiency.
- Short-term fishery management and seagrass restoration can enhance ecosystem health and resilience.
- Effective management requires considering long-term habitat evolution.
Conclusions:
- Habitat diversity is critical for food web functioning indicators.
- Integrating short-term actions with long-term ecological trends optimizes management.
- Modeling provides insights into transitional ecosystem dynamics and resilience.
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