Multiple stressors and multifunctionality: limited effects on an illuminated benthic system.

Area of Science:

• Marine ecology
• Ecosystem functioning
• Environmental stressors

Background:

• Traditional studies often assess single ecosystem functions in isolation.
• This narrow focus may lead to a biased understanding of cumulative stressor impacts.
• Marine illuminated sediment systems are vital for coastal ecosystem services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of multiple stressors on ecosystem multifunctionality.
• To determine if coastal sediment systems are resilient to combined environmental changes.
• To propose a multifunctionality approach for assessing cumulative stressor effects.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from six published experiments on marine illuminated sediment systems.
• Exposed systems to nutrient enrichment, toxicants, sedimentation, and warming, individually and combined.
• Calculated two multifunctionality indices considering primary production, respiration, nutrient fluxes, and biomass.

Main Results:

• Individual stressors had varied positive and negative effects on specific functions.
• Ecosystem multifunctionality remained largely unaffected by single and combined stressors.
• Coastal sediment systems demonstrated resilience, likely due to a robust benthic microalgal community.

Conclusions:

• Multifunctionality assessments are crucial for understanding cumulative stressor effects.
• Coastal illuminated sediment systems exhibit resilience to moderate multiple stressors.
• The study recommends adopting multifunctionality approaches for future research on ecosystem services.