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Updated: Dec 11, 2025

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Published on: July 14, 2023
Seasonal variability in ecosystem functioning across estuarine gradients: The role of sediment communities and
Sebastiaan Mestdagh1, Xiaoyu Fang2, Karline Soetaert3
1Marine Biology Research Group, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281/S8, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium; Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, PO Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, the Netherlands.
Abstract:
Functional trait approaches advance the understanding of biodiversity-ecosystem function (BDEF) relationships and its control by the environmental context. Application of these insights into management remains constrained due to lack of evidence from real-world ecosystems that capture the natural spatial and temporal gradients at which biodiversity and environmental conditions operate. In this study we measured macrofauna community traits, ecosystem processes and abiotic properties at 9 locations during 4 months, spanning a wide gradient in sedimentary habitats and salinity in the Scheldt estuary, and quantified the (a)biotic contribution to sediment community oxygen consumption, as a measure of ecosystem function. We found that functional attributes of the macrofauna community and its effect on bio-irrigation can predict ecosystem function, but especially during the colder period of the year. This result highlights that generalizations about BDEF relationships, and biodiversity loss on ecosystem functions, are limited whenever this temporal component is not acknowledged.
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