Drivers of coastal benthic communities in a complex environmental setting

Area of Science:

• Marine ecology
• Coastal conservation

Background:

• Benthic communities are vital indicators of coastal ecosystem health.
• Understanding environmental drivers is key for effective conservation strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify environmental factors influencing benthic community structure in Taiwan.
• To assess the impact of anthropogenic pressures on coastal ecosystems.

Main Methods:

• Collected benthic and environmental data from 433 transects in Taiwan.
• Utilized k-means clustering to delineate benthic communities.
• Employed conditional random forest models to identify key environmental drivers.

Main Results:

• Five distinct benthic communities were identified: CCA, turf, stony coral, digitate octocoral, and bushy octocoral.
• Physical, chemical, and land-based factors (e.g., light, nitrite, population density) significantly influenced community delineation.
• Historical factors like typhoons and temperature anomalies had minimal impact.
• The prevalent turf community showed a positive correlation with chemical and land-based drivers, indicating anthropogenic influence.

Conclusions:

• Anthropogenic impacts are leading to benthic homogenization in Taiwan.
• This homogenization may obscure the effects of climate change and regional variations.
• Urgent management of nutrient enrichment and terrestrial runoff is necessary to enhance coastal resilience.