Seasonality in coastal macrobenthic biomass and its implications for estimating secondary production using empirical models

Saulnier, Erwan; Brind'Amour, Anik; Tableau, Adrien; Rufino, Marta M.; Dauvin, Jean‐Claude; Luczak, Christophe; Le Bris, Hervé

Publication

Seasonality in coastal macrobenthic biomass and its implications for estimating secondary production using empirical models

2018Journal article

dc.contributor.author	Saulnier, Erwan
dc.contributor.author	Brind'Amour, Anik
dc.contributor.author	Tableau, Adrien
dc.contributor.author	Rufino, Marta M.
dc.contributor.author	Dauvin, Jean‐Claude
dc.contributor.author	Luczak, Christophe
dc.contributor.author	Le Bris, Hervé
dc.date.accessioned	2019-09-20T14:54:14Z
dc.date.available	2019-09-20T14:54:14Z
dc.date.issued	2018
dc.description.abstract	Macrobenthic secondary production is widely used to assess the trophic capacity, health, and functioning of marine and freshwater ecosystems. Annual production estimates are often calculated using empirical models and based on data collected during a single period of the year. Yet, many ecosystems show seasonal variations. Although ignoring seasonality may lead to biased and inaccurate estimates of annual secondary production, it has never been tested at the community level. Using time series of macrobenthic data collected seasonally at three temperate marine coastal soft-bottom sites, we assessed seasonal variations in biomass of macrobenthic invertebrates at both population and community levels. We then investigated how these seasonal variations affect the accuracy of annual benthic production when assessed using an empirical model and data from a single sampling event. Significant and consistent seasonal variations in biomass at the three study sites were highlighted. Macrobenthic biomass was significantly lower in late winter and higher in summer/early fall for 18 of the 30 populations analyzed and for all three communities studied. Seasonality led to inaccurate and often biased estimates of annual secondary production at the community level when based on data from a single sampling event. Bias varied by site and sampling period, but reached similar to 50% if biomass was sampled at its annual minimum or maximum. Since monthly sampling is rarely possible, we suggest that ecologists account for uncertainty in annual production estimates caused by seasonality.	pt_PT
dc.description.sponsorship	Agência financiadora EDF French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation French Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition through the Marine Strategy Framework Directive Agreement French Biodiversity Agency (Agence francaise pour la biodiversite) as part of the CAPANOUR project	pt_PT
dc.description.version	info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion	pt_PT
dc.identifier.doi	10.1002/lno.11086
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/12770
dc.language.iso	eng	pt_PT
dc.peerreviewed	yes	pt_PT
dc.publisher	Wiley	pt_PT
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/	pt_PT
dc.title	Seasonality in coastal macrobenthic biomass and its implications for estimating secondary production using empirical models	pt_PT
dc.type	journal article
dspace.entity.type	Publication
oaire.citation.endPage	949	pt_PT
oaire.citation.issue	3	pt_PT
oaire.citation.startPage	935	pt_PT
oaire.citation.title	Limnology and Oceanography	pt_PT
oaire.citation.volume	64	pt_PT
person.familyName	Rufino
person.givenName	Marta
person.identifier.ciencia-id	7E12-F7C8-156B
person.identifier.orcid	0000-0002-0734-7491
person.identifier.scopus-author-id	6701333407
rcaap.rights	openAccess	pt_PT
rcaap.type	article	pt_PT
relation.isAuthorOfPublication	23e07cbe-7178-4a1c-ad59-533d1375bf87
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery	23e07cbe-7178-4a1c-ad59-533d1375bf87