Does beach nourishment have long-term effects on intertidal macoinvertebrate species abundance?

L. Leewis, P.M. van Bodegom, J. Rozema, G.M. Janssen

    Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    Abstract

    Coastal squeeze is the largest threat for sandy coastal areas. To mitigate seaward threats, erosion and sea level rise, sand nourishment is commonly applied. However, its long-term consequences for macroinvertebrate fauna, critical to most ecosystem services of sandy coasts, are still unknown. Seventeen sandy beaches - nourished and controls - were sampled along a chronosequence to investigate the abundance of four dominant macrofauna species and their relations with nourishment year and relevant coastal environmental variables. Dean's parameter and latitude significantly explained the abundance of the spionid polychaete Scolelepis squamata, Beach Index (BI), sand skewness, beach slope and latitude explained the abundance of the amphipod Haustorius arenarius and Relative Tide Range (RTR), recreation and sand sorting explained the abundance of Bathyporeia sarsi. For Eurydice pulchra, no environmental variable explained its abundance. For H. arenarius, E. pulchra and B. sarsi, there was no relation with nourishment year, indicating that recovery took place within a year after nourishment. Scolelepis squamata initially profited from the nourishment with "over-recolonisation" This confirms its role as an opportunistic species, thereby altering the initial community structure on a beach after nourishment. We conclude that the responses of the four dominant invertebrates studied in the years following beach nourishment are species specific. This shows the importance of knowing the autecology of the sandy beach macroinvertebrate fauna in order to be able to mitigate the effects of beach nourishment and other environmental impacts. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)172-181
    JournalEstuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
    Volume113
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2012

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Does beach nourishment have long-term effects on intertidal macoinvertebrate species abundance?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this