*Correspondence: Erik Kristensen, Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark e-mail: [email protected] We aim at identifying how ecosystem functioning in shallow estuaries is affected by rapid shifts in benthic fauna communities. We use the shallow estuary, Odense Fjord, Denmark, as a case study to test our hypotheses that (1) shifts in benthic fa...

1. The relationship between benthic invertebrate assemblage composition and surrounding land use has been examined in various ways, but most studies are undertaken at a coarse scale, or they compare obviously different landscapes. In Japan, these obvious differences in landscape are rare, and humans reside even in remote montane areas. 2. In order to clarify the influence of human residence on ...

Native species in lakes commonly are affected by cultural eutrophication and introductions of nonnative species. The effects of these disturbances on benthic communities in large lakes have been understudied, despite the integral role that benthos play in maintaining habitat complexity and ecosystem processes. Lake Tahoe has experienced progressive eutrophication and introductions of nonnative ...

This research was developed between 1993 and 1996, aiming to study the structure of the benthic macroinvertebrate community, relating it to some abiotic variables, in an amazonian lake (lago Batata), that received for ten years a great amount of bauxite tailings. The benthic macroinvertebrates were collected with a core and the abiotic variables that were measured were: dissolved oxygen, suspen...

Biodiversity and distribution of benthic Meiobenthos in the sediments of the Southern Caspian Sea) Mazandaran) was studied in order to introduce and determine their relationship with the environmental factors. From 12 stations (ranging in depths 5, 10, 20 and 50 meters), sediment samples were gathered in four seasons (2012). Environmental factors of water near the bottom including temperature, ...

1. Bottom ®shing using towed nets and dredges is one of the most widespread sources of physical disturbance to the continental shelf seas throughout the world. Previous studies suggest that degradation and ecosystem changes have occurred in intensively ®shed areas. Nevertheless, to date it has been dicult to attribute habitat and benthic community changes to ®shing e€ort at a spatial scale tha...

In spite of their economic importance, coral reef communities of the world are rapidly decreasing, and an adequate management planification is needed. The benthic and fish communities of Dos Mosquises Sur and Madrizqui at Los Roques National Park, and Caiman and Cayo Norte at Morrocoy National Park, in Venezuela were monitored during 2003 and 2004. The CARICOMP method was used to describe the b...

Models of biomass size spectra assume that organisms with higher body mass feed at higher trophic levels, but explicit empirical tests of this pattern are rare. We used nitrogen stable isotopes (δ15N) as an index of the trophic level in a benthic fish and invertebrate size-spectrum, and demonstrated that body mass was positively and significantly related to trophic level. This pattern was consi...