Ecology of marine landscapes and habitats · 2011-03-01 · Biology and ecology of coastal biotopes...

transcript

An introduction to the biological and ecological structures and An introduction to the biological and ecological structures and the functions of biodiversity in different parts of the Baltic Sthe functions of biodiversity in different parts of the Baltic Seaea

Biology and ecology of coastal Biology and ecology of coastal biotopes and structure and function of biotopes and structure and function of

biodiversitybiodiversity (1st lecture: landscape level)

Sergej Olenin sergej@corpi.ku.lt

Coastal Research and Planning Institute Klaipeda University, Lithuania

PREHAB PhD course- a multidisciplinary introductory course on ecological mapping and economic valuation of coastal areas22.02.-03.03.2011 Husö Biological station, Åland islands, Finland

PREHAB PhD course - a multidisciplinary introductory course on ecological mapping

and economic valuation of coastal areas

What species are there? What are they doing?Why they are there?

Basic knowledge on:

What is our course about?•

…mapping and modeling of biotopes •

…threats to biotopes and biodiversity due to human activities •

…economic valuation of ecosystem goods and services provided by biotopes•

…practical management, political-economical impacts, decision makingApplications

What species are there?

Why they are there?

Content of the 1st lecture•

Landscapes and landscape ecology

Hierarchy of geosystems

and factors shaping marine landscapes

Landscapes and landscape ecology

What is Landscape Ecology?•

Landscape -

used originally by artists to denote rural scenery (Dutch, Landschap; German,

Landschaft), now a general term for the sum total of the aspect of any area, rural or urban.

Monkhouse

FJ, 1974. A Dictionary of Geography

Cultural landscapes, natural landscapes…

Landscape ecology traditionally has been limited to the study of terrestrial systems

Terrestrial vs Marine Landscape ecology

Terrestrail landscape ecology–

(tens of books, including university texbooks,

hundreds of resarch papers every year, regular conferences and symposia)

Marine landscape ecology –

...in its cradle

»)–

no conventional terminology

Controversy in the use of terrestrial terminology for marine landscape ecology

geographers vs biologists, –

terrestrial vs marine scientists »

no justification –

marine scientists should develop their own definitions and concepts,

or, terrestrial ecology notions may be, in some extent, applied to the marine environment

A new, rapidly developing science discipline

The flagship journal “Landscape ecology”–

focuses on highly inter-

transdisciplinary

studies,–

aggregating expertise from biological, geophysical, and social sciences …

to explore the formation, dynamics and consequences of spatial heterogeneity in natural and human-

dominated landscapes

www.springerlink.com

Landscape ecology, Vol.23, Suppl.1 / Jan. 2008

Marine and coastal applications in landscape

ecology

What is a landscape?•

A basic structural and territorial unit of the geographic environment

Gudelis

V. 1993. A glossary of coastal research terms. Vilnius, Akademia. 408 pp.

A defined territory, characterised by common origin and development history, uniform geological structure and type of relief, climate, composition of soils and communities of living organisms

Four-language encyclopedic dictionary of terms in physical geography. 1980. I.S. Schukin

(compiler). Moscow, Sov. Enciklopedia. 703 pp.

Landscape is a geosystem (Greek: γη, ge, "earth“

and σύστημα, systēma) –

a set of interacting and interdependent entities, forming an integrated whole.

Landscape terminology: Semantic field of related concepts

Landscape Geosystem

benthem

Level of a landscape

sea floor landscape

benthic landscape

benthoscape

seascape

Zajac, R.N., 1999, Understanding the seafloor landscape in relation to assessing and managing impacts on coastal environments. In: J.S. Gray; W. Ambrose Jr., and A. Szaniawska

(eds.) Biogeochemical Cycling and Sediment Ecology: Dordrecht: Kluwer

Publishing, p. 211-227•

Arzamascev

I.S., Preobrazhensky

B.V, 1990. Atlas of underwater landscapes of the Sea of Japan. Moscow. Nauka: 223 pp.

Preobrazhensky

B.V., Zharikov

V.V., Dubeikovsky

L.V., 2000. Fundamentals of the underwater landscape studies (Marine ecosystems management). Vladivostok, Dalnauka: 360 pp.

Thorsnes

et al. 2009

Landscape as a geosystem a set of interacting and interdependent geographical entities (elements),

forming an integrated whole.

A Lithuanian seaside landscape and its elements (components)

A dune

A beach

A cape

The Sea

A shoreline

A coastal forest

The slope

A patch of mosses

BushwoodThe top

Rooted grass

A patch

of bare sand

The foot

Level of a higher geosystem (e.g. the SE Baltic coastal zone)

Level of a landscape

Level of landscape’s elements (components)

Next geosystem level(s) (the entire Baltic Sea)

The highest geosystem (geosystem of Earth)

The hierarchy of geosystems

Hierarchy of geosystems: take-away note

• Each landscape consists of a set of elements (components) and, in turn, is a part of a higher geosystem(s).

• In order to understand the landscape we should consider at least three levels:

1. the level of landscape,2. the lower level – landscape components,3. the higher level – the level of higher geosystems.

Hierarchy of factors shaping marine landscapes

BALANCE Project (2008) approach

Primary environmental parameters shaping marine landscapes

I. Bedrock. II. Hard bottom complex, includes patchy hard surfaces

and coarse sand (some-times also clay) to boulders. III. Sand including fine to coarse sand (with gravel

exposures). IV. Hard clay sometimes…exposed or covered with a

thin layer of sand/gravel. V. Mud including gyttja-clay to gyttja-silt.

Seabed sediments

Bathymetry

Topography and bed-form features

•This approach identified the topographic layout and complexity of the sea-bed (e.g. bedforms

such as deep-water channels or sediment plains).

•Good for describing the complexity and general layout of the seafloor, but insufficient to distinguish individual features based on biology/ecology

Primary importance for biology (distribution of marine and freshwater species)

Salinity

Light (irradiance) -

a measure of the amount of energy falling on a flat surface.

The depth of the photic

zone: 1% of the surface irradiance is available for photosynthesis.

>1%: primary production is possible (occurs)

<1%: primary production (photosynthesis) physically is not possible.

Light climate

Primary importance for biology (submerged aquatic vegetation)

Benthic landscapes of the Baltic Sea based on the primary environmental

data layers

•Bathymetry•Seabed sediments

•Light climate •Salinity

“Secondary” physio-chemical factors

Min-max and average bottom temperature •

Bottom current velocity

Oxygen depletion (presence of H2

Water masses: drivers of benthic life

Pathway of saline water inflows

Stratification of the Baltic Sea water

“Old” stagnant saline water (Anoxia, presence of H2 S)

Active deep water layerUpwelling

Permanent halocline

Diluted surface waterDanish Straits

Gotland Basin

Stratification of the Baltic Sea water

Active deep water layerT,°C (1-3)S, PSU (9-12)O2 (hypoxic)

Diluted surface water

Permanent halocline T,°C (3 –

5)S, PSU (8-10)O2 (normoxic-hypoxic)

Stagnant deep water layerT,°C (<3)S, PSU (10-13)O2 (hypoxic-anoxic, H2

Upper warm layerT,°C

(-0.5 –

25)S, PSU (5-8)O2

(normoxic)

Intermediate cold waterT,°C

(3 –

8)S, PSU (7-8)O2

(normoxic)

Summer termoclineT,°C

(7 –

12)S, PSU (7-8)O2

(normoxic)

Water masses: drivers of benthic life

3D picture: V. Jurkin

SE Baltic bathymetry map showing the contact zones of

seabed and the main water masses

Upper warm water layer

Summer termocline

Intermediate cold water layer

Halocline

Active deep water layer

Stagnant deep water layer

Hierarchy of landscape shaping factors: take-away notes

Bathymetry and seabed sediments are the primary factors shaping marine landscapes.

The secondary (modifying) factors are: salinity, temperature regime, oxygen content, bottom current velocity.

Water masses are “the drivers” of benthic life! •

Both primary and secondary physio-chemical factors vary spatially and temporarily. Their significance may be different at different spatial scales and in different regions

E.g.: exposure to wave action, average ice cover (important in the coastal zone).

Biology is not considered at the level of the marine landscapes »

In contrast to terrestrial landscapes

Ecology of marine landscapes and habitats · 2011-03-01 · Biology and ecology of coastal biotopes...

Documents