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dc.contributor.authorRoca, G.
dc.contributor.authorAlcoverro, T.
dc.contributor.authorDe Torres, M.
dc.contributor.authorManzanera, M.
dc.contributor.authorMartínez-Crego, B.
dc.contributor.authorBennett, Scott
dc.contributor.authorFarina, S.
dc.contributor.authorPérez, M.
dc.contributor.authorRomero, J.
dc.date.accessioned2017-04-28T14:00:42Z
dc.date.available2017-04-28T14:00:42Z
dc.date.created2017-04-28T09:06:16Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.identifier.citationRoca, G. and Alcoverro, T. and De Torres, M. and Manzanera, M. and Martínez-Crego, B. and Bennett, S. and Farina, S. et al. 2015. Detecting water quality improvement along the Catalan coast (Spain) using stress-specific biochemical seagrass indicators. Ecological Indicators. 54: pp. 161-170.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/52931
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.02.031
dc.description.abstract

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.Evaluating the efficacy of management actions to improve environmental quality is often difficult because there may be considerable lags before ecosystem management actions translate into measurable indicator responses. These delays make it difficult to justify often-expensive remedial actions to prevent eutrophication. Therefore, it is critical to identify reliable, rapid and sensitive indicators to detect degradation and environmental quality improvement. We evaluate the efficacy of a set of indicators based on the seagrass Posidonia oceanica to reliably and quickly detect ecosystem improvements using a 7-year (2003-2010) dataset of 10 stations along the Catalan coast (north-western Mediterranean Sea). In the Catalan region, environmental agencies have invested heavily on wastewater treatment, resulting in significant reductions (ca. 75%) in the BOD5 discharged to coastal waters from 2003 to 2010. These improvements were clearly reflected at the regional level (i.e. for all the stations averaged) in six biochemical seagrass indicators from our dataset. These indicators were directly related to eutrophication (nitrogen, d15N, phosphorus and total non-structural carbohydrates content in rhizomes, d34S and d13C in seagrass rhizomes and N content in epiphytes). In contrast, seagrass structural indicators, related to seagrass abundance or meadow structure (density, cover) did not show any sign of overall recovery during the monitored period. These results confirm that biochemical seagrass indicators are the most sensitive to water quality improvements within management time-scales (7-10 years) for slow-growing species like P. oceanica. Given the budgetary restrictions under which most management actions operate, the availability of decision-support tools that function at appropriate time-scales is crucial to help managers validate the relative success of their remedial efforts. Our results indicate that low inertia, biochemical seagrass indicators fit this task, and can be a robust set of tools to include in monitoring programmes.

dc.publisherElsevier
dc.titleDetecting water quality improvement along the Catalan coast (Spain) using stress-specific biochemical seagrass indicators
dc.typeJournal Article
dcterms.source.volume54
dcterms.source.startPage161
dcterms.source.endPage170
dcterms.source.issn1470-160X
dcterms.source.titleEcological Indicators
curtin.departmentDepartment of Environment and Agriculture
curtin.accessStatusFulltext not available


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