Search bioRxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.06.01.729212

Experimental Disturbance-Induced Shifts in Benthic Functional Diversity: the importance of marine protected areas in soft-bottom ecosystems

Meijer, K. J.·Franken, O.·Govers, L. L.·van der Heide, T.·Willebrands, E.·de Wilt, M. E.·de Wit, B.·Olff, H.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Benthic communities form the foundation of food webs in coastal and shelf seas worldwide. However, these communities face severe threats from anthropogenic bottom-disturbing activities. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) effectively safeguard benthic communities against such disturbances. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of MPAs for the recovery of benthic communities in highly dynamic soft-bottom areas is much debated, as these communities are thought to be adapted to natural dynamics and therefore resistant to human impacts. In this study, we examine whether MPAs in highly dynamic seas support sensitive communities that are affected by bottom-disturbing fishing gear. Utilising a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) experimental design, we investigated the effects of disturbance caused by a shrimp trawl gear on macrozoobenthic communities within MPAs in a dynamic coastal soft-bottom sea over two years. We assessed changes in taxonomic and functional diversity, as well as community composition, across three levels of trawling intensity and frequency (low intensity and high frequency, high intensity and low frequency, and high intensity and high frequency) compared with undisturbed control areas. The study was carried out in the lower dynamic areas of the study system, where we found that, even light trawling gear impacted functional diversity and community assembly of macrozoobenthic communities, leading to shifts in functional groups. Contrastingly, taxonomic diversity metrics were not affected. We found that taxonomic and functional turnover increased stronger over time than the undisturbed control, with the highest turnover in the most frequently disturbed treatments. Long-living species were negatively impacted by disturbance, and the abundance of scavengers and predators increased in trawled areas, with possible radiating effects into undisturbed areas, while suspension feeders declined. Our findings demonstrate that anthropogenic disturbance remains a relevant ecological pressure, even in areas that may appear resilient due to their dynamic nature. MPAs can then provide ecological benefits by protecting sensitive and functionally important species. Article Impact StatementMarine Protected Areas are effective in safeguarding sensitive communities from anthropogenic disturbance.

Explore related subjects

ecologyPreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Meijer, K. J., Franken, O., Govers, L. L., van der Heide, T., Willebrands, E., de Wilt, M. E., de Wit, B., Olff, H.. 2026-06-04. Experimental Disturbance-Induced Shifts in Benthic Functional Diversity: the importance of marine protected areas in soft-bottom ecosystems. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.06.01.729212

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Species-composition distributions under competition, ecological drift and immigration

Understanding how species interactions, ecological drift, and immigration jointly shape community composition is a central goal of community ecology. These processes determine not only average community composition, but also how often different community states occur. Here, we ask how competition reshapes the neutral distribution of community composition generated by drift and immigration. We analyze a stochastic two-species competition model with immigration and derive the stationary distribution of relative species composition near neutrality. The stationary distribution shows when communities are usually balanced and when they are instead dominated by one species. Species dominance can become common even when the corresponding deterministic model predicts stable coexistence, particularly in smaller communities. Balanced and dominance states can also occur together, producing a trimodal distribution. Competitive asymmetry further biases the distribution toward the competitively favored species. Thus, the interplay between competition, ecological drift, and immigration determines not only how much community composition varies, but also which community states are most likely to be observed. Our results provide an analytical bridge between neutral and competition theory and a framework for interpreting variation in community composition.

ecology↗
bioRxiv2026

Floristic composition, phenology, and conservation value of four peat bogs in Bucovina, with the presence of Betula nana

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the floristic composition and site characteristics of four peat bogs in Bucovina, Romania: Poiana Stampei, Romanesti, Saru Dornei, and Gaina-Lucina. The research was based on phytosociological releves on 25 msq plots and direct field phenological observations, on six field visits from May to August 2026. Vegetation was characterised using the Braun Blanquet method, and floristic similarity between sites was assessed with the Sorensen and Bray Curtis indices. All four plots shared a common core of taxa characteristic of peatland vegetation: Sphagnum spp., Carex rostrata, Drosera rotundifolia, Eriophorum vaginatum, and Vaccinium species. Species richness was 13 taxa at Poiana Stampei, Romanesti, and Saru Dornei, and 12 at Gaina-Lucina. Romanesti and Saru Dornei showed the highest floristic similarity (descriptive values, not statistically tested, given a single releve per site), while Gaina-Lucina differed most markedly, not through species richness, which was similar across sites, but through species identity and through the presence of Betula nana, a glacial relict absent from the other sites. The results provide a descriptive basis for future research on the floristic composition and conservation of these habitats.

ecology↗
bioRxiv2026

Long-Term Surveillance Reveals Establishment of Aedes albopictus in Eastern Nebraska, USA

Aedes albopictus (Skuse), the Asian tiger mosquito, is a highly competent arboviral vector whose range has expanded substantially across the United States over the past four decades. Despite predictive models placing Nebraska within the species' climatically suitable range, its establishment status in the state has remained poorly characterized. Here, we report results from a nine-year mosquito surveillance program (2017-2025) conducted across 44 Nebraska counties in collaboration with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Ae. albopictus was detected in five counties, with sustained, annually increasing populations documented in Richardson, Douglas, and Lancaster counties. Richardson County recorded continuous detections during 2017-2025, with proportional representation rising to 60.50% of collected mosquitoes by 2025. In Douglas and Lancaster counties, temporal advancement of first seasonal detection in 2024 and 2025 provide evidence consistent with successful overwintering rather than annual reintroduction. A cumulative degree-day model predicted adult emergence in mid-May across all county-year combinations, consistently preceding trap deployment by two to seven weeks and revealing a systematic early-season surveillance gap. Generalized linear mixed-effects models indicated that trap-level detection persistence, rather than urban location, was the primary predictor of yearly Ae. albopictus positivity, suggesting that current invasion dynamics are driven by focal source populations. These findings provide strong evidence for the establishment of Ae. albopictus in eastern Nebraska and highlight the need for earlier seasonal surveillance and standardized criteria to define establishment in northward-expanding vector populations.

ecology↗