engineering, fct, universidade nova de lisboa, marine and ...€¦ · 1nelson mandela university,...

Oral communications

Microplastics in the Portuguese Coast

Antunes Joana1, Frias João2, Sobral Paula1

1 MARE, Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre,Department of Science and EnvironmentalEngineering, FCT, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa,Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal; 2 Marine andFreshwater Research Centre (MFRC), Galway-MayoInstitute of Technology (GMIT), Old Dublin Rd., Galway,H91 T8NW, Ireland.email: [email protected]

Marine anthropogenic litter was analyzed ineleven beaches along the Portuguese coast,where 99% of all collected items were plastic and68% were microplastics (MP) in the size range 1 -5 mm. Higher MP concentrations were found inautumn, near industrial areas, port facilities andin beaches exposed to dominant winds. Resinpellets (79%) were the dominant category in theproximity of industrial areas. Higherconcentrations of fragments and polymeric foams(Styrofoam® and foam sponges) were found nearfishing ports. The most frequent size classes were4 and 5 mm (47% and 42% of all findings). Ourresults suggest that MP have a land-based originand are either deliberately discarded oraccidentally lost in watercourses, beaches orcoastal areas. The major stakeholders identified inMP discard and loss were plastic producers andfishing activities. An enforcement of goodpractices at industrial plastic facilities, andenvironmental education among fishermen andthe general public is crucially needed to reduceMP in beaches and coastal areas.

Keywords: Plastic pollution; Beaches; Marine Litter; MSFD; Accumulation

The response of abundance and community structure of ghost crab communities to changes in human beach use and coastal habitat quality in the East MediterraneanMelisa Bal1,2, Batuhan Çağrı Yapan2, KorhanÖzka n 2 1Ataturk Faculty of Education, MarmaraUniversity, Istanbul, Turkey. 2 Institute of MarineSciences, Middle East Technical University,Mersin, Turkey

email: [email protected]

Ghost crabs experience population declines andrange contractions and the environmental driversof these declines should be better understood forefficient coastal management. We surveyed ghostcrab (Ocypode cursor) abundance and communitystructure at four beaches with contrastinganthropogenic pressures in the EastMediterranean Turkish coast during 2016summer. In total 24 transects were located inprotected beaches with limited anthropogenicpressures and neighboring public beaches withintense human use. The protected beacheshosted more ghost crabs than the public beachesand the ghost crabs in the protected beachesinhabited a larger habitat band. Furthermore,ghost crab communities in the protected beachesconsisted of more diverse age groups than that ofpublic beaches. Specifically, the public beacheswere devoid of smaller size crabs. The differencesin the size composition between neighboringpublic and protected beaches suggested that theprotected beaches might act as a sourcepopulation for the neighboring public beaches.Overall, our survey supported that ghost crabsmay be used as indicator species foranthropogenic pressures on coastal ecosystemsand the protected areas scattered alongurbanized coastal regions may act as a refugearea and support ghost crab populations in theneighboring beaches facing higher anthropogenicpressures.

Keywords: Anthropogenic Pressures, Beach Use,Coastal Management and Conservation, IndicatorSpecies, Size Diversity

Oral communications

Microplastic pollution on sandy beaches withdifferent human-induced pressures from theEuropean Atlantic coast (Portugal)Filipa Bessa1, Carlos Gonçalves1, Paula Sobral 2 João Carlos Marques1

1 MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Coimbra, 3004-517 Coimbra, Portugal; MARE – Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus da Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal


Microplastic pollution on sandy beaches is anissue of major current concern due to theirecological and economic impacts. Yet ourunderstanding of the levels of microplastics inthese ecosystems and the drivers of thesevariations are still limited. In this study, theabundance and composition of microplasticswere determined in four beaches with differentdegrees of urban pressure (industrial, urban, peri-urban and rural beaches) in the European Atlanticcoast (Portugal). Beach sediments (5 replicates,50 cm squares, along the drift-line) were collectedin January, June and September 2016. Significantdifferences were found between the levels ofmicroplastics between the beaches selected, withthe maximum concentrations of 79 particles m-2

observed in the most urban beach, while thebeach with lower levels was the rural beach(mean 10 particles m-2). The particles wereprimarily fragments, pellets and fibres with variedcolors. The chemical composition of selectedparticles was analysed using Fourier transforminfrared spectroscopy (FTIR). A sub-samplerevealed that the dominant plastic polymers werepolyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene. Weprovide a baseline for future monitoring anddiscuss how urbanization of coastal areas caninfluence the levels of microplastics on sandybeaches.

Keywords: Microplastics, Sandy Beaches,Urbanization, Plastic Polymers, Atlantic coast.

Habitat and trophic significance of externalsubsidies in wrack-associated beach macrofaunaassemblages Filipa Bessa1*, Alexandra Baeta1,João CarlosMarques1, Francisco Arenas-2, Iván F. Rodil2,3,4

1 MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre,Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade deCoimbra, 3004-517 Coimbra, Portugal; 2CIIMAR-Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and EnvironmentalResearch (CIIMAR/CIMAR), University of Porto, 4450-208 Matosinhos, Portugal; 3 Tvärminne ZoologicalStation, University of Helsinki, Hanko, Finland; 4 BalticSea Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.


The ecological role of algal wrack as key habitat-forming species and their trophic significance formacrofauna was examined by experimentalmanipulation in a sandy beach from the easternAtlantic coast. We selected 8 algal speciesaccording to their identity and structuralcomplexity: Laminaria ochroleuca, Saccorhizapolyschides, Cystoseira tamarascifolia, Bifurcariabifurcata (all native), Undaria pinnatifida,Grateloupia turuturu, Sargassum muticum, andGracilaria vermiculophyla (all non-native). Thirty-six replicated (n = 4) wrack patches made ofdifferent algal species were randomly placed inthe supralittoral zone, parallel to the shoreline.After a week, we collected the wrack patches andanalyzed the composition of the macrofaunalspecies associated to each patch. Representativesamples of macroinvertebrate consumers andwrack algal species were collected for isotopicanalyses to quantify the resource contributions tobeach consumers. Our analyses indicated asignificant dominance of macrofauna (i.e. higherabundance and diversity) in wrack patches madeof structurally complex algal species and wrackmixtures compared to patches made of simplemonocultures. We suggest that increasingabundances of invasive algal species will promotechanges in the identity traits of the wrackentering sandy beaches. This scenario canpotentially affect the habitat choices ofmacrofauna with potential implications for sandybeach food webs.

Keywords: Sandy Beaches, Macrofauna, InvasiveSpecies, Food Webs, Stable Isotopes.

Oral communications

Sandy beach ecosystem response to different Climate Change and related management scenarios Fabio Bozzeda 1 , Simone Gambineri2, Filipa Bessa3 and Felicita Scapinii

1 Centro de Investigación Dinámica de EcosistemasMarinos de Altas Latitudes (IDEAL), UniversidadAustral de Chile, Punta Arenas-Chile, 2 University ofFlorence, Department of Biology, Florence, Italy;3MARE Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre,Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University ofCoimbra, Portugal.

email: [email protected] (Amphipoda, Talitridae) orientationhas been proposed as bioindicator of sandybeaches ecosystem stability. By a machinelearning approach we created three predictivemodels trained with behavioural data(orientation) of a large scale dataset, fromMediterranean and eastern Atlantic beaches. Thethree models were validated on three test sets ofmore than 4000 independent observations andapplied to create three scenarios related to sandybeaches response to Climate Change. Scenarioswere built according to the expected variations ofbeach slopes (unchanged to 30 degrees) andbeach width (0 to 200 meters). Four scenarioswere obtained for each condition considered, fora total of 12 scenarios, to which a shorelinevariation in direction of 30 degrees was added,associated with the variation induced by coastaldefence works. The results show that slopeincrease positively influences the orientation bydecreasing the variability around the dominantseawards direction, whereas the decrease inbeach width causes an increase in variability. Thegreatest impact is caused by shoreline variation indirection, associated to the works of defence,whose presence induces confusion in sandhopperorientation.

Keywords: Talitridae; Scenarios; Behaviour

Towards a paradigm for sandy beach macroinfaunal connectivityKarien Bezuidenhout 1 , Ronel Nel1, Lorenz Hauser1,2, David Schoeman1,3

1Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa, 2University of Washington, Seattle, USA, 3University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia


Population connectivity is fundamental to thepersistence of many species. Beaches facenumerous threats; reports of decliningpopulations and extirpations emphasise the needto identify drivers of population connectivity inbeach species. Genetics is currently the mostpractical tool available to study dispersal amongmarine invertebrate populations, and so to informon population resilience. Here, COI structure (ΦST)of 17 beach macroinfaunal species (using noveland published data), was assessed as a functionof life history (pelagic -, benthic lecithotrophic,and direct development), zonation patterns(sublittoral, midlittoral, supralittoral), andlatitudinal range. Analyses revealed low tomoderate genetic structure among populations ofmost intertidal taxa, including pelagic and benthicdevelopers, but strong, significant differentiationamong brooders. Zonation revealed an evenclearer pattern, with genetic structure increasingsignificantly up shore. No clear latitudinal trendswere evident, however. Life history (pelagic larvaevs. non-larval development) thus seems to be astrong indicator of genetic connectivity, withsupratidal direct developers particularly prone topopulation isolation. Supratidal populations maytherefore have low resilience, with a poor abilityto recover from perturbations by means ofrecolonization, which further emphasize the needfor proper land-sea protection to adequatelypreserve beach biodiversity.

Keywords: Genetic Connectivity, Life History,Macroinfauna, Resilience, Zonation

Oral communications

Impact of groundwater discharge on thesubsurface biogeochemistry of a high-energysandy beach system on a NW German barrierisland

Hans Brumsack1, Melanie Beck1, Janis Ahrens1,and BIME project members1,2,3

1Institut für Chemie und Biologie des Meeres (ICBM), Universität Oldenburg, Germany; 2Institut für Biologie, Universität Oldenburg, Germany; 3Max Planck Institut für Marine Mikrobiologie, Bremen, Germany


The discharge of fresh groundwater andrecirculated seawater into the beach face formsan important nutrient-source to the coastalocean. We have performed severalinterdisciplinary sampling campaigns on aGerman North Sea barrier island sandy beachsystem, to study biogeochemical processes on aseasonal scale. Hydrogeological, biogeochemical,and microbiological investigations wereperformed in order to understand the highlydynamic beach subsurface. The island ischaracterized by a freshwater lens and advectivegroundwater flow (SGD) forming a subterraneanestuary (STE) with notable redox and salinityvariations. At the beach face an upper salineplume, a saltwater wedge and a freshwaterdischarge tube are observed. Seasonal changes inbeach topography and groundwater seeping wereidentified via salinity anomalies during transectand grid sampling. Besides nutrients and tracemetals, microbial abundances and communitystructure were determined along the transects.Groundwater/seawater mixtures contain ordersof magnitude more nitrogen, silicate, dissolvedorganic carbon, phosphate, and iron, than coastalseawater. STE fluid composition is influenced bychemical transformation reactions, supply withfresh marine organic matter, aquifer geology,residence time, and microbial communitystructure. The consequences of SGD for potentialeutrophication resp. contamination of nearshorewaters have to be considered when establishingbeach management strategies.

Keywords: Subterranean Groundwater Discharge(SGD), Subterranean Estuary (STE),Biogeochemistry, Sandy Beach System

Growth of polychaete Laeonereis culveri(Webster, 1879) on a tidal plain in the Southeastregion of Brazil

Priscila Candido Baroni1, Bruno Sampieri, A.Cecília Z. Amaral1Institute of Biology, Universidade Estadual deCampinas, Rua Monteiro Lobato, 255, CidadeUniversitária, Campinas, SP, Brazil.

email: [email protected] growth of the semelparous speciesLaeonereis culveri was studied through a monthlysampling from December 2016 to November2017 in the intertidal region of the tidal flat ofAraçá Bay (São Sebastião-SP), using the width ofthe 6th setiger (W6) as an indicator of size andfrequency. This bay went through constantchanges that generated severe impacts on itshydrodynamics and general environment, but itstill shows a high biodiversity and productivityevidenced by the results of a thematic project:the Biota / FAPESP-Araçá, which identifiedLaeonereis culveri as a key species for themonitoring of the bay. A total of 2,296 individualsfrom different sizes were obtained (with higheroccurrence of 0.91-1.10 mm W6), indicating thepresence of distinct development stages. Thedensity peaked in April (0.0029 ind.m-3), May(0.023 ind.m-3), June (0.024 ind.m-3) andSeptember (0.0025 ind.m-3). These abrupt rises indensity occurred due the incidence of juveniles.During November 2017, few specimens werefound because of the heavy rains at the period.Probably, the sediment type and the increase inorganic matter had an influence on the capabilityof L. culveri to reduce the growth period withoutaffecting the size of the adult.

Keywords: Polychaete; Benthic Fauna; Growth;Monitoring

Oral communications

Recreational Carrying Capacity Analysis on Mexican Tourist Beaches: An overviewOmar Cervantes1, Camilo Botero2, TeresaMartínez3, Enzo Pranzini4, Giorgio Anfuso5, GiseleOrtiz1, Juan Carlos Chávez1

1Faculty of Marine Sciences, University of Colima, Manzanillo, México; 2 School of Law, Universidad Sergio Arboleda, Santa Marta, Colombia, 3Faculty of Civil Engeniering, University of Colima, Manzanillo, México, 4Department of Marine Sciences, University of Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain; 5Departament of Earth Sciences, University Of Florence, Florence, Italy.email: [email protected]

Beaches constitute an important economic motorincome for tourism of the 3 Ss (Sun, Sea andSand). For locals they are important areas forrecreation because of their free access byfamilies, granting their use over all weekends. Intourist beaches, the carrying capacity indicatesthe threshold of beach use for tourist activity, yetmaintaining the capacity to provide satisfaction tovisitors. The models defining an optimum numberof visitors allow to establish ranges of beach usesbased on four approaches: physical, ecological,economic and social. They contribute to preventenvironmental damage to the recreational qualityand also offer a certainty to potential serviceproviders and administrators about the touristdemand that is required to supply. This researchpresents the study of the tourist load capacity inthe main sun and beach destinations of thepacific coast, Mexican riviera: Los Cabos, RivieraNayarit, Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo, Ixtapa,Huatulco and the Caribbean Sea, Riviera Maya:Cancun. The concept is dynamic and relativebecause socio- environmental variables finallydepend on circumstances such as changes inbeach conditions and variation in threshold ofuse. Therefore, any load capacity must bedetermined periodically in a sequential andcontinuous process of planning and integralmanagement.

Keywords: Sandy beaches; Recreational CarryingCapacity; Mexican Riviera, Pacific Riviera.

Nestedness patterns and the role ofenvironment and space on the sandy beachmacrofaunaHelio Herminio Checon1, Guilherme NascimentoCorte1, Yasmina M. L. Shah Esmaeili1, A Cecília Z.Amaral 1 1Department of Animal Biology, University ofCampinas, Campinas, Brazil


Sandy beach macrobenthic assemblages arethought to be structured by morphodynamiccharacteristics, and higher environmental stresscaused by hydrodynamic conditions ishypothesized to limit species occurrence. As aconsequence, the species pool inhabiting harsherreflective beaches (steep slope, coarser grainsand high hydrodynamic stress) would be a subsetof (i.e., nested in) the fauna of nearby dissipativebeaches (gentle slope, fine sands and lowhydrodynamics). The direct existence of a nestedpattern on sandy beach assemblages, however, isstill overlooked. We investigated whethernestedness can be found on the distribution ofmacrobenthic assemblages on a set of sandybeaches with distinct morphodynamic conditions.Additionally, we tested whether environmentexerts a stronger influence on macrobenthicdistribution than space (i.e., distance amongbeaches). Although species richness was higher atdissipative beaches, no nestedness pattern wasfound. Exclusive species were registered at almostevery beach, and composition varied greatlyamong beach types. Space had an overallstronger influence on macrobenthic distributionthan morphodynamic and sedimentary variables,suggesting that macrobenthic species aredispersion limited. Given that different sandybeaches harbor different pools of species,conservation programs need to focus on sandybeaches with complementary characteristics topreserve coastal biodiversity.

Keywords: Metacommunity; Dispersal; VariationPartitioning; Conservation

Oral communications

Erosion and urbanization effects on intertidal benthic macrofauna in the northern Adriatic beaches.

Marina Antonia Colangelo 1 and Fabio Bozzeda2

1 Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche edAmbientali (BIGEA) University of Bologna, Ravenna,Italy; 2Centro de Investigación Dinámica deEcosistemas Marinos de Altas Latitudes (IDEAL),Universidad Austral de Chile, Punta Arenas-Chileemail: [email protected] sandy beaches on the Emilia-Romagna coast(Northern Adriatic) were sampled to investigatemacrofaunal assemblages. The chosen beacheshave similar morphodynamic conditions, thesame (micro-) tidal range and similar exposures,but differ by degree of contrasting anthropicimpacts, mainly related to extending recreationareas and to protect them from natural erosionby different coastal protection options.Unfortunately, little consideration is given toimpact on communities of beach’s soft bottomhabitats. In this study we investigated patterns ofcommunity structure of macrofauna in intertidalzone. Sampling of both macrofauna andenvironmental variables was carried out at twotidal levels: high and low, along replicatetransects. Changes were observed amongenvironmental variables, such as granulometryand organic matter content, as well as in relatedmacrobenthic assemblages of the differentlyimpacted beaches. Overall, the observed changesdid not show an ordinate gradient from morenatural to more managed beach, but a morecomplex response to erosion and managementoptions combined effects was observed. Lastly,considering the degree of urbanization anderosion, we have produced a categorization of thebeaches, which could be a useful and exportablemetric to better assess and manage the effects ofconsidered factors on sandy beaches ecologicalpatterns.

Keywords: Intertidal Sandy Beach Macrofauna;Management; Erosion; Coastal Urbanization

Socio-hydro-ecological basis for a sustainablesand barrier-breaching model in a protectedcoastal lagoon

Daniel Conde 1 , Sebastián Solari3, LorenaRodríguez-Gallego1, Daniel de Álava1, NataliaVerrastro1, Christian Chreties3, Ximena Lagos1,Gustavo Piñeiro2, Daniel Panario2

1Centro Universitario Regional Este, Universidad de laRepública, Uruguay; 2Facultad de Ciencias, Universidadde la República, Uruguay; 3Facultad de Ingeniería,Universidad de la República, Uruguaye-mail: [email protected]

Sandy barrier complexes coupled to coastallagoons play a key role in defining the ecologicalfunctioning of these fragile ecosystems and theirservices. The artificial manipulation of the barriernatural dynamics (e.g. to control floods, improvefisheries, urbanization) and climate changeaggravate conflicts among stakeholders, imposingthreats to conservation. Laguna de Rocha(Uruguay) is an emblematic protected lagoonwhere the sandy barrier opening has been underdebate for decades. A transdisciplinary effort ofscientists, authorities and local stakeholdersallowed developing a protocol for the sustainableartificial opening of the sandy barrier, aimed toreduce conflicts and preserve the naturalhydrology. We present the socio-hydro-ecologicalbasis on which the protocol was founded,including the historical reconstruction of thebreaching practices, stakeholders’ interests, ageomorphological survey of the sandy barrier andits evolution, a hydrological study to understandthe oceanic/internal processes driving theopening, and the extent of public/private landflooding. The breaching protocol was agreed on areduced set of indicators (water depth, sandyberm elevation, and rainfall forecast). Its successis based upon the existence of a participatorygroup advising on local environmental problemsand represents a major improvement given theevidences demonstrating the environmental costof manipulating sandy barriers.

Keywords: Sandy Barrier Complex; ProtectedCoastal Lagoon; Artificial Opening; Hydrology;Conservation; Stakeholders.

Oral communications

SENVISAT: Monitoring the evolution of thecoastline and the dune vegetation cover of theMarine Natural Park of the Gulf of Lion fromvery high resolution satellite imagery (Occitanie– France)Myriam Cros 1 , Arthur Bourachot1, HuguesHeurtefeux1, Nicolas Robin2, Gregory Agin3

1EID Méditerranée, Montpellier, France; 2Centre inMediterrean Environment Research (LaboratoireCEFREM) - University of Perpignan Via Domitia(UPVD), France; 3Marine Natural Park of the Gulf ofLion, France.email: [email protected]

The SENVISAT project (2017-2020), developed inpartnership with the Marine Natural Park of theGulf of Lion, EID Méditerranée and UPVD –CEFREM, aims to conduct a feasibility study usingsatellite imagery for environmental monitoring ofthe coastline. The shore of the Park are heavilyinfluenced by meteorological forcing and humanactivities. Those activities have influenced in thephysical environment impacting habitats andcoastal ecosystems. Therefore, those severalimpacts produce the shoreline retreat and loss ofsediment from the beach, or even from the dune.The methodology implemented is based on theprocessing of Pleiades satellite imagery via freesoftware such as the Orfeo toolbox developed byCNES and QGIS in order to: extract the shoreline,survey the dune vegetation cover, distinguishdune morphologies (especially grey and whitedunes) and to produce an indicator ofgeomorphological evolution of the dune system(shoreline and vegetation change detection).

Keywords: Sandy Beaches, Shoreline Monitoring, Dune Vegetation Survey, Remote Sensing

Increased erosion of sea turtle nesting beachesbecause of non-native Casuarina spp. presence,sea level rise and storm activity: A BeachVulnerability AssessmentDeidre de Vos1, Derek du Preez1, Linda Harris1,Ronel Nel1

1Nelson Mandela University, South Africa


The world’s beaches are under severepressure, because of anthropogenic modificationand climate change. The most common coastalmanagement approaches have focused largely onthe protection of infrastructure withoutconsidering the function of the beach and dunesystem as a natural protective barrier and adiverse ecosystem. Large scale plantations of non-native vegetation have been initiated in manycountries as a coastal protection tool, which notonly does not adequately function as a stormprotection measure, but has been proven to haveother adverse effects, including the promotion oferosion in some instances and negative impactson sea turtles. The extent of the use of exoticvegetation, specifically Casuarina spp., wasassessed on 50 sea turtle nesting beaches of theIndian Ocean region, with a concomitantassessment of beach vulnerability to erosion(using a novel index). Beach vulnerability wasclassified according to four managementprioritisation categories: 1) High Risk-High Threat;2) High Risk-Low Threat; 3) Low Risk-High Threatand 4) Low Risk-Low Threat. The High Risk-HighThreat category included 14 % of the beaches andoverall, non-native Casuarina spp. occurred on 28%, including some with sensitive sea turtlespecies. The study emphasizes the need formanagement prioritisation of several sea turtlenesting beaches and concludes that Casuarinaspp. are an inappropriate coastal protectionmeasure. Where feasible the removal of non-native Casuarina spp. is recommended.

Keywords: Beaches, Casuarina spp., Vulnerability

Oral communications

Artificial light pollution negatively affects thelocomotor activity of a sandy beach arthropod.

Cristian Duarte1, Pedro Quijon2, Patricio HManriquez3, Jose Pulgar1, Diego Quintanilla1,Cristian Miranda1, Stephen Widdicombe4

1Departamento de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Facultadde Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Universidad AndresBello, Chile; 2Department of Biology, University ofPrince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue,Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, Canada; 3 Laboratorio deEcología y Conducta de la Ontogenia Temprana(LECOT), Centro de Estudios Avanzados en ZonasÁridas (CEAZA), Coquimbo, Chile; 4 Plymouth MarineLaboratory, Prospect Place, West Hoe, Plymouth PL13DH, UK


Natural light sources play a fundamental role onan array of organisms and ecological processes.However, human activity and the growth ofinfrastructure has resulted in a widespreadincrease in artificial light pollution that threats toalter the natural light cycles. The growth of lightpollution (LP) is expected to affect biodiversity.Nevertheless, the effects of LP on sandy beachorganisms have remained largely unexplored. Inresponse to this lag in our knowledge, weassessed the influence of LP on the locomotoractivity the onyscoid isopodTylos spinulosus bothin field and laboratory conditions. In the field, anartificial light system was assembled to assess theinfluence of artificial light conditions on theisopod’s locomotor activity. Meanwhile in thelaboratory, two experimental chambers were setto assess the same activity using actographsunder artificial light and natural light-dark cycles.Our results indicate that artificial light haveadverse effects on the locomotor activity patternsboth in the field and in the laboratory. Inlaboratory conditions, in particular, we were ableto detect the loss of the isopod's circadianrhythm. Given the steady increase in artificiallight pollution, the effects on sandy beachorganisms could have unexpected consequencesfor the whole ecosystem.

Keywords: Light Pollution; Locomotor Activity;Arthropod

Quantifying ecological responses to trophicconnectivity between sandy beaches and kelpforestsJenifer E. Dugan1, David M Hubbard1, Kyle EEmery1, Robert Miller1, Carter Ohlman2, JessicaMadden1

1Marine Science Institute, University of California,Santa Barbara, USA2Earth Research Institute, University of California,Santa Barbara, USAemail: [email protected] trophic links between ecosystemsis necessary to predict food web responses to achanging environment. We quantified trophicconnectivity between giant kelp (Macrocystispyrifera) forests with very high primaryproduction (donor ecosystems) and sandybeaches with low in situ primary production(recipient ecosystems). The large amounts of driftkelp exported from kelp forests to beaches areknown to fuel diverse and productive intertidalfood webs. We estimated kelp delivery from kelpforests to beaches and beach ecosystemresponses using shoreline surveys (18-25 km),tagged kelp, and modeled currents. Kelp removalfrom forests and its delivery to beaches variedgreatly in time and space. Kelp deposition andretention were strongly influenced by shorelinecharacteristics and proximity to kelp forests.Recipient beach ecosystems, specifically wrackconsumers and food webs, responded clearly tospatial dynamics of trophic subsidies even on alocal scale. Diversity and abundance of theseconsumers were greatest on beaches with upperbeach habitat and near headlands. Reproductivebiology of an endangered shorebird, the WesternSnowy Plover, was also strongly correlated withspatial variation in wrack and wrack-associatedprey abundance and composition. Our resultssuggest that spatial variation in trophicconnectivity can strongly affect beach ecosystemstructure and function.

Keywords: Subsidy, Kelp Wrack, Spatial Scales,Biodiversity, Shorebird, Snowy Plover

Oral communications

Exploring population responses of wrackconsumers to pulsed marine subsidies anddisturbance regimes on open coast beachesusing long term dataKyle Emery¹, Nicholas Schooler¹, Jenifer Dugan¹,David Hubbard¹, Kyle Cavanaugh²¹Marine Science Institute, University of California,Santa Barbara, California, USA; ²Department ofGeography, University of California, Los Angeles,California, USAemail: [email protected] dynamics can be closely linked toresource availability and to disturbance regimes.Although in situ primary production is low, sandybeaches can support diverse food webs throughsubsidies from donor marine ecosystems. InCalifornia (USA) sandy beaches receive largepulsed subsides of marine macroalgal wrack fromrocky reefs and kelp forests. Using long term dataon wrack inputs and a guild of sandy beach wrackconsumers we investigate how consumerpopulation abundance and biomass track thesesubsidies and whether responses to subsidyfluctuations are lagged and/or species specific.We examine how consumer populations respondnot only to variation in macrophyte wrackstanding stock, but to variation in donorecosystem condition as estimated by satellite-derived estimates of kelp forest (Macrocystispyrifera) canopy biomass and sea surfacetemperature. We explore responses of consumerpopulations to disturbance that alters beachhabitats, including upper beach zones and sandsupply. Results indicate links between subsidyinputs and consumer population dynamics thatare strongly mediated by the presence of upperbeach zones. Wrack consumer populationdynamics are strong indicators for the conditionof beach food webs and are useful in estimatingthe magnitude of various ecosystem functions,such as decomposition, nutrient remineralizationand secondary production.

Keywords: Sandy beaches; wrack; consumers;subsidy; disturbance; donor and recipientecosystems

Fish communities of sandy beach surf zones:Unravelling the myths, exploring differentmethodologies and providing knowledge formanagement strategiesYasmina M.L. Shah Esmaeili 1 , Antonia Cecilia Z.Amaral1, Alexander Turra2

1Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto deBiologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, CEP 13-083-862, Campinas-SP, Brasil; 2Departamento deOceanographia Biológica, Instituto Oceanográfico,Universidade de São Paulo – USP, Praça doOceanográfico, 191, Cidade Universitária, CEP 05508-120 São Paulo, SP, Brasilemail: [email protected] Surf zones of sandy beaches are known to beimportant habitats for fishes, but few studies sofar focused on this habitat. As a consequence,there is a need to explore factors that mayexplain the temporal and spatial variability inspecies composition to better preserve theecosystem services this habitat provides.Understanding environmental and anthropogenicfactors driving surf zone assemblages and as wellas its internal ecological processes, and theconnectivity among surf zones and adjacentecosystems should therefore be considered. Thisproject has 5 main objectives: (1) to find the bestsampling method for this environment bycomparing two sampling techniques (beach seinenetting and the use of cameras); (2) to describethe unstudied surf zone fish communities of a setof Brazilian sandy beaches with differentecological and social features; (3) to assess whichfactors drive differences in fish communitycompositions between beaches by investigatingthe role of several environmental factors andanthropogenic impacts. Lastly, we will (4)investigate connectivity between sandy beachesand off shore environments and (5) trophicinteractions in the surf zone. The conclusive aimof this study is to implement this into amanagement plan in order to preserve thesevaluable natural resources.

Key words: Sandy Beaches, Surf Zone, BRUVs,Connectivity, Food webs

Oral communications

Substrate-related communities: a study ondiscriminating ecology and traits of beachresident faunaLucia Fanini1, Adamantia Tsouchnika2, StefanoTaiti3, Maria Chatzaki4, Giuseppe Mazza5,Panagiota Koulouri1, Jim Lowry6

1Institute for Marine Biology Biotechnology andAquaculture, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research,Crete, Greece; 2University of Copenhagen, Denmark;3Centro Nazionale delle Ricerche, Italy; 4DemocritusUniversity of Thrace, Greece; 5Council for AgriculturalResearch and Agricultural Economy Analysis, Italy;6Australian Museum Research Institute, Sydney,Australia


The Habitat Harshness Hypothesis defines a harshhabitat as the one in which the interactionbetween substrate and swash energy makesburrowing extremely hard, i.e. exposed beacheswith coarser substrates. Not all beach residentfauna however relies on burrowing capabilities.Beaches covered in cobbles or decayingmacroalgae can host non substrate-relatedspecies, and the role of the substrate dryingdynamics could become relevant. Two studieshence targeted: 1) analysis of residentcommunities on a set of six pocket beaches withsame exposure and different substrates, 2)presence/absence of amphipods and isopods on31 beaches around the island of Crete,characterised by different exposure andsubstrate. Data analysed with PRIMER routinesindicate differences between residentcommunities of sandy substrates and mixed andcobble substrates. This pattern is however basedon the contribution of water-breathing organismssuch as amphipods and isopods (global R =0.666), while patterns of air-breathing organisms(mostly insects and spiders) were found evenacross the range of substrates (global R = 0.077).Logistic regression models further point to thedifferent relevance of habitat harshness tosubstrate-related categories within water-breathers. The analysis of substrate as driver ofdiversity patterns should therefore be extendedbeyond burrowing, substrate-related species.

Keywords: Substrate; Traits; Talitridae; Oniscidae

Benthic quality assessment and changes inmidlittoral sand community structure, in theorganically enriched area of Alykes Kitrous(Thermaikos Gulf), Greece.

Antonios Geropoulos1, Michalis Mavidis2,Athanasios Koukouras2

1Department of Biology, School of Science andEngineering, University of Crete, Greece; 2Departmentof Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Aristotle University,Thessaloniki, Greece


Thermaikos Gulf receives a rich input of organicmatter from three-river basin resulting in a highproductivity area of northeast Mediterranean.The concentrated organic matter has a strongeffect in the community structure of midlittoralsandy beaches. The effects of the ongoingpollution of Thermaikos Gulf, described in July1976 and July 2003. Macrofaunal samples weretaken at eight positions along a transect extendedfrom the upper to the lower midlittoral zone atAlykes Kitrous beach, using a special corersampler, 50 cm2 surface and 30 cm length. Theanalysis of the faunal composition revealed thatin 1976, the characteristic community ofDonacilla cornea and Ophelia bicornis waspresent in the area, with Eurydice affinis,Scolelepis squamata, Saccocirrus papillocerus,and Pisione remota having high abundances. Onthe contrary, in 2003 this community appeareddisorganized with O. bicornis and P. remotaabsent from the community and the abundancesof the other characteristic species were reduced.The disturbance is confirmed with the use ofbenthic indices. The changes in the diversity andabundance of the community, as well as thealterations in the spatial distribution of thespecies, are given and discussed in relation to theongoing pollution in Thermaikos Gulf.

Keywords: Sandy Beaches; Community Ecology;Midlittoral Zone; Organic Enrichment

Oral communications

On the use of airborne photogrammetry withdrone for high-resolution beachmorphodynamics surveys.

Mathieu Gervais1, Hugues Heurtefeux1, MyriamCros 1, Nicolas Sidos1

1EID-Méditerranée, Montpellier, France


Technical means to carry out monitoring of sandybeaches to assess erosion process on coastlinehave seen the booming of new remote sensingtechnics this last 10-20 years. It encompassestechniques as video camera monitoring, LiDARtopographic and bathymetric surveys by plane, aswell as recently the photogrammetry with lighteraircraft and drone (or unmanned aerial vehicle).The latter technique has really emerged forcoastal application this last 5 to 10 years thanksto spreading of Structure-from-Motion (SfM)algorithms in various software solutions andcommercial development of drone forrecreational use. The SfM algorithm for imageanalysis is able to identify ground textures fromnumerous camera angles. Indeed this algorithmmay compute from numerous sub-vertical aerialphotographs and few control point placed on theground some very accurate digital surface model(depending on drone camera resolution). Ourcontribution is mainly to assess the advantage ofsuch a solution against other beach surveymethods and to present result on 3 sites in theSouth of France. Accuracy of data is striking tomodel the surface of the sub-aerial beaches,including beach cusps, ridge and runnelmorphology and storm erosion scrapes. Apparentobjects on the dune as dune vegetation and sandfence can be seen distinctively. On the activeshoreface (sandy bare ground) the accuracy ofelevation is estimated with an error less than 0.1m which fulfills most of the expectation for beachsurvey.

Keywords: Sandy Beaches; AirbornePhotogrammetry; Beach Surveys;Morphodynamics.

Life on the edge: Predicting effects of sea level rise on sandy beach ecosystems

Hubbard, David. M.1, Jenifer E. Dugan1, Patrick L.Barnard2, Kyle Emery1, Daniel Hoover2 and AlexSnyder2

1Marine Science Institute, University of California,Santa Barbara, California, 93106, USA; 2United StatesGeological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine ScienceCenter, 2885 Mission Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 USAemail: [email protected] Projected sea level rise (SLR) threatens thebiodiversity and functions of sandy beachecosystems. To generate predictions of ecological responses ofCalifornia beaches to SLR, we integrated a coastalhazard model of total water level and shorelineevolution (CoSMoS) with high-resolution data onthe elevation and distributions of beach featuresimportant to biota. We focused on upper beachzones which are most vulnerable to erosion. Lossof upper zones will strongly impact wrack-associated biota, reducing biodiversity by 40-50%,decreasing prey available for birds and fish andeliminating nesting habitat for threatenedwildlife. These zones also support sand-trappingvegetation, sand accumulation and nutrientcycling, and provide buffer areas that mobileintertidal animals use during extreme conditions.The landward beach boundary (dune, bluff,armoring) strongly affected upper zonevulnerability. Model results for 50 cm SLRprojected significant declines (average >70%,range 51-98%) in widths of upper zones for studybeaches with most rapid losses for armored thenbluff-backed beaches. Dune-backed beaches weremore resilient. Opportunities for preserving intactbeach ecosystems are limited to beaches thathave scope for retreat. These can includegroomed and filled beaches, currently managedfor recreation that could be restored to preservebiodiversity and ecological functions.

Keywords: Biodiversity; Total Water Level;Foredune; Shoreline evolution; EcologicalEnvelope

Oral communications

Long term monitoring of sandy beaches: thechallenges of analysing macrofaunal data fromtwo time periods

Jenni E. Kakkonen1, 4,Teresa F. Fernandes 2,John M.Baxter 3,Michael C. Bell 4

1Orkney Islands Council Harbour Authority, Orkney, UK;2Institute of Life and Earth Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK; 3Scottish Natural Heritage, Edinburgh, UK; 4 Institute of Life and Earth Sciences, International Centre for Island Technology, Heriot-WattUniversity Orkney Campus, UKemail: [email protected] sandy beach monitoring programme wasestablished in the Orkney Islands in 1974 inresponse to an Environmental Impact Assessmentfor oil terminal. The programme was finished in1989 and all monitoring ceased for a period of 12or more years. When the monitoring wasrestarted in 2002 changes were applied to themonitoring programme. Monitoring resumed inonly eight of the original sites; five new sites wereadded, the number of sampling stations at eachsite was reduced and the survey timing changedfrom summer to late winter. Data from these siteswere used to explore long-term patterns ofvariability in benthic macro-invertebrateabundance and community composition,examining also the contribution of differenceswithin and between sites to overall variability andassessing the nature of the baseline against whichany perturbation must be measured. We examinethe extent to which interruption of surveycontinuity, and changes in survey design andprotocol may affect the ability to quantify thisbaseline and draw inferences about long-termspatterns. Results highlight the importance ofaccounting for background variability indetermining the extent to which environmentalimpacts can be detected by a biologicalmonitoring programme and in measuring thescale of any impact.

Keywords: Long-term monitoring, Sandy Beaches;Macrofauna, Benthic.

Surface activity patterns as a mechanism ofniche separation of sympatric talitrid amphipodson California beaches.Valerie Kramer 1 , Jenifer Dugan2, Robert Miller2,Kyle Emery2

1Department of Biological Sciences, Kent StateUniversity at Stark, North Canton, Ohio, USA. 2MarineScience Institute, University of California, SantaBarbara, California, USAemail: [email protected] availability of limiting resources canpotentially affect inter- and intraspecificinteractions. The competitive exclusion principlestates that two species competing for the samelimiting resource cannot coexist at productivepopulation levels, however, in California, fourspecies of talitrid amphipod (Megalorchestiacaliforniana, M. corniculata, M. benedicti, M.minor) coexist on sandy beaches. These mobiledetritivores are major consumers of macroalgalsubsidies from nearshore reefs. We investigatedthe hypothesis that differences in surface activitypatterns may provide a key mechanism thatallows these closely related congeners to coexistby reducing interspecific competition for food andspace resources using pitfall traps and mesocosmobservations during spring and neap tides.Surface pitfall activity patterns differedsignificantly among species with, M. californianaafter sunset, and M. minor and M. benedictishortly after sunrise. Surface mesocosm activitypatterns also differed significantly, showing M.californiana after sunset, M. corniculata peakingbetween 2am and 6am, M. minor peakingthroughout the night, and M. benedicti peakingright after sunrise. Differences in activity amongspecies were more pronounced during neap tideswhen preferred habitat is more restricted. Ourresults suggest these sympatric talitridamphipods decrease interspecific competition viabehavioral separation.

Keywords: Sandy Beaches; Talitrid Amphipods;Niche Separation; Interspecific Competition

Oral communications

Large natural and anthropogenicdisturbances inthe anthropogenic era: Motors of coastalchanges along Chilean sandy beaches

Eduardo Jaramillo1

1Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra, Millenium Nucleous CYCLO (The Seismic Cycle Along Subdiction Zones) and TAQUACH (Transdisciplinary Center for Quaternary Research), Universidad Austral de Chile (UACh), Valdivia, Chileemail: [email protected]

Community attributes of the sand beachmacrofauna, have been mostly analyzed inrelation to physical and biological factors, usuallyoperating at a near scale distance. Not muchattention has been paid to large naturaldisturbances operating at far scale distances fromsites, even when for example, subductionearthquakes, tsunamis and surge storms are keymotors of changes in landscape and biologicalcommunities over large coastal areas around theglobe. In recent years, the effects of some ofthose disturbances are being exacerbated byextra factors like coastal urbanization andintensification of extreme weather variability, themost visible facet of climate change. Thus,extreme events focused research has increased,becoming a key issue to cope with uncertaintiesarising from the occurrence of extremedisturbances which can displace ecosystems intonew stages due to novel environmentalconditions. Responses and resilience of Chileansandy beaches are analyzed by comparing theeffects of earthquakes, ensuing tsunamis andstorm surges on community attributes which arealso analyzed in relation to the disposal of minetailings, by far, the most notorious anthropogeniclarge scale disturbances along the coast ofnorthern Chile.

Supported by FONDECYT Project 1121043, CYCLO,TAQUACH and Dirección de Investigación yDesarrollo, UACh

Keywords: Sandy Beaches; Disturbances

Increasing Coastal Resilience through Sandy Beach Restoration: A Case Study in Los Angeles, CaliforniaJohnston, KK1, MW Grubbs1, DM Hubbard2, JE Dugan2, RC Abbott1, and NK Schooler2

1 The Bay Foundation, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA; 2 University of California, Santa Barbara, CAEmail: [email protected] highly valued by society, southernCalifornia beaches are significantly undervaluedas ecosystems that provide coastal resilience.Growing recognition of the value of beaches asresilient functional ecosystems is leading aparadigm shift away from heavily urbanizedshorelines, where daily grooming currentlyeliminates vegetation, wrack, and protective sanddunes throughout most of the region.Geomorphic and ecological results of a 3-acrepilot beach restoration in Los Angeles, California,are testing a cost-effective approach to restoringbeaches that fosters coastal resilience andsustainability. Preliminary results after one yearsuggest the restoration area is diverging fromcontrols and starting conditions. Vegetation andsand morphology data displayed the most rapidresponses with no responses detected inmacroinvertebrates to date. Variability observedin elevations and the berm crest suggest longerterm dynamics are important. Ecologicalfunctions observed included responses bybreeding endangered shorebirds. The first viablewestern snowy plover nest for the region in 70years was found within the restoration area.Continued monitoring will track ecologicalvariables and sand morphology in response tovegetation, fencing, and forcing by storms, kingtides, and wave energy. This demonstrationproject is a model that shows heavy recreationaluse and habitat restoration are compatible onurban beaches.

Keywords: Urban beach; Coastal resilience; Geomorphology; Western Snowy Plover

Oral communications

Sandy Beach Management: Some Reflections onthe Roles of Science and Scientists.Alan Jones1

1Australian Museum Research Institute, Sydney,Australia.email:[email protected]@optusnet.com.au.

Climate change and rapidly increasing coastalhuman populations mean that sandy beaches are,arguably, under greater pressures than mostother ecosystems. Consequently, the demand formanagement is extreme. But managementrequires goal- and policy-setting, these currentlybeing anthropocentric rather than ecocentric. Aswell, goals will vary depending on local socio-economic context. Achieving these goals willdepend heavily on science and scientists. Thispaper discusses the roles of science and scientistsin the context of sandy-beach management,identifies some priority concerns and knowledgegaps, critically considers predictions thatdominant paradigms make, and poses somebroader questions for scientists to consider.

Keywords: Sandy Beaches; Management;Science; Scientists

Temperature effect on biogeochemical cycling ofalgal wrack subsidies in sandy beaches: an opentop chamber approach

Mariano Lastra1, Jesús López2, Ivan F. Rodil3,4

1 Toralla Marine Science Station (ECIMAT), University ofVigo, 36331 Vigo, Spain; 2 Department of Ecology andAnimal Biology, Marine Science Faculty, University ofVigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain; 3 Tvärminne ZoologicalStation, University of Helsinki, 10900 Hanko, Finland; 4

Baltic Sea Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm,Sweden.

email: [email protected] response in decomposition of algal wrack toglobal warming has not been studied in oceanexposed sandy beaches to date. We used opentop chamber to increase soil temperature withinthe range predicted by the IPCC for westernEurope (0.5 to 1.5 ºC). The effect of temperaturewas tested in fresh and aged macroalgae, andbare sand. Results indicated that a small warming(0.5 ºC) affected the wrack decompositionthrough traceable increases in soil respirationthrough CO2 flux, inorganic nutrients within theinterstitial environment (N and P), sedimentorganic content and microbial pool gaugedthrough the total soil DNA. The differentresponses of soil variables indicated that thedecomposition stage of stranded macroalgae alsoinfluences the biogeochemical processing oforganic matter in sandy beaches. CO2 fluxes,release of organic and inorganic nutrients andmicrobial activity intensify in aged wrack. Atglobal scale, our results predicts that expectedglobal warming will increase release of inorganicnutrients to the coastal ocean by 30 % for theinorganic N (21 Gg y-1) and 5.9 % for P (14 Gg y-1);that increase for the flow of C to the atmosphereas CO2, can be estimated in 8.2 % (523 Gg y-1 ).

Keywords Wrack Decay, Open Top Chambers,Nutrients, Organic Enrichment, CO2, GlobalWarming

Oral communications

Micro- and macroplastic on Polish sandy coast(Baltic Sea)

Mikołaj Mazurkiewicz, Weronika Konwent, PaulaSancho-Martinez, Kajetan Deja, Lech Kotwicki1Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Sciences,Marine Ecology Department, Powstańców Warszawy55 street, Sopot 81-712, Poland

email:[email protected];[email protected]

Plastic pollution was assessed on sandy beachesalong the Polish Baltic coast during the autumn of2017. Two categories of plastic – microplastic andmacroplastic – were collected at 11 sites alongthe Polish Baltic coast, with samples taken fromshallow water, at the drift line, in the middle ofthe beach and base of the dunes. Plastic particleslarger or smaller than 5 mm were consideredmacro- or microplastics respectively. The mostcommon macroplastic particles were described asstyrofoam, fibre, bottle cap, cigarette, hard, film,or unidentifiable, with up to 50 items per transectweighing more than 30 grams. Microplasticconcentrations varied among collection sites,with a slight predominance found at the dunes(on average 2223 per m2), comparing to driftline(1618 per m2). In shallow water the averageconcentration of microplastic was 1366 items perm3 .The majority of microplastics were fibrous, <1mm in length, and blue in colour.

Keywords: Sandy Beaches; Macroplastics;Microplastics; Baltic

Differential use of wrack resources providesniche separation in intertidal consumers onCalifornia beachesKristen Michaud1, Kyle Emery2, Jenifer Dugan2,Robert Miller2

1Department of Biology, University of MassachusettsAmherst, Massachusetts, USA; 2Marine ScienceInstitute, University of California Santa Barbara,California, USA

email: [email protected] wrack is a key resource subsidy tosandy beach ecosystems along the Pacific coast ofNorth America, providing habitat and food for aremarkably diverse assemblage of intertidalconsumers. Four talitrid amphipod species(Megalorchestia) and a herbivorous beetle(Phaleria) co-exist on many beaches. To allowcoexistence, these species may utilize commonresources differentially. We investigated thedegree to which differential wrack resource useprovides niche separation by measuringindividual consumption rates of each invertebratespecies on two abundant brown macroalgae,Macrocystis and Egregia, a green alga, Ulva, a redalga, Porphyra, and on surfgrass, Phyllospadix.Invertebrate consumption rates differedsignificantly among wrack species. Three of theMegalorchestia species exhibited significantlydifferent consumption of the two brownmacroalgae, preferring the less abundant Egregia.One of the larger talitrid species and the beetleexhibited no significant differences inconsumption of macroalgae, indicating potentialfor generalist feeding in these consumers. Inchoice experiments, the two smaller talitridspecies exhibited no preferences when offeredcombinations of algae while the two largerspecies demonstrated significant preferences.This suggests differential consumption of wracktypes may represent an important mechanism forniche separation in this diverse guild of intertidaldetritivores.

Keywords: Niche separation; Macroalgal wrack;Intertidal invertebrates; Megalorchestia

mailto:[email protected]

Oral communications

Macroinfauna movement patterns and swashdynamics on a high energy dissipative beach Ronel Nel 1 , Gerd Masselink, Anton McLachlan,Timothy Scott, Linda Harris 1Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, SouthAfricaemail: [email protected] Beach macrofaunal communities on open coastsare well studied, and there is agreement thatcommunity patterns are governed by physicalfactors relating to swash dynamics, sedimentfeatures and tides. However, snap-shot samplingand limited expertise are hampering identificationof exact drivers. An experiment on a high energydissipative beach sampling intertidalmacrofaunal, using both traditional stratifiedsampling (at low tide), and dynamic samplingover a tidal cycle (from low to high tide) wasconducted, measuring concomitant changes inswash dynamics (including runup and %inundation). Species richness and abundancechanged over the tidal cycle with highest richnessmeasured using stratified sampling at low tide(13-20 species) and the highest abundance (totaland per m-2) was measured at high tide (93individuals or 114.m-2) with dynamic sampling inthree levels of the swash. Species behaviourdiffered among taxa; circa-semilunar migrants likeDonax serra was tolerant of inundation andmaintained their position, whereas Bulliarhodostoma moved with the swash and wasmainly present in unsaturated sand (<20%inundation). Most amphipods and polychaeteswere only sampled at low tide on the low shore,and high-shore crustaceans only on the upperhalf of shore. Four different behavioural patternswere thus observed among macrofaunal groups.

Keywords: Macrofauna; Swash; Tidal Migration;Sampling Design

Metabarcoding the hidden meiofauna diversityof sandy beaches Ronel Nel1, Lorenz Hauser, Daniel Drinan, IsadoraJimenez-Hidalgo2 1Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, SouthAfrica; 2University of Washingtonemail: [email protected] Interstitial meiofauna in marine sediments inhabitone of the most widespread habitats and mayrepresent one of the most diverse communitieson earth, yet little is known about the forcesshaping community structure, species distributionand abundance. Species identification isproblematic in these tiny organisms, and sobiodiversity is poorly known. The overall objectiveof this project was to elucidate factors shapingglobal, regional and local patterns of sandy beachmeiofauna biodiversity. We sampled meiofaunafrom three levels of beaches with differentmorphodynamic characteristics, on the US PacificNorthwest coast and the South African south andwest coast. Next generation sequencingapproaches were used to obtain almost 16 millionsequences of the nuclear 18S gene. Initial datashowed high diversity on all beaches.Communities were clearly clustered according tobioregion and habitat in most phyla. Differencesin community structure were related to grain sizein some regions, but not in others. However,relationships between grain size and diversity wasonly found in some phyla. Our results clearlyshowed the high biodiversity of sandy beachmeiofauna which is not discoverable withconventional morphological techniques. Thisdemonstrated the power of metabarcoding forstudying a taxonomically difficult group oforganisms.

Keywords: Meiofauna diversity; Metabarcoding;Beach Morphodynamics; Bioregion

Oral communications

The Impacts of Beach Management Regulationson Habitat Availability for Beach-nesting Birds

Brooke Maslo1, Todd Pover2, Karen Leu1, Mike A.Weston3, Thomas A. Schlacher4

1Department of Ecology, Evolution and NaturalResources, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey,New Brunswick, NJ, USA; 2Conserve WildlifeFoundation of New Jersey, Trenton, NJ, USA; 3Centrefor Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Victoria,Australia; 4School of Science and Engineering,University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore,Australia.

email: [email protected] wildlife populations are limited by habitatavailability due to stabilization of naturalgeomorphic processes and intense humanrecreational activities. Anthropogenic pressuresresult in few opportunities for increasing habitatthrough land acquisition or restoration. Coastalstorms can achieve this goal naturally; however,wildlife considerations are not given high priorityin post-storm recovery planning. We used amaximum-likelihood spatial modeling approachto quantify the impacts of Hurricane Sandy (mid-Atlantic United States, October 2012) on nestinghabitat of Atlantic Coast piping plovers. Wemodeled habitat using a presence-only datasetthat included characterizations of eight variablesbefore and after the storm. We compared the netchange in habitat both under the currentregulatory framework for habitat protections, anda scenario in which all potential habitat wasunder conservation protection. Hurricane Sandycreated 291 ha of habitat; however, becauseconservation protections post-storm weredecoupled from changes in geomorphology, therealized net habitat gain totaled only 16 ha.Furthermore, only ~14% of the statewidebreeding population colonized newly createdhabitat areas over the next three years. Ourresults illustrate the ability of storms to createcoastal habitat for beach-dependent species andthe importance of implementing systematicapproaches for protecting these habitats tomaximize conservation benefit. Keywords: Coastal Ecosystems; Evidence-basedConservation; Habitat Protection; SpeciesDistribution Modeling; Wildlife Management

Relationship between the ghost crab (Ocypodequadrata Fabricius, 1787) and abiotic andanthropic factors on a beach in the south coastof BrazilFernanda R.F. de Oliveira1, Leonardo Q.Yokoyama2

1Postgraduate in Integrated Environmental Analysis,Universidade Federal de São Paulo UNIFESP, Brazil;2Laboratory of Ecology and Coastal Management -Universidade Federal de São Paulo UNIFESP, Brazilemail: [email protected] beaches have been constantly impacted byurbanization and extreme climatic events. Theseimpacts affect beach slope, sediment and organicmatter content, and may negativelly affectcommunities and populations. Therefore,monitoring is a effective process to observe howspecies react to changes in the morphology of thebeach, even on highly urbanized areas. The crabOcypode quadrata, a key species in beaches, is abioindicator because of its sensitivity to climaticand anthropogenic impacts. We monitored apopulation of O. quadrata weekly over 14 monthsto look for reactions to environmental andrecreational pressures. Overall, two potentialimpacting factors affected the population: (i) astrong storm surge reduced the population byhalf and (ii) the increase in tourists (Christmasand New Year) more than doubled thepopulation. These fluctuations may reflect a greatresilience and capacity of the species to recoverfrom stochastic events. We also evaluated if thepresence of supralitoral vegetation had any effecton its along-shore distribuiton. Density ofburrows was higher in the vegetated area of aurbanized beach when compared to the lessurbanized site. We can relate greater presence ofO. quadrata in highly urbanized beaches with thegreater protection of vegetal cover.

Keywords: Ocypode quadrata; Monitoring;Vegetation; Impacts

Oral communications

Qualitative and quantitative assessment ofmicroplastics in the sediment of three sandyMediterranean beaches, including differentmethodological approaches.Odysseas Piperagkas 1,2 Nafsika Papageorgiou1,Ioannis Karakassis1

1Marine ecology lab, Department of Biology, Universityof Crete; 2Microbial ecology lab, Department ofBiological applications and technologies, University ofIoannina.email: [email protected] are small plastic particles (<5mm)that are found in most marine habitatsaround theworld and several studies are trying to determinetheir exact effects. They are introduced to themarine ecosystem directly as manufacturedmicroplastics, or indirectly through thedecomposition of bigger plastic particles.Microplastics can enter the food chain, and canbe found as vectors for the movement ofmicrobial communities, and chemical pollutants(i.e. heavy metals, Persistent Organic Pollutants),influencing both the biotic and abioticenvironment. In our study, 2 different ways tomeasure microplastics were tested in 3Mediterranean beaches with different humanpressure on them. The purpose was to comparedifferent sampling approaches to assess themicroplastics of the sediment, taking into accountthe temporal variability of Summer and Winterseason. Statistical significant differences werefound in between the beaches, that reflects thedifferences of use in each beach and at the sametime, differences were found in microplasticcontent, due to the seasonal variability. Finally,depending on the grain size, microplastics canbefound in deeper sediment layers, and thussampling methods that do not sample the samesediment layer, do not seem to producecomparable results.

Keywords: Microplastics; Sandy Beaches;Sediment; Methodology; Granulometry

Role of geoenvironmental dynamics in thebiodiversity of sandy beaches and sandflats

Shinji Sassa1

1Port and Airport Research Institute, National Instituteof Maritime, Port and Aviaton Technology, Japan email: [email protected] beaches and sandflats foster rich naturalecosystems that serve for a human society. Theresponse of the macroinfauna to their abioticenvironment has been widely studied in relation tohydroenvironmental conditions, sediment types andsediment grain sizes. However, the possible role ofvarying geoenvironmental conditions in theirhabitats as well as in the biodiversity of sandybeaches and sandflats remain poorly understood.We have previously shown that the hardness of thesurficial intertidal sediments varies by a factor of20–50 due to suction development and suction-induced void state changes in the essentiallysaturated states of sandy beaches and sandflats.Recent advances in such salient geophysics involvedin intertidal sediments made it possible to closelyinvestigate the linkage between the waterfrontgeoenvironment and ecology of sandy beaches andsandflats. The results of a comprehensive set offield observations, surveys and controlledlaboratory experiments demonstrated that thewaterfront suction and the associatedgeoenvironments govern the performances of thebasic living activities of various representativecreatures involving crabs, bivalves, amphipods,isopods and birds. A species diversity–geoenvironment relationship was developed basedon the responses of diverse macroinfauna togeoenvironemtal dynamics, which was found to beconsistent in nature with what has been observedthrough two habitat restoration projects. Thepresent results demonstrate a substantial role of thehabitat geophysical environments in the survivaland distributions of diverse species, accounting forthe cause and effects involved. Hence, suchwaterfront geoenvironment plays a pivotal role inthe habitat selection for the benthos diversity.These findings will facilitate a new horizon of theperformance-based geoenvironmental assessment,design and management for the conservation andrestoration of habitats with rich natural ecosystemsin intertidal zones. They may also provide a rationalbasis by which to understand the ensuing, and topredict future, macroinfaunal responses togeoenvironmental dynamics of sandy beaches andsandflats in a changing global environment.

Oral communications

Keywords: Sandy Beaches; Sandflats; Biodiversity;Geoenvironment

Sandhopper (Amphipoda, Talitridae) orientationas across scales bioindicator of sandy beachesenvironmental conditions: a meta-analyticapproach

Felicita Scapini1, Filipa Bessa2, Simone Gambineri1,Fabio Bozzeda3

1 University of Florence, Department of Biology,Florence, Italy; 2 MARE - Marine and EnvironmentalSciences Centre, Faculty of Sciences and Technology,University of Coimbra, Portugal; 3 Centro deInvestigación Dinámica de Ecosistemas Marinos deAltas Latitudes (IDEAL), Universidad Austral de Chile,Punta Arenas, Chile.

email: [email protected] (Amphipoda, Talitridae) are wellknown as key species of sandy beaches.Behavioural (orientation) traits have beenextensively studied and proposed as bioindicatorof impacts on beaches. To verify its use as acrossscales bioindicator of environmental conditions,we conducted a meta-analysis on a large datasetof more than 8000 observations from beaches inthe Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic coasts.The meta-analysis was conducted through amachine learning application by creating three''virtual sandhoppers'' trained with orientationdata coming from beaches of the consideredgeographic area. Finally, the behaviouralresponses of the "virtual sandhoppers" weretested on three test sets consisting of differentsandy beach physical conditions. In each of thethree conditions, the results show the presenceof a dominant direction towards the sea. Themain differences are observed with regards tobehavioural variability around the dominantdirection, which is greater in Mediterraneanbeaches than Oceanic ones. A possibleexplanation are the lower tide and wind powerand greater variation in exposure of theMediterranean beaches. The results confirm thepotential use of sandhopper orientation asubiquitous bioindicator applicable to differentconditions both on a small and large spatial scale.

Keywords: Sandy Beaches; Sandhoppers;Orientation; Meta-analysis

Coastal urbanization: intense managementregimes alter and strongly degrade sandy beachecosystems

Nicholas K. Schooler1, Jenifer E. Dugan1, David M.Hubbard1

1University of California Santa Barbara; Marine ScienceInstitute, USAemail: [email protected] fragments and degrades habitat andimpacts biodiversity and ecosystem function.Conservation and management of coastalecosystems requires understanding complexecological responses of natural communities andthe vulnerability of ecologically important taxa toincreasing urbanization. We evaluated impacts ofcoastal urbanization by comparing intertidalmacroinvertebrate communities of urbanized andunmanaged sandy beaches in densely populatedsouthern California, USA (~300 km). Urbanizedbeaches had significantly larger grain size (43%)and lower wrack cover (-81%) than unmanagedbeaches, but Dean’s parameter and intertidalslope did not differ significantly. Strong negativeresponses of intertidal biodiversity andcommunity structure to urbanization wereevident. On urbanized beaches,macroinvertebrate communities had significantlylower species richness (-53%), abundance (-88%),and biomass (-65%). Functional diversityresponses to urbanization suggested ecologicalfunction was degraded. Two major groups ofmacroinvertebrates, upper (wrack-associated)and lower intertidal, responded negatively tourbanization with stronger effects evident onwrack-associated assemblages. We identifiedseveral highly vulnerable taxa, but found no taxathat flourished on urbanized beaches despiteconsistent presence of a few apparently resilientspecies. Our results show that the intensemanagement regimes associated withurbanization strongly degraded the condition andfunction of sandy beach ecosystems with themost severe impacts to wrack-associatedmacroinvertebrates.

Keywords: Beaches, Biodiversity, California,Disturbance, Functional diversity, Indicatorspecies, Intertidal zone, Invertebrate,Urbanization, Wrack

Oral communications

Ecological patterns in sandy beaches of CostaRica: Comparison between Caribbean and Pacificcoasts

Jeffrey A. Sibaja-Cordero1

1Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar yLimnología (CIMAR) y Escuela de Biología, Universidadde Costa Rica, Costa Rica

email: [email protected] present study compared ecological patternsin sandy beaches between Caribbean and Pacificcoast of Costa Rica. The intertidal zone of eachbeach was divided into five strata from low tohigh tidal level. In each stratum, sedimentssamples (corer area: 20.2 cm2) were taken tostudy the macrofauna. Additionally, grain sizecomposition and total organic matter weredetermined. The macrofauna was more diverseon the Pacific coast (5 to 10 taxa, per beach) thanin the Caribbean (4–6 taxa, per beach). The mostdiverse was the annelids, followed byperacaridans. The mollusks (Olivellidae) weremore abundant in the Pacific Coast. Moreoverthese differences, on both coasts, show a verticaldistribution of taxa from high to low tide level,with higher abundances in the low tidal level. Thehigh tidal level was populated by isopods(Cirolanidae). Faunal differences between bothcoasts can be explained by environmentaldifferences. The tidal range is narrower on theCaribbean (0.5–1.5 m) than the Pacific Coast (2–3m). The organic matter was lower (2%) in theCaribbean than in the Pacific (2%). In theCaribbean coast, the sediment is ~90% of finesand (500–63 µm) whereas in Pacific coast thisfraction was about 65%.

Keywords: Macrofauna; Organic Matter; TidalRange; Grain Size

Artificial light as a disturbance factor for sandybeach pill bugs, Tylos capensis, at the AlexandriaCoastal Dunefields, South Africa.Makabongwe Sigqala 1 , Ronel Nel1, Karien Bezuidenhout1

1Department of Zoology, Nelson Mandela University, South Campus, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africaemail: [email protected] artificial light has become an importantresource to humans, the increasingly larger areasthat are lit at night poses a threat to species andecosystem processes. One such group potentiallyaffected by light pollution, is pill bugs (Tylos spp.),which inhabit the high shore of sandy beaches.Recent reports suggest that pill bug populationsaround the world are in decline and at risk ofextinction. The mechanisms responsible for thedisappearance of pill bugs are not always clear,although light pollution has been posed as apotential driver. Therefore, this study aimed toinvestigate the potential role of artificial light as amechanism of disturbance to sandy beach pillbugs, Tylos capensis. We first established pill bugresponses to natural (lunar) light, by quantifyingactivity during four lunar phases (new moon, fullmoon, first and third quarter) at the AlexandriaCoastal Dunefield (ACD), South Africa. We thendetermined the response of pill bugs to a range ofartificial white light intensities (10, 100, and 1000lx), as well as red light (150 lx), and a control (nolight), in the laboratory. Lastly, we determinedresponses to artificial light in an in situexperiment, at the ACD. Our results indicated thatsignificantly fewer pill bugs were active during fullmoon than any other lunar phase (χ 2 (0.05,4)

=147.93, p=2.2 -16 ). For the second objective, astrong negative relationship was observedbetween the light treatment and activity durationof the animals (rho= -0.70, p<<0.05). The resultsof objective three were congruent with that ofthe laboratory experiment, indicating that morepill bugs were active in the absence of light, andat low light intensities. Our study concludes thatartificial night light affects the behaviour of Tyloscapensis. The increase of urban sprawl maythreaten vulnerable nocturnal sandy beach faunathrough the presence of night glow, even in areasof relative pristine condition.

Oral communications

Keywords: Light pollution; Sandy beaches; Tyloscapensis; Lunar; Light intensity

Beach cast Posidonia oceanica leaf litter vs.beach morphology and dynamics

Simone Simeone1, Giovanni De Falco2

1 Istituto per l'Ambiente Marino Costiero - CNR - U.O.Oristano, loc Sa Mardini, Torregrande – Oristano


This work summarized the studies conductedon the interaction between banquettes andbeach dynamic and morphology realized by theauthors during the last ten years. This studieswere conducted on several beaches of SardiniaIsland. Morphological and topographicmeasurement, sediment collection and analysesand video monitoring were used to realize thestudies. This allow us to describe the depositionprocess in relation to beach exposure. Alongexposed beaches the deposition occurred in theberm area, whereas along sheltered beach theleaf litter represent the main material exchangedbetween submerged and emerged beach. Alongembayed beaches the deposition of banquettes isrelated to the presence of litter in the seabed ofthe bay. On this beach the deposition ofbanquette occurs when a storm decrease inintensity, their erosion occurs in the initial phaseon an intense storm. This studies allowed toevaluate the impact of removal of banquettesfrom beaches. When conducted with heavymachinery the removal operations couldinfluence the morphology of beaches in terms offlattening and obliteration of sedimentaryfeatures. Sediment content on banquettes couldbe relevant (> 100 kg m3 of banquette), hence theremoval of banquette from can affect thesediment budget of beaches.

Keywords: Banquette, Beaches, Mediterraneansea, Posidonia oceanica

Preliminary data about the meiofauna of onesandy-muddy beach of the municipality ofCalçoene (Amapá, Brazil) and the influence ofsalinity on its compositionMaiara Teixeira de Souza1, Suelen Felix Pereira 1 1Laboratory of Morphophysiology and Animal Sanity,Fishing Engineering Course, University of Amapa State,Macapa, Amapa, Brazil

email:[email protected];[email protected]

The oceanic coast of Amapá Estate (extremenorth of Brazil), extends for about 750 km, almostcompletely dominated by mangroves. Sandy-muddy beaches are few, small and difficult toaccess. These beaches are extremely influencedby fresh water and sediments discharged by theAmazon river, showing low salinity and highturbidity throughout the year. Thesecharacteristics make these beaches interestingpoints of researches, however, related studies arescarce. The purpose of this work was thus toassess the composition and spatio-temporalvariability of the meiofauna from the Goiabalbeach, Calçoene municipality. We performed 2surveys, one in November 2015 (end of dryseason) and another in January 2016 (beginningof rainy season). Three points (100 m far fromeach other) in either upper and lower intertidalzone were sampled in both surveys and threereplicates of 113 cm3 of sediment in each pointwere collected. After elutriation, meiofauna wasanalysed. Representatives of Nematoda,Copepoda and Polychaeta were found; theanalysis of the composition indicated an influenceof salinity with higher salinities related to anincrease of Nematoda density.

Keywords: Sediments; Salinity; Nematoda;Copepoda; Polychaeta, Amazon Region

Oral communications

Wedge clam resource in Thailand: polulationdynamics and management

Wichin Suebpala1,2, Thamasak Yeemin 1, MakamasSutthacheep1, Teerapong Prickchoopon1,Wiphawan Aunkhongthong1, ParichatNiyomthai1, Manoch Wongsuryrat3

1Marine Biodiversity Research Group, Department ofBiology, Faculty of Science, Ramkhamhaeng University,2Interdisciplinary Program of Environmental Science,Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, 3HatChao Mai National Park, Department of NationalParks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Trang, Thailand

email: [email protected] this study, a transdisciplinary approach wasapplied by integrating ecological and socio-economic data to support the effectivemanagment of the wedge clam resource inThailand. Ecological and socioeconomic surveyswere conducted at Pak Meng Beach, TrangProvince, during November 2016 to March 2017.This study aimed to illustrate the importance ofclam fishery and to analyze the current state ofthe fishery based on the fishers’ point of view. In-depth interviews were conducted in 2016 withfishers who involved in the wedge clam fisheriesin Hat Pakmeng Beach, Sikao District, TrangProvince. Based on the interviews, all fishersagreed that the wedge clam fishery is importantfor their livelihoods in terms of food source andhousehold additional income. High proportion offemale fishers (>80%) reflected the high level ofwomen participation in this fishery. Most of thefishers pointed out that the declines inabundance and individual size of clam arecurrently observed. These could be mainlyresulted from the growing number of fisherscollecting the clam. To conserve this clam, therespondents recommended to establishing someno-take areas to increase the clam abundancealong with enhancing the fishers’ awareness. Thisinformation serves as a basis for further policyformulation and decision-making on theconservation of wedge clam.

Keywords: Andaman Sea; Donax scortum;Management; Marine Fisheries

Biogeographic perspectives of benthicinvertebrate assemblages on sandy beachesalong the Japan Sea coast

Yoshitake Takada1, Naoto Kajihara2, HidekiSawada3, Shota Mochizuki4, Takuhiko Murakami4

1Japan Sea National Fisheries Research Institute,Fisheries Research and Education Agency, Suido-cho 1-5939-2, Niigata 951-8121, Japan; 2National ResearchInstitute of Fisheries and Environment of Inland Sea,Fisheries Research and Education Agency, Maruishi 2-17-5, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, 739-0452, Japan;3Maizuru Fisheries Research Station, Kyoto University,Nagahama, Maizuru, Kyoto 625-0086, Japan;4Graduate School of Science and Technology, NiigataUniversity, 8050 Ikarashi-2-nocho, Niigata 950-2181,Japan

email: [email protected] assemblages of sandy beaches areprimarily structured by physical environmentfactors and are mainly comprised of peracaridcrustaceans and other invertebrates. AroundJapanese Islands, the southwestern coastal areasof the Japan Sea are assigned as a part of warmtemperate region, while the northern coastalareas are included in a cold temperate region.However, the boundary between the two regionsremained to be verified. Due to the ongoingincrease of sea surface temperature, we need todevelop efficient methods to monitor distributionof coastal species and assemblages. In this study,geographic variations in benthic invertebrateassemblages were surveyed at 39 sites along theJapan Sea coast of Honshu to elucidate theirrelationships with environmental factors. In total,78 taxonomic units were obtained using a sledgenet sampling and six clusters of assemblage wererecognized. Geographical distributions of two ofthe clusters were localized and mutually exclusive(one in the north and one in the south). Thespatial gap between the two clusters located atthe central area of Honshu can be proposed as aboundary of geographic regions of sandy beachorganisms. Monitoring study should be focusedon any changes of these two clusters in thefuture.

Keywords: Benthic Community; MultivariateAnalysis; Microtidal Beach; Distribution

Oral communications

The culture of beaches through education at a basic level in MexicoAlicia Xihuilpilli Torres-Alfaro1, GuadalupeMinerva Torres-Alfaro1

1 Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas-InstitutoPolitécnico Nacional. Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacionals/n Col. Playa Palo de Santa Rita Apdo. Postal 592.Código Postal 23096, La Paz, Baja California Sur,Mexico.

email: [email protected] this study we reviewed textbooks to identifythe information given to students and teacherson the topic of beaches. So we elaborate analternative of community participation topreserve this ecosystems. The beach informationthat is taught to children is superficial because itfocuses on images without explanation of theelements that make up the beach. Nor are theteachers teaching the patterns and processes tobe taken care of to preserve them. The legislationthat exists is contradictory in its provisions andthere is no coordinating document to help solvethis problem. So, the beaches in Mexican societyare identified only as a place of recreation thatbelongs to private hotels. There is not therefore aculture of beaches so it is proposed to improvethe content in textbooks and start environmentaleducation campaigns that achieve through thechildren little by little build an awareness of theheritage that the beaches represent.

Keywords: Education, Patrimony, SocialOrganization.

Management for multipurpose use on shelteredbeaches: conceptual framework for conservationand recreation over an ecological basis

Guadalupe Minerva Torres-Alfaro 1 , Juan CarlosAlcérreca-Huerta2, Adela Figueroa-Reyes3, Maríadel Rosario Chávez-Morelos3, Omar Defeo4

1Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas –Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Avenida IPN s/n, PlayaPalo de Santa Rita, La Paz, Baja California Sur, C.P.23096, Mexico; 2 Cátedra CONACYT comisionada aECOSUR-Chetumal, Av. Centenario km 5.5, Chetumal,Quintana Roo. CP 77014, Mexico; 3 Facultad deCiencias Sociales y Políticas, Universidad Autónoma deBaja California, Boulevard Benito Juárez S/N, Mexicali,Baja California. C.P. 21100, Mexico; 4 Unidad deCiencias del Mar, Instituto de Biología, Facultad deCiencias, Universidad de la República, Avenida Iguá4225, Montevideo 11400, Uruguayemail: [email protected] study aims to review the state of the art ofsandy beaches located within the “La Paz” Bay,Mexico, in order to provide a guideline forsupporting management plans for multipurposeuse on these sheltered beaches. Therefore, 10ecological principles were considered: i) mainphysical processes and agents acting on thebeaches at significant scales; ii) ecologicalfeatures of beaches and dunes; iii) current statusof the beaches and sediment erosion; iv) effectsof human activity; v) existence andsocioeconomic activities, ix) health and safety;and x) Regulations, policy, planning andimplementation of management strategies.Conservation and recreation indexes were alsoestimated based on the results. The mostappropriated strategies detected for themanagement on these sheltered beachescorrespond with their features and usages,however established plans are not correct.Although, the method applied to shelteredbeaches was diseigned to exposed beaches it wasenough to quickly identify the recreational virtuesand needs of conservation on the BLP beaches.The indices value estimated for the differentbeaches represents real characteristics.

Keywords: Conservation; Degradation;Environmental Indexes; Gulf of California;Recreation

Oral communications

Universality of the linkage betweengeoenvironment and the distributions of thesandy beach amphipods: Haustorioidesjaponicus, Haustorioides koreanus, andHaustorioides munsterhjelmiSoonbo Yang1, Shinji Sassa1, and YoshitakeTakada2

1Port and Airport Research Institute, National Instituteof Maritime, Port and Aviation Technolog, Yokosuka,Japan; 2 Japan Sea National Fisheries ResearchInstitute, Fisheries Research Agency, Niigata, Japan

email: [email protected] studies were conducted in order toinvestigate whether there is a universal linkagebetween the distribution of the sandy beachamphipods, namely Haustorioides japonicus,Haustorioides koreanus, and Haustorioidesmunsterhjelmi, and the geophysical environmentrepresented by suction. Suction s means thetension of moisture in soil and is defined by

, where is the atmospheric airpressure and is the pore water pressure inthe soil. By definition, suction is zero at thegroundwater level. As field sites for H. japonicus,five sandy beaches located on the Japan Sea coastin Niigata prefecture, Japan, for H. munsterhjelmi,Shari sandy beach in Hokkaido, Japan, and for H.koreanus, Samyang sandy beach in Jeju Island,South Korea, were selected respectively. Weperformed field studies along the cross-shoretransects in each of seven beaches during springlow tides. The mean tidal ranges of the Japan Seacoast, Shari beach, and Samyang beach wereabout 0.2m, 0.8m, and 2.35m, respectively. AtShari and Samyang beaches where the tidalranges were high compared to that of the JapanSea coast, the variations of species densities inrelation to tidal level were also observed toinvestigate the shift of species distribution withtide. H. Munsterhjelmi in Shari shifted with tide.On the other hand, H. koreanus in Samyang didnot shift with tide. The first reason why H.koreanus did not shift with the tide, is consideredsuch that in the region where tidal range washigh, the distance needed to shift lengthenedcompared to that in the region where tidal rangewas low, so the associated energy consumptionand invisible risk also increased. The secondreason is that the variation of suction, associatedwith the tide-induced groundwater level

fluctuations was not significant in the shore sidewhere H. koreanus occured. This was due to thesignificant attenuation of the groundwater levelfluctuations in the shore side relative to that inthe offshore side. Thus, it was not necessary forH. koreanus to shift seaward or landward withtide. Notably, the distributions of threeHaustorioides species were associated withparticular suction, irrespective of the difference inthe amphipod species. Haustorioides speciesbecame absent where suction exceeded about2kPa in all beaches, despite more than 10-foldtidal range and its variations.Keywords: Sandy Beaches; Suction; BeachAmphipod; Haustorioides species

Geomorphological influences on benthicintertidal and subtidal macrofauna alongSoutheastern Florida beaches

Angela D. Witmer 1 1Palm Beach Atlantic University, West PalmBeach, Florida, USAemail: [email protected]

Macrofaunal communities on beaches have beenshown to be influenced by geomorphodynamicprocesses such as wave height, grain size, andbeach state. There are few intertidal benthicstudies in Florida; most studies being subtidal,evaluating responses to dredging. This intertidalcommunity knowledge gap instigated our study.We examined the early summer biodiversity ofbenthic intertidal and subtidal macrofauna ontwo beaches with no direct beach nourishmentprogram. Study sites included John D. MacArthurState Park, North Palm Beach, FL in June of 2016and Gulfstream Park, Delray Beach, FL in June of2017. Eighty core samples were collected at eachsite across four levels, two subtidal (-10 m and-25 m from sea level) and two intertidal (+5 mand 0 m, sea level). Low species richness andabundance were found at both sites with fewspecies dominating the community. Preliminaryanalysis indicates that geomorphodynamicprocesses influence richness and diversity.Further analysis is in progress.

Keywords: Geomorphology; Benthic Macrofauna,Subtidal, Florida

Oral communications

Brazilian sandy beaches: characteristics,knowledge and priorities

Antônia Cecília Z. Amaral 1, Guilherme N. Corte 1,3,José S. Rosa Filho2, Marcia R. Denadai3, LeonirAndré Colling4, Cristina de A. Rocha-Barreira5 , MarceloPetracco6, Gustavo Mattos7, Ilana R. Zalmon8, RicardoCardoso9, Hélio H. Checon 1, Alexander Turra3.1Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Estadual deCampinas, Rua Monteiro Lobato, 255, Cidade Universitária,Campinas, SP. 2Departamento de Oceanografia, UniversidadeFederal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rêgo s/n, CidadeUniversitária, Recife, PE. 3Instituto Oceanográfico,Universidade de São Paulo, Praça do Oceanográfico 191,Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP. 4Instituto deOceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Av. Itália,Rio Grande, RS. 5Instituto de Ciências do Mar, UniversidadeFederal do Ceará, Av. Abolição 3207, Bairro Meireles,Fortaleza, CE. 6Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federaldo Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa, 1, Guamá, Belém, PA.7Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio deJaneiro, Av. Brigadeiro Trompowski s/n Ilha do Fundão, Riode Janeiro, RJ. 8Laboratório de Ciências Ambientais,Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro,Av. Alberto Lamego 2000, Pq California, Campos dosGoytacazes, RJ. 9Instituto de Biociências – UniversidadeFederal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Av. Pasteur, 458 - Urca –RJ.email: [email protected]

Because of the large extent of its coast and theinfluence of different tidal and climatic patterns, Brazilhas a large variety of beaches. Nevertheless,knowledge of sandy beaches in the country is stilllimited. To promote the implementation of integratedstudies and detect the effects of regional and globalenvironmental change on the Brazilian coast, weconducted an intensive review of the studiesundertaken on beaches and summarized the currentknowledge about this environment. A total of 127studies on the ecology of sandy beach macrofaunawere recorded. These studies were conducted on 172beaches in the four coastal regions; however, thenumber of publications among regions is quiteunbalanced. Approximately 84% of the studies weredone in the southeastern and southern regions.Almost all studies (96%) focused on the description ofpopulation and community patterns, and most (75%)had a duration of less than or equal to one year. Theseresults highlight the urgent need for more varied andlonger time-series studies in order to gain a betterunderstanding of the Brazilian sandy beaches. Only theimproved knowledge of this ecosystem can reveal thereal effects of environmental changes, and proposeeffective measures to conserve this coastal ecosystem.

Keywords: Sandy Beaches, Brazilian coast, KnowledgeGaps, Environmental Features, Key Species

Climatic and anthropogenic effects on intertidal biodiversity at Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) sandy beachesIlana R Zalmon1, Davi C Tavares1, Phillipe M Machado1, Leonardo L Costa1

1Laboratory of Environmental Sciences, University ofNorthern Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

email: [email protected] Climatic and anthropogenic impacts wereinvestigated on different trophic positionsincluding invertebrates, fishes and birds. In non-urbanized beaches, the frequency of storm-waveevents was the main predictor of macrofaunadensity (R²>60-70%; p<0.05), regardless ofmorphodynamics. In urbanized beaches, lowerresilience of the macrofauna community and theghost crab Ocypode quadrata were the mainshort-term effects of these extreme events. Thetourist number on summer months (~2-3tourists/m²) was responsible for the highest solidwaste density (4.5 items/m²) and signficativelower abundance of macroinvertebrates inurbanized areas compared to low-visited beaches(<1 tourist and item/m2). Human impact on thetrophic structure was corroborated on insect prey(>90%) by surf zone fish related to solid wastedensity (R²= 0.34; p= 0.04). Energy transferefficiency over the food webs was lower in theurbanized beaches, as a result of lowerabundance of top predators (seabird Sulaleucogaster) and changes on fish diet induced bymacroinvertebrates scarcity. Furthermore O.quadrata is road-killed, and avoid building theirburrows on trampled sites. The synergistic effectsof increasing storm-wave events and urbanizationmay modify the structure of biologicalcommunities and ecosystem functioning byreducing macrofauna populations, whichmarkedly contribute to energy flow in coastaltrophic webs.

Keywords: Storm-wave; Human Impact;Macrofauna; Surf Zone Fish; Ghost-crabs

engineering, fct, universidade nova de lisboa, marine and ...€¦ · 1nelson mandela university,...

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