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Animal-sediment relationships: Evaluating the 'Pearson–Rosenberg paradigm' in Mediterranean coastal lagoons

Magni, Paolo and Tagliapietra, Davide and Lardicci, Claudio and Balthis, Leo and Castelli, Alberto and Como, Serena and Frangipane, Giovanni and Giordani, Giuseppe and Hyland, Jeff and Maltagliati, Ferruccio and Pessa, Giuseppe and Rismondo, Andrea and Tataranni, Mariella and Tomassetti, Paolo and Viaroli, Pierluigi (2009) Animal-sediment relationships: Evaluating the 'Pearson–Rosenberg paradigm' in Mediterranean coastal lagoons. Marine Pollution Bullettin, 58/200 (4). pp. 478-486. ISSN 0025-326X

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    Abstract

    SUMMARY: We investigated the applicability of the Pearson–Rosenberg (P–R) conceptual model describing a generalized pattern of response of benthic communities in relation to organic enrichment to Mediterranean Sea coastal lagoons. Consistent with P–R model predictions, benthic diversity and abundance showed two different peaks at low (>2.5–5 mg g1) and high (>25–30 mg g1) total organic carbon (TOC) ranges, respectively. We identified TOC thresholds indicating that risks of reduced benthic diversity should be relatively low at TOC values < about 10 mg g1, high at TOC values > about 28 mg g1, and intermediate at values in-between. Predictive ability within these ranges was high based on results of re-sampling simulation. While not a direct measure of causality, it is anticipated that these TOC thresholds should serve as a general screening-level indicator for evaluating the likelihood of reduced sediment quality and associated bioeffects in such eutrophic systems of the Mediterranean Sea.

    Item Type: Article
    Uncontrolled Keywords: Macrobenthos, Ecological indicators, Eutrophication Benthic diversity, Coastal lagoons, Mediterranean Sea
    Subjects: Area05 - Scienze biologiche > BIO/07 - Ecologia
    Area05 - Scienze biologiche > BIO/05 - Zoologia
    Divisions: Dipartimenti (until 2012) > DIPARTIMENTO DI BIOLOGIA
    Depositing User: Professore Associato Claudio Lardicci
    Date Deposited: 22 Apr 2009
    Last Modified: 20 Dec 2010 11:52
    URI: http://eprints.adm.unipi.it/id/eprint/577

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