Trophic web structure and ecosystem attributes of a temperate estuarine system (Ria de Aveiro, Portugal)
Juan
Bueno1*,
Eva
García-Seoane1,
Henrique
Queiroga1,
António
Luis1,
Marina
R.
Cunha1,
Rui
P.
Vieira1,
Ana
I.
Lillebø1,
Ana
I.
Sousa1,
João
Serôdio1,
Silja
Frankenbach1,
Victor
Quintino1,
Ana
Rodrigues1,
António
Calado1,
João
Ezequiel1,
Nuno
Vaz1,
Sergio
Leandro2,
Ana
Abreu1,
Cátia
L.
Silva1 and
José
E.
Rebelo1
-
1
University of Aveiro, Portugal
-
2
Instituto Politécnico de Leiria, Portugal
Estuaries are among the most productive ecosystems and simultaneously among the most threatened by conflicting human activities, which damage their ecological functions. Describing and attempting to understand the structure and functioning of estuaries is an essential step for maintaining and restoring the quality of estuarine ecosystems. The objective of this study was to obtain insights into the ecosystem structure and functioning of Ria de Aveiro. The study area is a coastal lagoon located on the Northwest Atlantic coast of Portugal, which is connected to the sea through an artificial channel. The ECOPATH software was used to create a static balanced trophic food web model of the tidal part of Ria de Aveiro. The model considers 26 functional groups, including birds, fish, invertebrates, seagrasses, zooplankton, phytoplankton and detritus. Few adjustments were necessary for the input parameters because most of the data were based on direct observations or compiled from literature based on the study site. The trophic interactions within the food web of Riade Aveiro and the transference of energy between functional groups were quantitatively represented. Finally, the keystone index was defined for each functional group.
Acknowledgements
J. Bueno is funded by a Post-Doc grant from the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian Oceanos, whithin the project The Economic Valuation and Governance of Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Services. A.I. Sousa is funded by the Post-Doc grant SFRH/BPD/79537/2011, supported by FCT and by POPH/FSE. Part of this work was funded by PROMAR through the project Enguias na Ria de Aveiro, um ex-líbris a preservar: biologia, sanidade e pesca and Promoção dos Recursos Endógenos da Ria: Conhecer, Usufruir e Preservar.
Keywords:
Coastal lagoon,
Ecopath,
Food-web model,
Ria de Aveiro,
transfer efficiency
Conference:
XV European Congress of Ichthyology, Porto, Portugal, 7 Sep - 11 Sep, 2015.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Ecology, Conservation and Invasive Species
Citation:
Bueno
J,
García-Seoane
E,
Queiroga
H,
Luis
A,
Cunha
MR,
Vieira
RP,
Lillebø
AI,
Sousa
AI,
Serôdio
J,
Frankenbach
S,
Quintino
V,
Rodrigues
A,
Calado
A,
Ezequiel
J,
Vaz
N,
Leandro
S,
Abreu
A,
Silva
CL and
Rebelo
JE
(2015). Trophic web structure and ecosystem attributes of a temperate estuarine system (Ria de Aveiro, Portugal).
Front. Mar. Sci.
Conference Abstract:
XV European Congress of Ichthyology.
doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2015.03.00184
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Received:
30 Nov 2015;
Published Online:
01 Dec 2015.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Juan Bueno, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal, jbuenopardo@gmail.com