Effect of trampling and digging from shellfishing on Zostera noltei (Zosteraceae) intertidal seagrass beds

  1. Garmendia, Joxe Mikel
  2. Valle, Mireia
  3. Borja, Ángel
  4. Chust, Guillem
  5. Lee, Dae-Jin
  6. Germán Rodríguez, J.
  7. Franco, Javier
Journal:
Scientia Marina

ISSN: 0214-8358

Year of publication: 2017

Volume: 81

Issue: 1

Pages: 121-128

Type: Article

DOI: 10.3989/SCIMAR.04482.17A DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openOpen access editor

More publications in: Scientia Marina

Abstract

Seagrass beds are among the most valuable ecosystems in the world but they are also among the ones most affected by human activities, and they have decreased significantly in recent decades. In many areas, such as in the Basque Country (northern Spain), seagrass beds occupy areas that are also of interest for human activities such as recreation and shellfishing. They may therefore face a number of pressures that cause damage or irreversible states. Taking into account the limited distribution of seagrass beds in the Basque Country and the interest in their conservation, an eight-month field experiment focusing on the Zostera noltei growing season was carried out to evaluate the effect of shellfish gathering. We used generalized linear models to assess different intensities of trampling and digging, as the most important pressures of shellfishing applied to Zostera noltei beds. The results indicated that shoot density of Z. noltei was negatively altered by trampling treatments and positively affected (as a recovery) by digging treatments. This finding suggests that shellfishing adversely affects seagrass abundance and is potentially responsible for its low density in the Oka estuary. Our findings are important for management and should be taken into account in seagrass conservation and restoration programmes.

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Funding information

The authors would like to thank the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve Board for giving permission to carry out field experiments and Itziar Canive for her help in the experiment. This work was funded by the Basque Water Agency (URA) through a cooperation agreement signed with AZTI for research on the application of Directive 2000/60/EC in the coastal area of the Basque Country. The research of Dae-Jin Lee was also supported by the Basque Government through the BERC 2014-2017 programme and by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) through the BCAM Severo Ochoa excellence accreditation SEV-2013-0323. This paper is contribution number 800 of the Marine Research Division (AZTI).

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