From ecology to the assessment of multiple ecosystem services; a case study of estuarine bivalves
type: CreativeWork
description: Estuarine and coastal environments provide a wide range of societal goods and services that need to be strategically managed to ensure sustainable use of resources. Ecosystem service (ES) assessments are transitioning from individual ES to multi-service assessments that consider interactions and grouping of ES (i.e. bundles). This thesis investigates the use of ecological mechanism (i.e. the links between ecological processes, functions, and ES) to derive insights into the associations between multiple ES provided by marine bivalves and the implications for management. In data-scarce marine environments, conventional spatial methods for assessing ES interactions and bundles are not always feasible. However, advancements can be made by focussing on ecological mechanisms, as for bivalves their ecological role has been extensively studied. The complex links between processes, functions, and ES were identified for bivalves, which were used to derive four ES bundles based on shared underpinning mechanisms. This study provides detailed descriptions of the specific (set of) ecological mechanisms per bundle, thereby gaining insights in how the ES are formed, the interactions between ES (synergies and trade-offs) and the environmental stressors they are prone to. Quantification of ES remains challenging, and measuring them in functionally similar species in different habitats is rarely considered, although ecological studies indicate differences are likely. I measured in situ bivalve contribution to water quality regulation for two functionally similar bivalve species (infaunal suspension-feeders) that dominate different estuarine habitats (subtidal and intertidal). Benthic chambers were used to measure solute fluxes (oxygen and nitrogen) and bed clearance rates as proxies for ES. Empirical findings indicated higher hourly productivity, nitrogen recycling, and water column filtration in the intertidal. However, when converted to daily ES estimates these patterns did not pers…
abstract: Estuarine and coastal environments provide a wide range of societal goods and services that need to be strategically managed to ensure sustainable use of resources. Ecosystem service (ES) assessments are transitioning from individual ES to multi-service assessments that consider interactions and grouping of ES (i.e. bundles). This thesis investigates the use of ecological mechanism (i.e. the links between ecological processes, functions, and ES) to derive insights into the associations between multiple ES provided by marine bivalves and the implications for management. In data-scarce marine environments, conventional spatial methods for assessing ES interactions and bundles are not always feasible. However, advancements can be made by focussing on ecological mechanisms, as for bivalves their ecological role has been extensively studied. The complex links between processes, functions, and ES were identified for bivalves, which were used to derive four ES bundles based on shared underpinning mechanisms. This study provides detailed descriptions of the specific (set of) ecological mechanisms per bundle, thereby gaining insights in how the ES are formed, the interactions between ES (synergies and trade-offs) and the environmental stressors they are prone to. Quantification of ES remains challenging, and measuring them in functionally similar species in different habitats is rarely considered, although ecological studies indicate differences are likely. I measured in situ bivalve contribution to water quality regulation for two functionally similar bivalve species (infaunal suspension-feeders) that dominate different estuarine habitats (subtidal and intertidal). Benthic chambers were used to measure solute fluxes (oxygen and nitrogen) and bed clearance rates as proxies for ES. Empirical findings indicated higher hourly productivity, nitrogen recycling, and water column filtration in the intertidal. However, when converted to daily ES estimates these patterns did not pers…
author: Rullens, Vera
license: https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstreams/e1fae288-fefa-4a46-88b8-dc3e0ea56b10/download
date published: 2021
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:57:21Z
provider: University Waikato
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The University of Waikato