737 / 2024-09-19 10:47:46

Win some, lose some: using standardised samplers to understand human impacts on coastal marine biodiversity

biodiversity,MarineGEO,ARMS,metabarcoding,human impacts

Biodiversity thrives in coastal marine habitats which host foundational species such as corals, mangroves, and seagrass. However, coastal development and the growth of megacities along shorelines imposes an array of stressors on the marine environment. These various stressors inevitably impact biodiversity which dictates ecosystem functioning and the services which they can provide to nearby communities. Thus it is imperative for us to first take a deep dive into biodiversity and gain a more comprehensive understanding of what we may be losing and how specific stressors impact the biodiversity of these ecosystems. In this study, we used standardised settlement tiles (ARMS), to examine community responses to stress within Hong Kong, an international megacity. A common garden experimental design, where ARMS were seeded within a marine reserve and then transplanted to sites of stress, allowed us to gain more insights on changes in biodiversity caused by aquaculture, sedimentation, and sewage. Traditional and molecular techniques were employed to 1) understand to what extent biodiversity can resist various human impacts, and 2) how different stressors alter biodiversity. We also highlight resources for genetic identification of species and biodiversity collections in the region, which are currently underrepresented within global databases. Given the ubiquity of human impacts in coastal marine ecosystems, these data can influence management practices focused on preserving biodiversity and ecosystem function and help us to understand biodiversity resilience.