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Home    Χρήση της πληροφορίας που αφορά χαρακτηριστικά των κύκλω ζωής των μακροβενθικών ασπόνδυλων (Πολύχαιτοι), με σκοπό της εκτίμηση της ποιότητας των ενδιαιτημάτων των θαλάσσιων μεταβατικών οικοσυστημάτων της Μεσογείου  

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Identifier 000351754
Title Χρήση της πληροφορίας που αφορά χαρακτηριστικά των κύκλω ζωής των μακροβενθικών ασπόνδυλων (Πολύχαιτοι), με σκοπό της εκτίμηση της ποιότητας των ενδιαιτημάτων των θαλάσσιων μεταβατικών οικοσυστημάτων της Μεσογείου
Alternative Title Usage of life cycle traits in macrobenthic Polychaetes in order to assess the quality of transitional Mediterranean waters' habitats
Author Μαρκαντωνάτου, Βασιλική
Thesis advisor Καρακάσης, Ιωάννης
Αρβανιτίδης, Χρήστος
Abstract In recent years, the potential of species in playing important roles in ecosystems and the rapidy emerging interest in biodiversity conservation have prompted ecologists to ask new questions on the relationships between 'diversity' and 'ecosystem function'. Phylogenetic Diversity is based on the relationships between organisms and is expressed according to Clarke & Warwick (2001) by the Taxonomic Distinctness indices Δ+ and Λ+. The relationships between organisms and processes through which they are adapted to environmental changes are expressed by a new term called “Functional Diversity”. Measuring Functional Diversity is very important in order to understand and predict future variation of biodiversity, concerning also issues about human impact on transitional waters. Functional Diversity refers to the general function of an organism within a given environment, and is described by the functional traits this organism possesses. Functional traits are those that define species in terms of their ecological roles ‐ how they interact with the environment and with other species. In the present study we tested the performance of a recently described multivariable methods and new indices describing Functional Distinctness Xeq+ and Ψeq+, based on the methodology proposed by Petchey & Gaston (2002). This approach uses multivariate statistical analysis, commonly known as Biological Traits Analysis (BTA), which combines information concerning life cycles of macrobenthic polychaetes in Mediterranean and Hellenic transitional waters. Most experimental evidence for biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning comes from terrestrial and fresh water ecosystems, where this method has become part of the typical analysis, in contrast to the marine environment where this approach is still under questions. The results produced by the Functional Distinctness performed on the datasets from the Mediterranean and Greek coastal lagoons where compared with those from the same set of data as produced by the Taxonomic Distinctness (TD) approach. The comparison shows patterns deriving from the functional level are complementary to those from the taxonomic/ phylogenetic level. The results steaming from the functional level performed better the status of the coastal lagoons examined as compared to the taxonomic/ phylogenetic level. This is probably linked to the scale of observation we have each time. Quantifying Functional Diversity (i.e. the range and variability of functional traits a biota possesses), and the development of an appropriate methodology for this purpose, is extremely difficult demanding good knowledge of the ecosystem and the biology of the organisms living in the ecosystem.
Language Greek
Subject Biodiversity
Biological Traits Analysis
Ecosystem functioning
Functional diversity
Functional traits
Taxonomic distinctness
Ανάλυση Βιολογικών Χαρακτηριστικών
Βιοποικιλότητα
Λειτουργικά χαρακτηριστικά
Λειτουργική ποικιλότητα
Λειτουργικότητα οικοσυστήματος
Ταξινομική διακριτότητα
Issue date 2010-03-10
Collection   School/Department--School of Sciences and Engineering--Department of Biology--Post-graduate theses
  Type of Work--Post-graduate theses
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