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An Assessment of Artificial Floating Islands as a Method of Habitat Creation in Marine Environments / JESSICA WARE

Swansea University Author: JESSICA WARE

DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUthesis.56709

Abstract

Most megacities are located adjacent to the coast due to the continuous seaward migration of human populations; a process referred to as marine urban sprawl. The subsequent hardening of the natural coastline has caused the loss and degradation of coastal habitats. In order to halt, mitigate and comp...

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Published: Swansea 2020
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Doctoral
Degree name: Ph.D
Supervisor: Callaway, Ruth ; Tang, Kam
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa56709
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first_indexed 2021-04-20T15:07:56Z
last_indexed 2021-04-22T03:24:27Z
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spelling 2021-04-21T08:52:39.4109887 v2 56709 2021-04-20 An Assessment of Artificial Floating Islands as a Method of Habitat Creation in Marine Environments 45681144d451d4ce85d11f3bf8213e9a JESSICA WARE JESSICA WARE true false 2021-04-20 Most megacities are located adjacent to the coast due to the continuous seaward migration of human populations; a process referred to as marine urban sprawl. The subsequent hardening of the natural coastline has caused the loss and degradation of coastal habitats. In order to halt, mitigate and compensate for further losses of biodiversity, it is important that habitat restoration techniques with involve ecological engineering are considered. Artificial floating islands (AFIs) are a habitat creation method used to improve water quality and support biodiversity in aquatic environments. This study aimed to assess the installation of AFIs as a restoration tool in heavily modified coastal water bodies. That included investigating: the suitability of halophytes for transplantation into the AFI matrix; the biofouling communities that establish on the AFIs; the abundance, species richness and behaviour of fish in association with AFIs; the density and behaviour of birds in association with the AFIs; and the public perception of current environmental concerns and therefore, opinion on AFIs as an ecological engineering method. Based on the results of this study sea purslane (Halimione portulacoides) would be recommended for transplantation on AFIs installed in saline environments. The invertebrate community assemblages were notably controlled by the primary settlement of blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) and Australian tubeworm (Ficopomatus enigmaticus). Juvenile phase European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and gull (Laridae) spp. foraged on the benthic invertebrates that fouled the AFIs underside and European eel (Anguilla Anguilla) rested in the matrix. The public supported the use of AFIs in coastal environments but concerns regarding maintenance and degradation were raised. In conclusion, this study highlighted the importance of AFI size, structure, location and vegetation cover as these factors influence the species composition, degree of isolation and environmental exposure, contributing to the overall success of AFI deployments in heavily modified coastal water bodies. E-Thesis Swansea 30 9 2020 2020-09-30 10.23889/SUthesis.56709 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Callaway, Ruth ; Tang, Kam Doctoral Ph.D 2021-04-21T08:52:39.4109887 2021-04-20T16:05:21.9934062 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences JESSICA WARE 1 56709__19715__a47438a8c9424a46a6c3601f792689e7.pdf Ware_Jessica _PhD_Thesis_Final_Redacted_Signature.pdf 2021-04-20T16:15:53.5885213 Output 9054719 application/pdf E-Thesis – open access true Copyright: The author, Jessica Ware, 2020 true eng
title An Assessment of Artificial Floating Islands as a Method of Habitat Creation in Marine Environments
spellingShingle An Assessment of Artificial Floating Islands as a Method of Habitat Creation in Marine Environments
JESSICA WARE
title_short An Assessment of Artificial Floating Islands as a Method of Habitat Creation in Marine Environments
title_full An Assessment of Artificial Floating Islands as a Method of Habitat Creation in Marine Environments
title_fullStr An Assessment of Artificial Floating Islands as a Method of Habitat Creation in Marine Environments
title_full_unstemmed An Assessment of Artificial Floating Islands as a Method of Habitat Creation in Marine Environments
title_sort An Assessment of Artificial Floating Islands as a Method of Habitat Creation in Marine Environments
author_id_str_mv 45681144d451d4ce85d11f3bf8213e9a
author_id_fullname_str_mv 45681144d451d4ce85d11f3bf8213e9a_***_JESSICA WARE
author JESSICA WARE
author2 JESSICA WARE
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2020
institution Swansea University
doi_str_mv 10.23889/SUthesis.56709
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description Most megacities are located adjacent to the coast due to the continuous seaward migration of human populations; a process referred to as marine urban sprawl. The subsequent hardening of the natural coastline has caused the loss and degradation of coastal habitats. In order to halt, mitigate and compensate for further losses of biodiversity, it is important that habitat restoration techniques with involve ecological engineering are considered. Artificial floating islands (AFIs) are a habitat creation method used to improve water quality and support biodiversity in aquatic environments. This study aimed to assess the installation of AFIs as a restoration tool in heavily modified coastal water bodies. That included investigating: the suitability of halophytes for transplantation into the AFI matrix; the biofouling communities that establish on the AFIs; the abundance, species richness and behaviour of fish in association with AFIs; the density and behaviour of birds in association with the AFIs; and the public perception of current environmental concerns and therefore, opinion on AFIs as an ecological engineering method. Based on the results of this study sea purslane (Halimione portulacoides) would be recommended for transplantation on AFIs installed in saline environments. The invertebrate community assemblages were notably controlled by the primary settlement of blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) and Australian tubeworm (Ficopomatus enigmaticus). Juvenile phase European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and gull (Laridae) spp. foraged on the benthic invertebrates that fouled the AFIs underside and European eel (Anguilla Anguilla) rested in the matrix. The public supported the use of AFIs in coastal environments but concerns regarding maintenance and degradation were raised. In conclusion, this study highlighted the importance of AFI size, structure, location and vegetation cover as these factors influence the species composition, degree of isolation and environmental exposure, contributing to the overall success of AFI deployments in heavily modified coastal water bodies.
published_date 2020-09-30T04:11:52Z
_version_ 1763753813633662976
score 11.01353

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