Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science最新文献

{"title":"Laboratory simulation of flocculation process and investigation of influencing important factors in estuaries using image processing","authors":"Sajjad Fathi Ozanbolagh,&nbsp;Mohammad Hossein Niksokhan,&nbsp;Abdolreza Karbassi","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109739","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109739","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Estuaries are intricate and fascinating aquatic environments where freshwater from rivers and streams converges with saline water from the ocean. This dynamic ecosystem is subjected to many factors, including salinity and other ions, which influence estuarine characteristics. One crucial process that impacts the size of suspended particles and the water quality in this environment is flocculation. The recent study explored and tested the flocculation process in river estuaries under conditions that resemble near real-life scenarios by image processing considering the various conditions of mixing in different parts of the hypothetical estuary and by examining a wide range of different salinity values, the concentration of suspended sediments and different volumes of saline water.</div><div>The study investigated three key factors: mixing processes, water salinity and the concentration of suspended substances. The research considered two broad perspectives for review: changes in salinity and changes in the volume of saline water mixed throughout the estuary. The findings indicate that the size of flocs in the estuary area fluctuates based on both salinity and river discharge, depending on the location along the hypothetical estuary. These changes are also influenced by the concentration of suspended sediments in the river water.</div><div>The statistical findings indicate that the smallest floc size occurs at a salinity of 12 g/l, while the largest floc size is observed at a salinity of 24 g/l. This maximum floc size is associated with a suspended sediment concentration of 50 mg/l and a volume of saline water equal to 1 L.</div><div>The results indicate that the maximum floc sizes predominantly occur within the salinity range of 18–24 g/l, with concentrations at both the minimum (50 mg/l) and maximum (200 mg/l) levels.</div><div>With changes in salinity along the estuary based on the different mixing conditions and different levels of suspended sediment concentration, the maximum size of the flocs varies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"332 ","pages":"Article 109739"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146098578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mesh size efficiency in estuarine benthos sampling: impact on community composition and the performance of ecological indicators in the Amazon region","authors":"Rafael Anaisce das Chagas ,&nbsp;Mara Rúbia Ferreira Barros ,&nbsp;Weverton John Pinheiro dos Santos ,&nbsp;Raphael Ligeiro","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109731","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109731","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this study, we performed an analysis of the sampling efficiency of different mesh sizes in the sampling of estuarine benthic communities. Sampling was carried out at four points in the Primavera River estuary (Eastern Amazon), in September 2020, using four quadrants (1 m² each) at each point, arranged in two parallel transects (riverbank and mangrove forest) located within the intertidal region. In the laboratory, we sorted the samples using meshes with openings of 0.5 mm, 1.0 mm and 2.0 mm and identified them at the lowest possible taxonomic level. The results showed that the retention efficiency of the 1.0 mm and 2.0 mm meshes were similar, both with smaller abundance values than obtained by the 0.5 mm mesh size. The difference found in species richness was mainly due to the presence of some taxa found only in the finer mesh, such as ostracods, foraminifera and nematodes. Furthermore, the ecological responses using the ecological indicators did not show differences between the mesh sizes evaluated. We concluded that the use of a larger mesh (2.0 mm) has proven to be effective in studies that aim at the characterization of the ecological condition of sites or investigations of the relationships between organisms and their habitat. The use of the finer mesh (0.5 mm), with a greater abundance of individuals and species richness, should be reserved only for more rigorous diversity surveys, since the loss of information in relation to the larger mesh was not expressive.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"331 ","pages":"Article 109731"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146080794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Distribution characteristics of microplastics and macroplastics in surface seawater across seasonal fluctuations: A case study in the Bohai Bay, China","authors":"Dai Jia ,&nbsp;Jinfei Guo ,&nbsp;Ruihan Wang,&nbsp;Xianbin Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109735","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109735","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Microplastics and macroplastics are pervasive in global marine environment. Coastal bays—particularly semi-enclosed, anthropogenically stressed systems like the Bohai Bay—are potential hotspots for plastic accumulation due to intense terrestrial inputs, dense coastal populations and complex hydrodynamics. This study aims to elucidate the spatiotemporal distribution and key controlling factors of microplastics and macroplastics in its surface waters. Seawater samples were collected from 12 stations across three seasons (spring: 14–19 April; summer: 22–27 July; autumn: 13–18 October 2018) using a water sampler, with triplicates at each station. Filtered and separated microplastics and macroplastics were quantified by stereomicroscopy, and their polymer types identified via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (spectral match threshold &gt;70 %). The results showed a high average microplastics abundance of 9.29 ± 0.93 items L⁻¹, exceeding levels typically found in open seas and coastal waters. Microplastics abundance exhibited distinct seasonal variability (autumn: 118, spring: 108, summer: 99 items in total), likely driven by seasonal differences in rainfall and wind speed. Microplastics abundance were elevated at estuarine stations (26.93 items L⁻¹) compared to non-estuarine stations (25.78 items L⁻¹), highlighting riverine input. Microplastics were predominantly transparent, fibrous, and composed mainly of polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene. Both the abundance and size distribution of microplastics displayed a unimodal seasonal pattern. However, macroplastics were detected at fewer stations than microplastics, with the lowest occurrence in summer. These findings provide a scientific basis for targeted, seasonally tailored bay policies, highlighting terrestrial plastic discharge control and estuarine microplastics hotspots to support precise marine pollution management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"331 ","pages":"Article 109735"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146174334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Seasonal comparison of primary productivity and microeukaryotic plankton community structure between two seagrass bed ecosystems in northern and southern China","authors":"Zhexuan Shi ,&nbsp;Ziqi Liu ,&nbsp;Jiahong Zhu,&nbsp;Zhi'en Liu,&nbsp;Hongwei Wang,&nbsp;Siyang Wu,&nbsp;Luyao Chen,&nbsp;Weifang Chen,&nbsp;Xin Lin","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109732","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109732","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Seagrass beds, recognized as pivotal blue carbon ecosystems, are essential for mitigating climate change and sustaining coastal ecological functioning. While contributions to organic carbon storage from plant residues and terrestrial inputs in submerged seagrass meadows have been extensively studied, the temporal variations in the productivity and community structure of microeukaryotic plankton in the overlying water column remain underexplored, despite their critical role in primary productivity. Here, we compared the seasonal dynamics of gross primary productivity (GPP) and microeukaryotic plankton community structures between a temperate Swan Lake and a tropical Li'an Lagoon, both semi-closed seagrass bed ecosystems in China, revealing spatiotemporal heterogenous patterns and regulatory mechanisms. In the temperate Swan Lake, GPP increased gradually from spring to winter, whereas biomass chlorophyll <em>a</em> (Chla) remained consistently low across all seasons. In contrast, the tropical lagoon exhibited heterogeneous spatiotemporal dynamics of both Chla and GPP, driven by season and seagrass coverage. Regarding community composition, Stramenopiles, Alveolata, unclassified Eukaryota, Chlorophyta and Cryptophyta, collectively accounted for over 90 % of total abundance, exhibiting significant seasonal and spatial dynamics in two regions, respectively. We further found that the microeukaryotic plankton community diversity and assembly mechanism were primarily driven by stochastic processes, ecological drift and homogenizing dispersal. These findings underscore the crucial role of seagrass in regulating microorganism community assembly and ecosystem resilience, providing a scientific basis for developing conservation strategies for coastal seagrass beds sensitive to human activities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"331 ","pages":"Article 109732"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146080797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Intraseasonal variation of sea surface temperature and its primary mechanism in Bohai Sea","authors":"Jia Shi ,&nbsp;Zhiliang Liu ,&nbsp;Yunlong Lu ,&nbsp;Yongliang Zhang ,&nbsp;Xiao Chen ,&nbsp;Zuozuo Ma","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109718","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109718","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sea surface temperature (SST) variability on intraseasonal timescales (10–90 days) significantly influences regional weather and marine ecosystems. However, intraseasonal SST variability in the Bohai Sea remains poorly understood. Based on high-resolution satellite SST data and ERA5 reanalysis data, this paper systematically examines the spatiotemporal characteristics and underlying mechanisms of intraseasonal SST variability in the Bohai Sea. Spectral analysis identifies two significant intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) periods of Bohai Sea SST: a shorter-period oscillation (30–50 days, ISO30–50) and a longer-period oscillation (60–90 days, ISO60–90). The ISO30–50 dominates in summer and is primarily driven by shortwave radiation anomalies that lead SST variations by 2–7 days. The ISO60–90 occurs mainly in autumn and winter and is predominantly controlled by turbulent heat fluxes (primarily latent and sensible heat fluxes), whose anomalies precede SST changes by 11–14 days. Longwave radiation acts as different feedback mechanism in two periods. In the ISO60–90 band, upward longwave radiation varies almost simultaneously with SST. In contrast, in the ISO30–50 band, downward longwave radiation may lead SST in an anti-phase manner under certain atmospheric conditions. Spatially, the ISO30–50 concentrates in shallow coastal bays, whereas the ISO60–90 extends across larger offshore areas. Notably, the spatial patterns of ISOs do not fully align with the heat flux variability, suggesting that oceanic circulation structures may play a crucial role in regulating the spatial heterogeneity of intraseasonal SST oscillations. These findings advance the mechanistic understanding of Bohai Sea SST variability and provide insights for predicting regional weather and managing nearshore ecological environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"331 ","pages":"Article 109718"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146015730","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prevelance of the parasitic copepod Acanthochondria diastema Kabata, 1965 in wild populations of the southern sand flathead, Platycephalus bassensis","authors":"Peter G. Coulson,&nbsp;Jawahar G. Patil,&nbsp;Adam Davey,&nbsp;Alyssa Marshell","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109712","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109712","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The spatial and temporal prevalence of the parasitic copepod <em>Acanthochondria diastema</em> was examined in three populations of a key recreational fishery species, the southern sand flathead, <em>Platycephalus bassensis</em> across three geographically separated coastal regions of Tasmania, Australia. The parasitic copepods were observed in the buccal cavity of 21–27 % of fish sampled. The weak significant difference in parasite prevalence between regions indicates that there is negligible spatial effect on the prevalence of <em>A. diastema</em> in <em>P. bassensis</em>. Seasonal patterns were region-specific and the effect of location was weak, suggesting high connectivity among <em>P. bassensis</em> populations, likely facilitated by egg/larval dispersal via ocean currents. Fish length was the strongest predictor of parasite presence, with the probability increasing by approximately 1 % for each 1 mm increase in fish length. Fish age contributed significantly in only one region, while there were no sex-specific differences. Although <em>A. diastema</em> was first reported decades ago in <em>P. bassensis</em>, routine encounters have only emerged in recent years, raising concerns that warming waters and fishing pressure are reshaping host–parasite dynamics. These findings highlight the utility of parasite data for understanding exploited fish populations and provide optimism for rebuilding <em>P. bassensis</em> stocks given the limited population structuring in Tasmanian coastal waters.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"331 ","pages":"Article 109712"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146015731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Essentials of research integrity for ecologists","authors":"Thomas A. Schlacher ,&nbsp;Yasser Assaf ,&nbsp;Carlos Barboza ,&nbsp;Guilherme Corte ,&nbsp;Leonardo Costa ,&nbsp;Jenifer E. Dugan ,&nbsp;Michael Elliott ,&nbsp;Kyle A. Emery ,&nbsp;Lucia Fanini ,&nbsp;David M. Hubbard ,&nbsp;Brendan P. Kelaher ,&nbsp;Mariano Lastra ,&nbsp;Jan Macher ,&nbsp;Brooke Maslo ,&nbsp;Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy ,&nbsp;Senem Onen Tarantini ,&nbsp;Franca Sangiorgio ,&nbsp;Andrea Tarallo ,&nbsp;Michael A. Weston ,&nbsp;Aaron Wiegand","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109686","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109686","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><ul><li><span>1.</span><span><div>The cadence, intensity, and breadth of global change have never been greater. Ideally, society's responses to this change are public policies derived from trusted scientific evidence produced by ethical research conduct: such 'research of integrity' is critical for public trust in the scientific endeavour and, hence, its value to society at large.</div></span></li><li><span>2.</span><span><div>The facets of research integrity span a broad ambit of ethical, moral, cultural, and epistemological domains that can appear bewilderingly complex to practitioners. Here, we provide a succinct summary of the main requirements and associated principles.</div></span></li><li><span>3.</span><span><div>Respecting the primacy of Indigenous rights, cultures, and knowledge is crucially important for ecologists, and this must be done sincerely and sensitively.</div></span></li><li><span>4.</span><span><div>Avoiding or minimising harm to sentient animals is a universal practice, and extending harm reduction to habitats is a logical development. However, common sense must prevail to avoid bureaucratic overreach that can result in perverse outcomes where critical conservation work is left undone because of overly stringent permit conditions.</div></span></li><li><span>5.</span><span><div>The best empirical evidence is morally tainted, and hence mistrusted, when it emerges from a culture of discrimination (e.g. gender, origin, age) or is biased by political or religious interference in the scientific process.</div></span></li><li><span>6.</span><span><div>The cardinal requirement for the evidence put forward is for it to present precisely the actual facts: absolute truth is the <em>conditio sine qua non</em> for all scientific outputs.</div></span></li><li><span>7.</span><span><div>Science has self-correcting and quality-assurance mechanisms: stringent quality control during the publication process (e.g., independent peer review, close editorial oversight, reputable journals and publishers) and open science (e.g., data availability) – all actors must uphold both.</div></span></li><li><span>8.</span><span><div>Across all domains, transparency and openness are <em>the</em> key attributes in all stages of the scientific process: they allow for culturally safe and ethically just practices to be visible and for information to be verifiable.</div></span></li></ul></div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"331 ","pages":"Article 109686"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146026187","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Long-term changes in the Adriatic Sea (1971–2023): river influence, climate impacts, and biogeochemical shifts in coastal bottom waters","authors":"Teresa Sani ,&nbsp;Alessandra Campanelli ,&nbsp;Mauro Marini ,&nbsp;Stefano Goffredo ,&nbsp;Federica Grilli","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109722","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109722","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study analyses long-term (1971–2023) trends in physical (temperature and salinity) and biogeochemical (chlorophyll-<em>a</em> and nitrate concentration) properties of bottom coastal waters in the Western Adriatic Sea. Results reveal complex patterns driven by a combination of regional hydrological shifts and broader climate change impacts. The basin was divided into North and Central-South sub-basins, focusing on winter and summer data. Over the last 53 years, Po River flow has progressively decreased especially during summer, altering hydrography and nutrient dynamics. Marked regional and seasonal divergences were observed. The North Adriatic showed summer warming (+1.05 % yr⁻¹), slight winter cooling (−0.27 % yr⁻¹), and decreased salinity in winter with a slight increase in summer. In contrast, the Central-South Adriatic exhibited stronger winter warming (+0.43 % yr⁻¹), weaker summer warming (+0.08 % yr⁻¹), increased salinity in winter and a decline in summer. Biogeochemical trends revealed strong regional and seasonal contrasts in chlorophyll-<em>a</em> and nitrate concentrations, with declining summer chlorophyll-<em>a</em> across the basin and decreases in both chlorophyll-<em>a</em> and nitrate in the Central-South Adriatic, consistent with a long-term, phosphorus-driven reduction in trophic conditions. This research helps to fill a critical knowledge gap concerning increasingly vulnerable and impacted coastal and bottom environments, underscoring the importance of sustained basin-wide monitoring to ensure uniform spatial and temporal coverage.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"331 ","pages":"Article 109722"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146015729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of an estuarine dam on sediment distribution and accumulation in the Geum Estuary, South Korea","authors":"Timothy M. Dellapenna ,&nbsp;Guan-hong Lee ,&nbsp;Jonathan Rogers ,&nbsp;Peng Lin ,&nbsp;Joshua Alarcon ,&nbsp;Jongwi Chang","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109717","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109717","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Geum Estuary, located on the west coast of South Korea, provides a compelling case study of estuarine transformation under intensive anthropogenic modification. Following the construction of the Geum Estuarine Dam in 1994, the estuary has undergone marked changes in hydrodynamics, sediment transport pathways, and depositional environments. To quantify these changes, a suite of vibracores was collected upstream of the dam, within the inner estuary, across adjacent tidal flats, and on the inner continental shelf. Grain size distribution, sediment geochemistry, and radionuclide-based geochronologies (²¹⁰Pb and ²³⁹+²⁴⁰Pu) were used to reconstruct depositional trends and assess sediment retention dynamics. The results demonstrate a pronounced shift from sand-to mud-dominated environments downstream of the dam, with sedimentation rates reaching 6–8 cm/yr⁻¹. In contrast, formerly mud-rich offshore zones now exhibit sandier stratigraphy and reduced accumulation rates, while coarse sediments continue to dominate upstream of the dam. These patterns are consistent with the ∼54 % reduction in tidal prism and the dam's top-gate discharge design, which restricts bottom flows and promotes trapping of suspended sediment within the estuary. Seasonal processes such as strain-induced periodic stratification and episodic dam releases further reinforce sediment convergence in the inner estuary. This study highlights the long-term legacy effects of river regulation on estuarine sediment dynamics and pollutant accumulation. The findings have broader implications for the management of dammed estuaries in monsoon-influenced regions. The Geum Estuary serves as a critical reference for evaluating sedimentological consequences of human interventions in estuarine systems globally.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"331 ","pages":"Article 109717"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146080796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rapid macrobenthos colonization of newly created intertidal habitat in the Hedwige-Prosper Polder managed realignment site (Scheldt estuary, Belgium, the Netherlands)","authors":"Tom Van den Neucker ,&nbsp;Roy Münstermann ,&nbsp;Stijn Baeten,&nbsp;Tim van den Broeck,&nbsp;Robrecht Debbaut,&nbsp;Tom Maris,&nbsp;Jonas Schoelynck","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109730","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109730","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Over the last 25 years, a series of flood control areas and managed realignment sites have been established along the entire salinity gradient of the Scheldt estuary in Belgium and the Netherlands, which serve both as flood protection measures and to compensate for the loss of intertidal mudflats and marshes caused by anthropogenic perturbations. In October 2022, the Hedwige-Prosper Polder managed realignment site became operational, consisting of the former Prosper and Hedwige Polders and the Sieperda Marsh. We examined the macrobenthos colonization of the Hedwige-Prosper managed realignment site during the first year after tidal restoration. We also investigated the driving abiotic factors behind the macrobenthos community development. Macrobenthos samples, sediment samples and elevation measurements were collected at ten locations covering the entire elevation gradient of the site. Multivariate statistics were used to evaluate the effect of season on macrobenthos species composition, to investigate the relationship between biotic and abiotic variables and to assess the effect of abiotic variables on macrobenthos density. Macrobenthos colonization was rapid. The number of taxa increased sharply between spring and autumn. A total of 28 macroinvertebrate taxa were found 11 months after realignment, of which 21 occurred on the newly created mudflat in the former Prosper and Hedwige Polders. Spatial variation in the macrobenthos community was explained by differences in inundation frequency. Our results indicate that the macrobenthos of the newly created mudflat in the Hedwige-Prosper Polder converges to benthos communities found on natural mudflats in the mesohaline and polyhaline zones of the Scheldt estuary.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"331 ","pages":"Article 109730"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146080793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}