Foundation species on artificial reefs: determined bottom-up or top-down?
Informations
- Funding country
Netherlands- Acronym
- -
- URL
- -
- Start date
- 9/1/2021
- End date
- -
- Budget
- 194,750 EUR
Fundings
| Name | Role | Start | End | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Talent Programme | Grant | - | - | - |
Abstract
Reef-builders have declined tremendously in marine ecosystems. Without natural reefs, the biodiversity, productivity and ecosystem services decrease. Artificial reefs can provide hard substrate and three-dimensional structure for the settlement of foundation species and development of benthic- and fish communities. It is however unclear how artificial reefs can enhance reef communities optimally: are foundation species determined by bottom-up or top-down processes? Within this project, the effects of artificial reef characteristics on reef-builders and their role in the food web are studied. With this knowledge, reef ecosystems can be enhanced and restored more effectively.