El Niño–Southern Oscillations and Pacific Decadal Oscillation as Drivers of the Decadal Dynamics of Benthic Macrofauna in Two Subtropical Estuaries (Southern Brazil)

The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) are large-scale climatic phenomena affecting atmospheric and oceanic teleconnections, and thus triggering weather events at different temporal and spatial scales, both in tropical and extratropical areas. During 11 yea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecosystems (New York) 2020-11, Vol.23 (7), p.1380-1394
Main Authors: Francisco, André Silva, Netto, Sérgio A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Automobile drivers
Biodiversity
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Climate cycles
Coastal zone
Community composition
Ecology
El Nino
Environmental Management
Estuaries
Geoecology/Natural Processes
Hydrology/Water Resources
Invertebrates
La Nina
Life Sciences
Macrofauna
Original Papers
Oscillations
Plant Sciences
Rivers
Southern Oscillation
Species richness
Teleconnections
Weather
Zoology
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Summary:The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) are large-scale climatic phenomena affecting atmospheric and oceanic teleconnections, and thus triggering weather events at different temporal and spatial scales, both in tropical and extratropical areas. During 11 years (2007–2017), the influence of ENSO events (El Niño, La Niña and neutral), ENSO types (canonical and Modoki) and PDO phases (cold and warm) on meteorological conditions and macrobenthic invertebrates were analyzed in two distinct (tide-dominated and river-dominated) subtropical estuaries of Southern Brazil. The estuarine macrobenthic communities differed markedly, with higher species richness in the tidedominated estuary (146 taxa) than river-dominated (44). We showed that long-term variability of benthic macrofauna in both estuaries was strongly influenced by the PDO and ENSO events. However, the signs of PDO and ENSO effects differed between the estuaries. While the main modulating force of the decadal variability of the macrofauna of the tide-dominated estuary was the PDO (19%), the river-dominated estuary was primarily influenced by the ENSO (9%). Besides, PDO and ENSO teleconnections have combined effects, with higher macrofauna dissimilarities during constructive periods (PDO Positive/EL Niño vs. PDO Negative/La Niña). Our findings indicate that: (1) The effects of the ENSO on coastal areas are dependent of the spatial scale and the intrinsic characteristics of each estuary; (2) Studies relating ENSO and biodiversity should consider the ENSO type (Modoki and canonical) and interdecadal modes, such as PDO, because the location of the warm pools and the intensity of induced heating affect the atmospheric teleconnections.
ISSN:1432-9840
1435-0629
DOI:10.1007/s10021-019-00475-6