Advances in Benthic Ecosystem Function Research: Integrating Current Practices and Future Technologies for Enhanced Assessments

 

Understanding benthic ecosystem functions is essential for assessing the health and sustainability of marine environments, as these functions are fundamental to nutrient cycling, habitat structure, and overall ecosystem resilience. This study reviews the tools used in benthic ecosystem function research, tracing their evolution over time and evaluating the operational feasibility of various methodologies within a seascape approach to enhance both cost-effectiveness and data comparability

Benthic ecosystem function assessment methodologies can be classified into three primary categories: (A) Structural methods that describe ecosystem components, such as community composition or habitat structure, which can approximate functions through trait-based analysis (BTA); (B) Process-based methods that measure organismal activities, such as bioturbation (e.g., sediment profile imaging) or scavenging (e.g., baited remote underwater video systems), which relate to ecosystem functions via proxies or empirical relationships; and (C) Function-based methods that directly measure ecosystem functions, such as nutrient or gas fluxes (e.g., benthic flux chambers). While structural approaches can incorporate both traditional and novel faunal assessment technologies (e.g., eDNA), they are limited to BTA and thus are largely proxy-based, which restricts their potential for standardization. Both process-based and function-based methods offer high potential for standardized measurements but are operationally more complex. Integrating complementary methodologies may enable optimal assessment methods.

To supplement the findings of this review, a survey of practitioners was conducted to identify currently favored methodologies and evaluate their operational aspects. Through a synthesis of evolving methodologies and practitioner insights, this study underscores the value of combining structural, process-based, and function-based approaches to achieve a more comprehensive and standardized assessment of benthic ecosystem functions.