Ecological Indicators 74 (2017) 140146

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Ecological Indicators
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolind

Original Articles

Assessement and management of environmental quality conditions in

marine sandy beaches for its sustainable useVirtues of the
population based approach
Slvia C. Goncalves a,b, , Joo C. Marques a
a
MARE Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3004-517 Coimbra, Portugal
b
MARE Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ESTM, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, 2520-641 Peniche, Portugal

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Sandy beaches constitute high natural value ecosystems which have been worldwide a target for growing
Received 1 September 2016 human activities and ensuing pressures in the last decades, which caused ecological damages on these
Received in revised form environments and led to its environmental quality decline. However, little is known about the responses
14 November 2016
of these ecosystems to distinct stressors and pressures, and holistic and integrated coastal management
Accepted 15 November 2016
actions that protect beach environments and their ecological processes are yet to be developed. The aim of
this viewpoint article is to present and discuss the utility of using a population approach to macrofaunal
Keywords:
key species as a helpful tool for the assessment, management, and sustainable use of sandy beaches.
Sandy beaches
Human impacts
The role of macrofaunal key species as indicators of environmental changes and of ecological quality
Management and assessment tools condition is discussed and illustrated by some practical examples from the literature. The population
Macrofaunal key species is presented as a highly relevant ecological unit in management and one of the easiest ones to use,
Bio-ecology responding more rapidly to disturbances in the ecosystem than the most complex units. In this context,
Population dynamics models bio-ecology and population dynamics models are presented as tools and their potential, to improve the
way we assess and manage ecological quality conditions of beach ecosystems aiming at its sustainable use,
are discussed. Also, the advantages and drawbacks of the use of these tools in the population approach
are evaluated. Monitoring, assessment and management practices focusing on beach key species bio-
ecology as ecological indicator hold large potential in nowadays fast changing scenario, and should be
encouraged as a function of their identiable responses to manmade and natural disturbances.
2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction the concomitant growing human pressures. Caffyn et al. (2002)

Sandy beaches are sensitive and dynamic coastal ecosystems
with high natural value. They provide several important and often
unique ecological functions, as for instance the ltration of large
volumes of water and nutrients recycling, representing also crucial
habitats for various species, besides offering a multitude of goods
and services for humans (e.g. Defeo et al., 2009). Furthermore, their
inherent aesthetical value, coupled with the assorted recreational
possibilities that they offer to human society, have been attracting
us for a long time.
In the last decades, sandy beaches worldwide have been a tar-
get for the development of human activities, suffering therefore
Corresponding author at: MARE Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre,
ESTM, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, 2520-641 Peniche, Portugal.
E-mail addresses: scgoncalves@ipleiria.pt (S.C. Goncalves), jcmimar@ci.uc.pt
(J.C. Marques).
state that approximately 50% to 70% of the world population lives
within 60 km of the coast, a proportion that is actually increas-
ing. This implies the development of several human activities and
human infrastructures on coastal areas, ranging from urban and
industrial developments to recreational and transportation facili-
ties. Also, an enormous growth in beach tourism has occurred since
the 1950s (Gormsen, 1997; Caffyn et al., 2002), conveying more and
more tourists to these ecosystems every year. This development
was only possible due to an escalating expansion of touristic and
other recreational associated facilities. Hotels, resorts, jetties, ser-
vice and parking areas, just to name a few, were often constructed in
coastal areas without adequate spatial planning, and introduced an
array of disturbances into beaches and coastal dunes ecosystems.
Ecological recovery of such types of disturbances may sometimes
be almost impossible, and unfortunately, mass tourism in coastal
areas is nowadays an undeniable reality in several parts of the globe.
Such intense human activities caused ecological damages in
sandy beach habitats and led to an environmental quality decline of

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.11.024
1470-160X/ 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 S.C. Goncalves, J.C. Marques / Ecological Indicators 74 (2017) 140146
the beach environments (e.g. Lercari and Defeo, 2003; Davenport
and Davenport, 2006; Schlacher et al., 2008; Bessa et al., 2014a;
Nourisson et al., 2014). Furthermore, environmental problems
related with climate change and sea level rise undeniably exacer-
bate this environmental quality decline, conducting for instance to
beach erosion and beach narrowing (McLachlan and Brown, 2006;
Doney et al., 2012). Coupled with higher sea and air temperatures,
and subsequently the more frequent and intense storms that these
temperature increases may promote (McLachlan and Brown, 2006),
these phenomena can eventually, in the most extreme cases, trans-
late into the disappearance of entire beaches and of their biotas.
Thus, it should come as no surprise that sandy beaches are nowa-
days one of the most threatened worldwide ecosystems and face
an uncertain future.
When compared to what is known regarding other marine
coastal systems (e.g. rocky shores, estuaries), the scientic body of
knowledge on sandy beach ecology is still somehow underdevel-
oped, and little is known about the responses of these ecosystems
to their distinct stressors and pressures. Large efforts, however,
have been done in the last 1520 years, with important contribu-
tions and advances, namely on the understanding of the biological
and ecological components of sandy beaches. Important informa-
tion concerning the several types of threats and pressures imposed
to beach ecosystems (namely derived from human activities) was
gathered, and guidelines for coastal management actions and crit-
ical research directions that need to be urgently developed were
dened and identied by several authors (see for instance Brown
and McLachlan, 2002; Schlacher et al., 2007; Defeo et al., 2009;
McLachlan et al., 2013).
Contrarily to what happens in coastal dunes where vegetation is
the prevailing element, sandy beaches biological communities are
almost exclusively composed by faunal elements. In fact, in the vast
majority of these systems, macrofauna, often dominated by crus-
taceans, molluscs and polychaetes (McLachlan and Brown, 2006),
is a fundamental element in ecosystem structure and function. The
presence of this biotic component in adequate numbers ensures
the equilibrium of the system and allows marine sandy beaches
to operate normally as ecosystems. Macrofauna contributes for
wrack consumption and degradation and serves as prey for sev-
eral top predators such as shes or shorebirds, occupying a central
position in beach food webs. Also, some faunal elements, like for
instance sand hoppers in temperate beaches or ghost crabs in trop-
ical and subtropical ones (e.g. Neves and Bemvenuti, 2006), exhibit
abundant populations and may sometimes represent the bulk of
the macrofaunal communities, functioning as key species (see for
instance Goncalves et al., 2009).
The objective of this viewpoint paper is to present, discuss and
illustrate the utility of using a population approach to macrofaunal
key species as a tool in the assessment and management of sandy
beaches ecological conditions aiming at its sustainable use. We start
by commenting on the crucial relevance of ecological resilience
in the fast changing scenario that sandy beaches face today, and
afterwards we enlighten the reasons justifying the selection and
use of these key species populations as potential tools with regard
to sandy beaches assessment and management practices. Several
methodologies at the population ecological level of organization
are presented and discussed. Finally, relevant recommendations
regarding the assessment, management, and use of sandy beaches
based on the population approach are provided.
2. Resilience of sandy beaches in a changing scenario
Ecological resilience is described as the amount of disturbance
that an ecosystem in a given stability state can take in before it
changes to an alternative state. It constitutes an inherent property
141
of all ecosystems and, in other words, indicates the ecosystems
ability to absorb change against a background of the complexity
and/or variability of the ecosystem (as reviewed in Elliot et al.,
2007). The degree of resilience differs between ecosystems, and
ecosystems that are naturally highly variable may absorb higher
amounts of disturbance than less variable ecosystems (e.g. Elliott
and Quintino, 2007).
With the exception of major engineering structures, that can
have profound negative effects on the sediment supply and replace
natural landscapes and habitats by articial structures, sandy
beaches are quite resilient to most human activities and are suited
for recreational activities that do not involve the use of vehicles
(McLachlan and Brown, 2006). Coastal dunes, however, are much
more sensitive to human activities, mainly because of their vegeta-
tion which can be easily damaged even only by light trampling.
Therefore, in coastal areas where sandy beaches are backed by
coastal dunes, management practices should, in most cases, allow
the access to the beach for recreational purposes but still restrict
the disturbances to the adjacent dune environment by some sort
of means.
Sandy beaches face presently a multitude of disturbances that,
as previously mentioned, introduce several detrimental impacts
and act like stressors, imposing uncertainty and rapidly changing
scenarios. Understanding how these ecosystems respond to dis-
tinct disturbances is fundamental for their effective management
and adequate use. Also, it represents a step forward on the com-
prehension of the amounts of change susceptible of altering their
ecological stability state, helping to unveil their thresholds and
their real degree of resilience.
In urbanized coasts where coastal dunes have often been inter-
vened by articial structures activities, such as the construction of
urban and touristic facilities and mechanical and human trampling,
occur directly in the supralittoral and intertidal zones of the beach.
Environmental impacts associated to the ongoing climatic changes,
like the rise of the sea level and the increase in storm occurrence
and intensity, are also important stressors disturbing these zones.
In this context, the supralittoral and the intertidal zones of the
beach can be considered priority areas for intervention concern-
ing management practices. Open oceanic sandy beaches, on the
other hand, represent the largest proportion of the worlds sandy
shores (McLachlan and Brown, 2006), although physical aspects,
like for instance the degree of exposure to wave action, may oscil-
late according to the local conditions and alter both the beach type
and the species composition of macrofaunal benthic communities.
The assumptions, that supralittoral and intertidal zones are pri-
ority areas for intervention and that open oceanic sandy beaches
are the most abundant type of sandy beach worldwide, will conse-
quently guide the rationale presented in the following sections of
this viewpoint paper.
3. Methodologies available to evaluate the ecological
condition of sandy beaches
The development of adequate indicators is a crucial step for-
ward to understand and to evaluate the ecological condition of
natural systems. In sandy beaches, management plans have been
usually focused on protecting human infrastructures and stabilis-
ing the width of the beaches, by maintaining, sometimes through
nourishment interventions, the volumes of sand on the system
(Nordstrom and Mauriello, 2001; Nordstrom, 2008). However,
besides these methodologies based on physical attributes of the
system, other methodologies, mostly relying on biological and eco-
logical attributes, are available to assess the ecological condition of
these ecosystems (see Schlacher et al., 2014 for a more comprehen-
sive background).
142 S.C. Goncalves, J.C. Marques / Ecological Indicators 74 (2017) 140146
Biological or ecological indicators focus on sensitive features and
processes, which are vulnerable to stressors and/or to disturbances.
Jrgensen et al. (2016) classied the ecological indicators applied
in different contexts in nine levels, from the most reductionist to
the most holistic:
Level 1concerns biomarkers and bioassays;
Level 2covers the presence or absence of specic species;
Level 3uses the ratio between different classes of organisms;
Level 4is based on the concentration of chemical compounds
(e.g. nutrients);
Level 5applies the concentration of entire trophic levels (e.g.
phytoplankton, shes);
Level 6uses process rates as indication (e.g. primary pro-
ductivity, respiration, mortality, consumption, decomposition;
reproduction);
Level 7covers composite indicators (e.g. biomass, respi-
ration/biomass, respiration/production, production/biomass, pri-
mary producers/consumers);
Level 8encompasses holistic indicators (e.g. resistance,
resilience, buffer capacity, biodiversity);
Level 9uses thermodynamic variables as indicators, which may
be seen as super holistic (e.g. exergy, emergy, entropy production).
In sandy beaches, commonly used indicators may range from the
organism level (e.g. behavioural traits), to the complex processes at
the ecosystem level (e.g. wrack consumption and decomposition
rates, breeding success of turtles, birds and sh), mostly corre-
sponding to levels 2, 6, and 8 dened by Jrgensen et al. (2016) (see
Table 1). From our point of view, these indicators might be distinctly
relevant concerning the ecological and management perspectives
and their ease of application. Despite their high ecological rele-
vance, indicators at the higher hierarchical levels community and
ecosystem are less relevant for management and more difcult to
use due to their high complexity and low predictability against dis-
turbances. In fact, according to Hattam et al. (2015), the uncertainty
surrounding indicators selected for ecosystem functions or services
may be quite substantial, especially in the marine environment.
Also, management by approaching the ecosystem implies that the
links and relationships between ecological, social and economic
systems should be deeply understood (Borja et al., 2010), a dif-
cult and complex task namely for sandy beaches. Indicators at the
population level, on the other hand, are highly relevant in manage-
ment and easier to use. This hierarchical unit responds more rapidly
than the most complex levels to disturbances in the ecosystem and,
according to the literature, the responses can be predicted with
a reasonable level of certainty (e.g. Spellerberg, 2005; Schlacher
et al., 2014). Besides, several features of population ecology, tting
in levels 6 and 7 dened by Jrgensen et al. (2016), might be used
as suitable ecological indicators and provide a more holistic per-
spective of the system under evaluation. At the organism level, on
the contrary, a much more reductionist approach and with lower
relevance in the ecological and management spheres is expectable.
As mentioned before, macrofauna is the fundamental and cen-
tral component in beach ecosystems, essential for an adequate
performance of the ecological functions of these ocean/land inter-
face systems. Key species present abundant populations and play
the role of foundations and driving forces of the community, shap-
ing both its structure and function (see for instance Goncalves et al.,
2009; Goncalves and Marques, 2011). Consequently, they are criti-
cal in the equilibrium of the ecosystem, and removal or depletion of
a key species, as well as strong abnormal population growths, will
have profound effects in the structure of the community and on
that equilibrium. Since this equilibrium is dynamic, changes or dis-
turbances in the ecosystem will also have reection in key species
populations. Of course, from an ecological management point of
view, it is extremely important that key species under observation
are simultaneously widespread and fairly sensitive to the human
pressures on the beach.
With regard to management, Scapini and Morgan (2002) state
that key species are important indicators of sustainability. How-
ever, in the complex network involving the beach ecosystem, key
species may also function as indicators of environmental changes
and ecological quality condition. Beaches are known to be dynamic
ecosystems that change rapidly per se, especially in open oceanic
conditions. In urbanized beaches the intensity and frequency of
these changes is aggravated by disturbances driven by human activ-
ities. On the other hand, knowing and understanding the natural
equilibrium of pristine or low impacted sandy beaches must be
regarded as a fundamental step in the ecological quality assess-
ment of these ecosystems, functioning as reference attributes in
further assessments (Goncalves et al., 2013). In practice, therefore,
a potentially effective and useful approach in beach management
would be coupling the virtues of macrofauna characteristics and
the properties of key species, starting by identifying macrofaunal
key species in sandy beach communities and then using them as
assessment tools.
A number of studies have been focusing on macrofaunal pop-
ulations trying to understand the effects of specic manmade
disturbances on sandy beach ecology. This includes for instance
impacts related with recreational activities and beach grooming
(e.g. Weslawski et al., 2000; Dugan et al., 2003; Veloso et al., 2006;
Schlacher et al., 2008), beach nourishment (e.g. Peterson et al.,
2006; Speybroeck et al., 2006; Fanini et al., 2009) or pollution (e.g.
Lercari and Defeo, 2003; De la Huz et al., 2005).
Several species were already identied as key elements in sandy
beach macrofaunal communities and/or clearly used as indica-
tors in the literature (see Table 2, for some examples). That is
the case of the talitrid amphipods (sand hoppers) Talitrus saltator
and Talorchestia brito, and the tylid isopod Tylos europaeus, which
were recognised as key species in the western coast of Portugal
and are believed to have similar roles in other exposed beaches
of Europe and North Africa, where they are known to be often
abundant (Goncalves et al., 2009). Tylos europaeus, and particularly
Talitrus saltator, have been widely studied and proposed as ecologi-
cal indicator species, namely for disturbances derived from human
activities (see for instance Weslawski et al., 2000; Ugolini et al.,
2008; Goncalves et al., 2013; Bessa et al., 2014a,b). Likewise, accord-
ing to Veloso et al. (2011), the cirolanid isopod Excirolana braziliensis
is a good species for monitoring anthropogenic impacts since it
is highly resistant to environmental stress, persisting in highly
urbanized Brazilian beaches. The ghost crabs Ocypode quadrata on
Brazilian and USA beaches and Ocypode cordimana on Indian and
Pacic coasts, have been as well used as reliable indicators of human
disturbances in sandy beaches for three decades (see for instance
Steiner and Leatherman, 1981; Barros, 2001; Neves and Bemvenuti,
2006; Lucrezi et al., 2008).
In exposed sandy beaches with a large supply of wrack deposits,
insects may be important macrofaunal residents on the supralit-
toral zone. Based in previous studies, such as the ones from Dugan
et al. (2003) and Goncalves et al. (2009), it is our belief that insects,
namely coleopterans, may also include potential key species in such
beaches, although their ecological study has been largely neglected.
Further efforts should be done to improve our knowledge on insects
bio-ecology, on their role on macrofaunal assemblages, and to
understand how they react to environmental disturbances, namely
from human origin.
Although relevant progresses have been achieved in recent
years (see for instance Schlacher et al., 2008; Defeo et al., 2009
and the papers cited therein; Fanini et al., 2009; Schlacher et al.,
2014), the study and comprehension of the macrofaunal responses
to disturbances in the ecosystem derived from human activi-
ties are somehow still an underdeveloped topic by sandy beach
 S.C. Goncalves, J.C. Marques / Ecological Indicators 74 (2017) 140146 143

Table 1
Ecological indicators most commonly used worldwide to assess open oceanic sandy beaches ecological condition. We indicate the ecological hierarchical level at which they
are applied, as well as, from our point of view, which might be their relevance from the ecological perspective, their relevance for management, and their using easiness.

Indicators according to their ecological hierarchical level Ecological relevance Relevance in management Ease of application

Ecosystem
Examples:
- Wrack consumption rates
Very high Low Low
- Vertebrates breeding success

Community
Examples:
- Macrofaunal assemblages species richness
High Moderate Moderate
- Macrofaunal standing stocks

Population
Examples:
- Population dynamics
High High High
- Secondary production estimates

Organism
Examples:
- Behavioural traits of invertebrate
Low Low High
- Individual condition indexes

Table 2
The major macrofaunal groups of worldwide open oceanic sandy beaches already known to include key elements/indicators, with some specic examples from the literature.

Macrofaunal group Habitat Distribution Examples of known key or indicator species

Ocypodid brachyuran crabs Dunes Tropic and subtropic regions Ocypode quadrata
Supralittoral (Neves and Bemvenuti, 2006)
Intertidal
Ocypode cordimana
(Barros, 2001)

Tylid Isopods Supralittoral Circumglobal Tylos europaeus

(Goncalves et al., 2009)

Talitrid Amphipods Supralittoral Temperate regions Talitrus saltator

Intertidal (Ugolini et al., 2008; Goncalves et al., 2009)
Talorchestia brito
(Goncalves et al., 2009)

Cirolanid Isopods Intertidal Ubiquitous Excirolana braziliensis

Subtidal (Veloso et al., 2011)

Table 3
Summary of the main results retrieved in two general and two rened inquiries, conducted on 12th of November of 2014, on http://www.sciencedirect.com/ and http://
link.springer.com/. The following search terms were used in the inquiries: (i) beach and ecology for the general one and (ii) beach, macrofauna, response and human for the
rened inquiry. The year of publication (20002014) and the scientic scope of the journals (ecology and biology; marine systems; environment; coastal management) were
used as lters in the inquiries.

Elsevier Springer Total

General inquiry
Publications from 2000 until 2014 9071 7167 16238
Publications only from 2010 to 2014 4171 3190 7361

Rened inquiry
Publications from 2000 until 2014 379 (2.3%) 174 (1.1%) 553 (3.41%)
Publications only from 2010 to 2014 199 (2.7%) 54 (0.7%) 253 (3.44%)
Total of journals included in this inquiry 14 86 100

Top 5 journals on the rened inquiries

Elsevier Number of papers Percentage

- Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 113 30%
- Marine Pollution Bulletin 75 20%
- Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 41 11%
- Marine Environmental Research 27 7%
- Ecological Indicators 23 6%

Springer Number of papers Percentage

- Hydrobiologia 13 7%
- Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 11 6%
- Estuaries 10 6%
- Estuaries and Coasts 9 5%
- Marine Biology 7 4%
144 S.C. Goncalves, J.C. Marques / Ecological Indicators 74 (2017) 140146
Table 4
Summary of the main tools available, based on macrofaunal key populations, for the assessment, monitoring and management of the environmental quality condition of
sandy beaches.
Main tools Second level tools
Bio-ecology Reference knowledge
Population dynamics models
ecologists. An analysis of the published research available on two
of the leading scientic publishers and their online databases, from
2000 to 2014, reveals that only 3.4% of the research published
on beaches is devoted to this issue (Table 3). Knowledge gaps
are therefore ample, which hampers the development of efcient
management programs, eventually compromising the ecological
condition assessment and the correct use of these ecosystems.
However, a closer analysis focused only on the last 5 years of
the above time frame reveals that fortunately the tables are turn-
ing, showing that this is becoming actually an emergent area of
research, since 45% of these papers were published only between
2010 and 2014 (Table 3).
The structural and functional duality inherent to the role of
key species in ecosystems ensures the possibility of using them
as indicators of ecological quality conditions and of communi-
ties responses to environmental changes (natural or induced by
anthropic pressures), which is indispensable to make the sustain-
ability concept operational with regard to the use of sandy beaches.
Using key species as a practical tool may, in this context, be carried
out at two distinct levels in ecological hierarchy, the population
and the community, which implies applying distinct approaches.
Due to the advantages that the use of indicators developed at the
population hierarchical level of organization provide, namely when
compared to the other levels of organization, in this viewpoint paper
we will focus our rationale only on the application of the population
level approach in assessing and managing sandy beaches in view
of their sustainable use.
4. Using the population approach in the assessment,
management, and sustainable use of sandy beaches
Sandy beaches are rapidly changing environments and often
physically controlled, especially in exposed conditions. Besides,
sandy beaches face a vast array of fast anthropogenic induced
changes, derived from several types of human activities, as
previously mentioned. All these types of changes induce adap-
tive responses from local biological populations, a mechanism
commonly known as behavioural plasticity. This mechanism is
recognised as very important in novel and variable environ-
ments, increasing the organisms survival probability, and its study
should be intensied in order to understand general evolutionary
responses of populations to major environmental changes (Snell-
Rood, 2013). Studying macrofaunal key species at the population
level is therefore an advantageous approach for the assessment of
the impacts of natural or human induced environmental changes
on beach ecosystems. Several tools are available at the population
level (Table 4), with the potential to improve the way we assess and
manage the ecological condition of sandy beaches aiming at their
sustainable use.
Requisites Purpose
Undisturbed or with low disturbance Adaptability to natural sources of variation
beaches
Local scale comparisons Adaptability to local environments
Macro scale comparisons Adaptability to large scale variations (e.g.
latitudinal)
Development, calibration and Simulation of distinct scenarios, previewing
validation of the model using solid the response of the population to specic
baseline bio-ecological knowledge environmental changes
4.1. Bio-ecology
Concentrating on the bio-ecology of macrofaunal key popu-
lations, based on a solid knowledge and understanding of the
processes involved, is one of the methods available. Some authors
have already proposed this approach (e.g. Marques and Anastcio,
2002), namely as a monitoring and assessment tool of sandy
beaches ecological quality conditions (Goncalves et al., 2013).
The bio-ecology of populations in undisturbed or dimly dis-
turbed sandy beaches provides relevant information about their
adaptability to natural sources of variation (e.g. food resources
availability, sand grain size, competition). Moreover, compara-
tive studies considering distinct local populations and macro scale
(macroecology) scenarios allow the detection of variations on pop-
ulation bio-ecology, resulting from adaptations to the local scale
environments or even to large-scale latitudinal variations, as pro-
posed by Goncalves et al. (2013). As a whole, the construction of
solid baseline knowledge on key populations bio-ecology is a very
useful tool, making it easier to detect variations in population biol-
ogy derived from anthropogenic pressures, if natural sources of
variation are known a priori and may be properly discarded. Such a
vast bio-ecological comprehension will function as an orientation
tool for further ecosystem integrity assessments, or for environ-
mental monitoring and ecological quality assessments in marine
beaches with similar physical conditions (Goncalves et al., 2013),
after environmental disturbances, namely caused by human activ-
ities, take place.
Bio-ecological features such as population dynamics (densities,
mortality, reproduction and recruitment), reproductive biology
(extension of the reproductive period, fecundity, and voltinism)
and secondary production estimates (growth and elimination pro-
ductions, average annual biomass, and population turnovers) are
particularly relevant and useful. For instance, signicant decreases
in population densities of a known macrofaunal key species popula-
tion will produce serious effects in population ecology. Depending
on the nature of the disturbance, changes in population dynam-
ics and in the reproductive strategies may occur, as a response to
increased mortality rates. Also, if the disturbance is reected in
population bio-ecology, secondary production attributes and pop-
ulation turnovers will also report the disturbance, deviating from
the reference attributes.
Various anthropic disturbances may trigger such a sequence
of events on sandy beach populations. Increases in touristic and
recreational activities, for example, produce various impacts capa-
ble of increasing the mortality rates of key species populations.
Intense human trampling and also mechanical trampling by off-
road vehicles can damage the animals by destroying their burrows
or even fatally crush them (see for instance Weslawski et al.,
2000; Veloso et al., 2006; Schlacher et al., 2008). Heavy mechan-
ical beach grooming on a regular basis also reduces the density
of key species populations, especially if they are wrack-associated
fauna (e.g. Dugan et al., 2003; Colombini and Chelazzi, 2003; Defeo
et al., 2009). Also, the constructions of touristic, recreational and
 S.C. Goncalves, J.C. Marques / Ecological Indicators 74 (2017) 140146
some urban associated facilities are often responsible for coastal
dune degradation and destruction. This kind of impact disturbs the
biota of both the dune and the beach, especially supralittoral organ-
isms (see for instance Barros, 2001; Lucrezi et al., 2008). Besides
these examples of human impacts, several others with potential
to induce changes of macrofaunal key species populations could
also be mentioned. These include climatic changes (e.g. abnormal
temperatures, changes in storm occurrence and intensity), beach
erosion, beach nourishment (e.g. Jones et al., 2008; Schlacher et al.,
2012) and human harvesting (as reviewed in Defeo et al., 2009), for
instance.
Goncalves et al. (2013) state that monitoring species with slow
life histories (e.g. extended lifespan, delayed reproduction, low pop-
ulation turnovers) allows detecting the occurrence of any given
environmental disturbance more quickly and more easily, namely
the ones derived from human activities. On the other hand, moni-
toring fast life history species may be more useful in environmental
management programs of already disturbed sandy beaches. In fact,
this allows evaluating more quickly the effectiveness of a specic
restoration or mitigation measure due to the superior coloniz-
ing abilities of these later species. Therefore, the effectiveness of
using bio-ecology in assessment, monitoring, and management
practices may be dependent of the key species life history traits.
Notwithstanding, the use of population bio-ecology itself may be a
longstanding process, often focused on long term responses and at
expense of heavy eld and laboratory programs. These limitations
may however be attenuated if population key variables or popula-
tion key attributes are identied, and if their progress is monitored
using accurate sampling designs and adequate data analysis. Also, if
baseline data on populations bio-ecology from solid baseline stud-
ies are readily disseminated and made available to the scientic
community dealing with these issues, the use of this tool may thrive
and relevant advances may be expectable in this area.
4.2. Population dynamics models
Population dynamics models capable of comprehensively and
correctly simulate the dynamics of a key species population are
another important method with regard to the population approach.
In fact, it constitutes a very powerful tool because it allows the eco-
logical manager to simulate multiple scenarios capable of reecting
potential changes in environmental conditions. Moreover, these
models may also be used to understand or to mitigate the impacts
that environmental changes, driven for instance by human activi-
ties, induce on the modelled population (Anastcio et al., 2003).
Simulating distinct scenarios, means that the responses of the
population to the environmental change introduced in the mod-
elling process can be forecasted. It is also possible to know which
parameters will predictably change and to what extent. Further-
more, building a population dynamics model of a key species,
indicator of a given biological community, allows also the antic-
ipation of the response of the system to a given change (Marques
and Anastcio, 2002).
With a population dynamics model of a macrofaunal key species
several distinct disturbances may, for instance, be simulated: (1)
signicant decreases in food availability caused by intense groom-
ing activities; (2) signicant increases or decreases in temperature
caused by abnormal temperature regimes; (3) signicant increases
in human trampling caused by increased numbers of tourists or
other beach users. The simulations will reveal the most probable
responses of the population, allowing the anticipation of changes
in the communities and establishing a framework on which pre-
ventive management or mitigation actions may be designed and
implemented.
Obtaining accurate and reliable modelling outputs, however, is
only possible if the model is correctly developed, calibrated and
145
ideally validated. Completing these steps of the model construction
process requires a lot of time, solid baseline bio-ecological knowl-
edge, with eld datasets of natural populations with distinct origin,
and great expertise. In spite of the complex and time consuming
process involved in models development, once obtained, a popula-
tion dynamics model of a key species must be seen as a very quick
and powerful simulation tool for assessing environmental changes
impacts in sandy beaches, namely changes derived from human
activities (Goncalves et al., 2013).
5. Conclusions and recommendations
Two distinct tools relying on macrofaunal key species are
potentially available for sandy beach ecologists and managers: pop-
ulation bio-ecology and population dynamics models. Although
assessment and management strategies for these ecosystems are
still underdeveloped, and most actions implemented are mainly
reactive rather than proactive, the use of population biologi-
cal and/or ecological features have been the prevalent tool on
sandy beach assessment, monitoring and management practices.
Nonetheless, population dynamics models are very powerful tools
that allow beach managers/ecologists to simulate a multitude of
distinct environmental scenarios and forecast the populations
responses to the stressor introduced in the simulation. In this con-
text, it is our recommendation that more effort should be spent in
the development of such high potential tools.
On open oceanic sandy beaches, macrofaunal key species appear
predominantly among crustaceans. Sand hoppers on temperate
regions, and ghost crabs on the tropics and subtropics, are the
groups that traditionally have been more studied and more often
proposed as sensitive and reliable ecological indicators. However,
some isopods, a few other ocypodid crabs, and coleopteran insects
may also hold potential key species. In this regard, we recommend
that sandy beach ecologists devote their rst efforts on the study of
macrofaunal communities, in an attempt to unveil if a key species
is present. Only afterwards, should the research efforts be focused
on the bio-ecology of the key species following, whenever possible,
the steps indicated in Section 4.1. However, we must accept that
this is not always possible, especially in highly urbanized coasts
where undisturbed sandy beaches may sometimes be very dif-
cult to nd, and reactive strategies, such as for instance articial
beach nourishment or the stabilization of shorelines, have to be
implemented.
As a whole, monitoring, assessment and management actions
focused on indicator key species hold large potential in the fast
changing scenario of nowadays, and should be encouraged, since
several anthropic disturbances, and even natural disturbances, may
cause identiable variations in their bio-ecology, with negative
repercussions to higher ecological levels. As we said in the begin-
ning of this viewpoint paper there is still a long way to go regarding
beach assessment and management practices, although we are
nowadays advancing on beach research at a remarkably striking
rhythm.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the FCT (Portuguese National Board
of Scientic Research) through the MARE (Marine and Environmen-
tal Sciences Centre) (UID/MAR/04292/2013) Strategic Programme.
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