University of Groningen
Beds of grass at Banc d’Arguin, Mauritania El-Hacen, El-Hacen Mohamed
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Publication date: 2019
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El-Hacen, E-H. M. (2019). Beds of grass at Banc d’Arguin, Mauritania: Ecosystem infrastructures underlying avian richness along the East Atlantic Flyway. University of Groningen.
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1 Beds of grass at Banc d’Arguin, Mauritania
Ecosystem infrastructures underlying avian richness along the East Atlantic Flyway
Herbiers marins du Banc d’Arguin, Mauritanie
Infrastructures écosystémiques sous-tendant la richesse spécifique aviaire au long du corridor de migration Est-Atlantique
2
This research was conducted at the University of Groningen, within Conservation Ecology Group (CONSECO), Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES).
This research was funded by MAVA Foundation, Switzerland. The printing of this thesis was financed by University of Groningen.
This thesis should be cited as:
El-Hacen, E. M. (2018). Beds of grass at Banc d’Arguin, Mauritania Ecosystem infrastructures underlying avian richness along the East Atlantic Flyway. PhD thesis, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Lay-out: E.-H. M. El-Hacen
Figures: E.M. El-Hacen & Dick Visser
Photographs: Laura Soissons (cover Chapter 5) E.-H. M. El-Hacen (the rest) Printed by: Gildeprint, Enschede
ISBN: 978-94-034-1373-0
ISBN: 978-94-034-1372-3 (electronic version) ©2019 E.-H. M. El-Hacen (Hacen.rim@gmail.com)
3 Beds of grass at Banc d’Arguin, Mauritania
Ecosystem infrastructures underlying avian richness along the East Atlantic Flyway
PhD thesis
to obtain the degree of PhD at the University of Groningen
on the authority of the
Rector Magnificus Prof. dr. E. Sterken and in accordance with
the decision by the College of Deans. This thesis will be defended in public on
Friday 11 January 2018 at 14. 00 hours
By
El-Hacen Mohamed El-Hacen born on 09 January 1980 in Boutilimit, Mauritania
4 Promotor Prof. dr. H. Olff Co-promotors Prof. dr. T. Piersma Prof. dr. T. J. Bouma Assessment Committee Prof. dr. N-B. Yaa
Prof. dr. J. van de Koppel Prof. dr. W. Sutherland
5
Contents
Chapter 1: General introduction ... 7
Chapter 2: Dramatic correlated changes in seagrass cover, benthic community composition and secondary productivity at Banc d’Arguin, the premier coastal wetland along the East Atlantic Flyway ... 19
Chapter 3: Seagrass sensitivity to collapse along a hydrodynamic gradient: evidence from a pristine subtropical intertidal ecosystem ... 41
Chapter 4: Evidence for ‘critical slowing down’ in seagrass: a stress gradient experiment at the southern limit of its range ... 67
Chapter 5: Large-scale ecosystem engineering by flamingos and fiddler crabs on West-African intertidal flats promote joint food availability ... 95
Chapter 6: Changes in the waterbird community of the Parc National du Banc d’Arguin, Mauritania, 1980-2017 ... 128
Chapter 7: Synthesis and discussion ... 150
References ... 159 Summary ... 195 Samenvatting ... 199 Résumé de la thèse ... 203 Acknowledgments/ نانتماوركش ... 207 List of publications ... 209 ةصلاخ ةحورطلأا ... 212
