Ecosystem Engineers in the World Coasts: Case Studies and Conceptual Linkages

GUTIÉRREZ, J. L.

Diversity

MDPI

Año: 2020 vol. 12 p. 243 - 248

1424-2818

Research on physical ecosystem engineering?i.e., the structural modification ofenvironments by organisms?has flourished during the last two decades. At present, the importanceof physical ecosystem engineers for the biodiversity and the functioning of ecosystems is wellrecognized by scientists. This Special Issue contains fifteen papers that illustrate the diversity ofphysical ecosystem engineering processes that occur in the world coastal habitats?from coastaldunes to the shallow subtidal zone. It includes 2 reviews comparing ecosystem engineering attributesand impacts across taxa and 13 case studies that inform our general understanding of the variation inengineering impacts, compound engineering eects, novel engineering interactions, and engineeredstructural legacies.