“Climate Change Tiny Giants”: Ocean Warming and Acidification Changes: Response of Microfossils of the Anoxic Great Seas

The interactive effects of ocean warming and invasive species are complex and remain a source of uncertainty for projecting future ecological change. Climate-mediated change to trophic interactions can have pervasive ecological consequences, but the role of invasion in mediating trophic effects is largely unstudied. Using manipulative experiments in replicated outdoor mesocosms, we reveal how near-future ocean warming and macrophyte invasion scenarios interactively impact gastropod grazing intensity and preference for consumption of foundation macroalgae ( Ecklonia radiata and Sargassum vestitum ). Elevated water temperature increased the consumption of both macroalgae through greater grazing intensity. Given the documented decline of kelp ( E. radiata ) growth at higher water temperatures, enhanced grazing could contribute to the shift from kelp-dominated to Sargassum -dominated reefs that is occurring at the low-latitude margins of kelp distribution. However, the presence of a native invader ( Caulerpa filiformis ) was related to low consumption by the herbivores on dominant kelp at warmer temperatures. Thus, antagonistic effects between climate change and a range expanding species can favour kelp persistence in a warmer future. Introduction of species should, therefore, not automatically be considered unfavourable under climate change scenarios. Climatic changes are increasing the need for effective management actions to address the interactive effects of multiple stressors and their ecological consequences, rather than single threats in isolation.

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Comment on “Coral reef calcification and climate change: The effect of ocean warming”

Geophysical Research Letters ◽

10.1029/2004gl022329 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 32 (8) ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

J. A. Kleypas

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Coral Reef ◽

Ocean Warming

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Twentieth century North Atlantic climate change. Part II: Understanding the effect of Indian Ocean warming

Climate Dynamics ◽

10.1007/s00382-004-0433-x ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 23 (3-4) ◽

pp. 391-405 ◽

Cited By ~ 189

Author(s):

M. P. Hoerling ◽

J. W. Hurrell ◽

T. Xu ◽

G. T. Bates ◽

A. S. Phillips

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Twentieth Century ◽

Indian Ocean ◽

North Atlantic ◽

Ocean Warming ◽

Indian Ocean Warming ◽

North Atlantic Climate

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Integrating within-species variation in thermal physiology into climate change ecology

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2018.0550 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 374 (1778) ◽

pp. 20180550 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Scott Bennett ◽

Carlos M. Duarte ◽

Núria Marbà ◽

Thomas Wernberg

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Global Climate ◽

Thermal Sensitivity ◽

High Sensitivity ◽

Population Level ◽

Marine Organisms ◽

Ocean Warming ◽

Species Variation ◽

Thermal Physiology ◽

Physiological Diversity

Accurately forecasting the response of global biota to warming is a fundamental challenge for ecology in the Anthropocene. Within-species variation in thermal sensitivity, caused by phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation of thermal limits, is often overlooked in assessments of species responses to warming. Despite this, implicit assumptions of thermal niche conservatism or adaptation and plasticity at the species level permeate the literature with potentially important implications for predictions of warming impacts at the population level. Here we review how these attributes interact with the spatial and temporal context of ocean warming to influence the vulnerability of marine organisms. We identify a broad spectrum of thermal sensitivities among marine organisms, particularly in central and cool-edge populations of species distributions. These are characterized by generally low sensitivity in organisms with conserved thermal niches, to high sensitivity for organisms with locally adapted thermal niches. Important differences in thermal sensitivity among marine taxa suggest that warming could adversely affect benthic primary producers sooner than less vulnerable higher trophic groups. Embracing the spatial, temporal and biological context of within-species variation in thermal physiology helps explain observed impacts of ocean warming and can improve forecasts of climate change vulnerability in marine systems. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Physiological diversity, biodiversity patterns and global climate change: testing key hypotheses involving temperature and oxygen’.

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Temperature, but not pH, compromises sea urchin fertilization and early development under near-future climate change scenarios

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2008.1935 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 276 (1663) ◽

pp. 1883-1888 ◽

Cited By ~ 181

Author(s):

Maria Byrne ◽

Melanie Ho ◽

Paulina Selvakumaraswamy ◽

Hong D. Nguyen ◽

Symon A. Dworjanyn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Sea Urchin ◽

Ocean Warming ◽

Future Climate ◽

Interactive Effects ◽

Future Climate Change ◽

Marine Biota ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

Eastern Australia ◽

Near Future

Global warming is causing ocean warming and acidification. The distribution of Heliocidaris erythrogramma coincides with the eastern Australia climate change hot spot, where disproportionate warming makes marine biota particularly vulnerable to climate change. In keeping with near-future climate change scenarios, we determined the interactive effects of warming and acidification on fertilization and development of this echinoid. Experimental treatments (20–26°C, pH 7.6–8.2) were tested in all combinations for the ‘business-as-usual’ scenario, with 20°C/pH 8.2 being ambient. Percentage of fertilization was high (>89%) across all treatments. There was no difference in percentage of normal development in any pH treatment. In elevated temperature conditions, +4°C reduced cleavage by 40 per cent and +6°C by a further 20 per cent. Normal gastrulation fell below 4 per cent at +6°C. At 26°C, development was impaired. As the first study of interactive effects of temperature and pH on sea urchin development, we confirm the thermotolerance and pH resilience of fertilization and embryogenesis within predicted climate change scenarios, with negative effects at upper limits of ocean warming. Our findings place single stressor studies in context and emphasize the need for experiments that address ocean warming and acidification concurrently. Although ocean acidification research has focused on impaired calcification, embryos may not reach the skeletogenic stage in a warm ocean.

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Recent hemispheric asymmetry in global ocean warming induced by climate change and internal variability

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-020-15754-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Saurabh Rathore ◽

Nathaniel L. Bindoff ◽

Helen E. Phillips ◽

Ming Feng

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Hemispheric Asymmetry ◽

Internal Variability ◽

Ocean Warming ◽

Global Ocean

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Modelling climate change impacts on marine fish populations: process-based integration of ocean warming, acidification and other environmental drivers

Fish and Fisheries ◽

10.1111/faf.12155 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 17 (4) ◽

pp. 972-1004 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

Stefan Koenigstein ◽

Felix C Mark ◽

Stefan Gößling-Reisemann ◽

Hauke Reuter ◽

Hans-Otto Poertner

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Marine Fish ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Ocean Warming ◽

Fish Populations ◽

Environmental Drivers

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Coral distribution and bleaching vulnerability areas in Southwestern Atlantic under ocean warming

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-92202-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jessica Bleuel ◽

Maria Grazia Pennino ◽

Guilherme O. Longo

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Coral Cover ◽

Global Climate ◽

Ocean Warming ◽

Southwestern Atlantic ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

Coral Communities ◽

Conservation Actions ◽

High Emission ◽

High Emission Scenario

AbstractGlobal climate change is a major threat to reefs by increasing the frequency and severity of coral bleaching events over time, reducing coral cover and diversity. Ocean warming may cause shifts in coral communities by increasing temperatures above coral’s upper thermal limits in tropical regions, and by making extratropical regions (marginal reefs) more suitable and potential refugia. We used Bayesian models to project coral occurrence, cover and bleaching probabilities in Southwestern Atlantic and predicted how these probabilities will change under a high-emission scenario (RCP8.5). By overlapping these projections, we categorized areas that combine high probabilities of coral occurrence, cover and bleaching as vulnerability-hotspots. Current coral occurrence and cover probabilities were higher in the tropics (1°S–20°S) but both will decrease and shift to new suitable extratropical reefs (20°S–27°S; tropicalization) with ocean warming. Over 90% of the area present low and mild vulnerability, while the vulnerability-hotspots represent ~ 3% under current and future scenarios, but include the most biodiverse reef complex in South Atlantic (13°S–18°S; Abrolhos Bank). As bleaching probabilities increase with warming, the least vulnerable areas that could act as potential refugia are predicted to reduce by 50%. Predicting potential refugia and highly vulnerable areas can inform conservation actions to face climate change.

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