Ocean warming threatens key trophic interactions supporting a commercial fishery in a climate change hotspot

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Owen J. Holland ◽  
Mary A. Young ◽  
Craig D. H. Sherman ◽  
Mun Hua Tan ◽  
Harry Gorfine ◽  
...  
2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1899) ◽  
pp. 20182866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo J. Miranda ◽  
Melinda A. Coleman ◽  
Alejandro Tagliafico ◽  
Maria S. Rangel ◽  
Lea T. Mamo ◽  
...  

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.


2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1805) ◽  
pp. 20141351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarad P. Mellard ◽  
Claire de Mazancourt ◽  
Michel Loreau

According to recent reviews, the question of how trophic interactions may affect evolutionary responses to climate change remains unanswered. In this modelling study, we explore the evolutionary dynamics of thermal and plant–herbivore interaction traits in a warming environment. We find the herbivore usually reduces adaptation speed and persistence time of the plant by reducing biomass. However, if the plant interaction trait and thermal trait are correlated, herbivores can create different coevolutionary attractors. One attractor has a warmer plant thermal optimum, and the other a colder one compared with the environment. A warmer plant thermal strategy is given a head start under warming, the only case where herbivores can increase plant persistence under warming. Persistence time of the plant under warming is maximal at small or large thermal niche width. This study shows that considering trophic interactions is necessary and feasible for understanding how ecosystems respond to climate change.


Ecology ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 85 (8) ◽  
pp. 2100-2106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Winder ◽  
Daniel E. Schindler

2004 ◽  
Vol 23 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 391-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Hoerling ◽  
J. W. Hurrell ◽  
T. Xu ◽  
G. T. Bates ◽  
A. S. Phillips

2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1778) ◽  
pp. 20180550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Bennett ◽  
Carlos M. Duarte ◽  
Núria Marbà ◽  
Thomas Wernberg

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’.


2009 ◽  
Vol 276 (1663) ◽  
pp. 1883-1888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Byrne ◽  
Melanie Ho ◽  
Paulina Selvakumaraswamy ◽  
Hong D. Nguyen ◽  
Symon A. Dworjanyn ◽  
...  

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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