scholarly journals Drastic effects of Climate Change on Mediterranean marine forests

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Verdura ◽  
Alba Vergés ◽  
Jorge Santamaría ◽  
Sònia de Caralt ◽  
Enric Ballesteros ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Rocky Shores ◽  
Fellowship Program ◽  
Summer Period ◽  
Marine Habitat ◽  
Radiation Conditions ◽  
Rocky Bottoms

Macroalgal forests have gone missing from most temperate rocky shores during the last decades, triggering an important biodiversity loss. Cystoseira species are some of the main marine habitat-forming species on shallow water Mediterranean rocky bottoms and follow the same tendency, mainly related to habitat destruction and pollution. However, here we suggest that anormal positive thermal events may contribute to this widespread Cystoseira decline. Monitoring thorough natural populations showed a drastic decline on a natural and relict C. crinita population in terms of density and structure coinciding with anormal high temperatures experienced during a summer period. Additionally, we experimentally test in the laboratory the cause-effect of those temperatures and UV radiation conditions experienced in the field on C. crinita populations. Although, C. crinita is able to resist high temperature picks, usually reached in Mediterranean summers, exceptional and maintained periods as those experienced during extreme events (28ºC) lead to the death of all individuals, compromising the viability and conservation of these forest-forming populations. We show how climate change may seriously compromise algal populations and synergically act with historical drivers of macroalgal decline (pollution, habitat destruction and herbivorism). Financial support from EU2020 (R+I) under grant agreement No 689518 (MERCES), MINECO (CGL2016-76341-R) and from University of Girona under congress assistance fellowship program for PhD and master students.

scholarly journals Drastic effects of climate change on Mediterranean marine forests

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Verdura ◽  
Alba Vergés ◽  
Jorge Santamaría ◽  
Sònia de Caralt ◽  
Enric Ballesteros ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Shallow Water ◽  
High Temperatures ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Rocky Shores ◽  
Relict Population ◽  
Summer Temperatures ◽  
Rocky Bottoms

Macroalgal forests have gone missing in several temperate rocky shores during the last decades, triggering important changes in the seascape. Cystoseira species are some of the main habitat-forming species on shallow water Mediterranean rocky bottoms and follow the same tendency, which has been mainly related to habitat destruction and pollution. Here we suggest that abnormal positive thermal events may have contributed to this widespread Cystoseira decline. Densities and size structure distribution of C. crinita showed a drastic decline on a relict population coinciding with abnormal high summer temperatures. Additionally, we experimentally tested in the laboratory the cause-effect of high temperatures and UV radiation on C. crinita populations. Although, C. crinita was able to resist punctual high temperature peaks, exceptional and maintained periods of high temperatures (28ºC) lead to the death of all individuals, compromising the viability of these populations. Thus, climate change may seriously compromise C. crinita stands and act synergically with historical drivers of macroalgal decline such as pollution, habitat destruction and increased herbivorism.

scholarly journals Drastic effects of climate change on Mediterranean marine forests

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Verdura ◽  
Alba Vergés ◽  
Jorge Santamaría ◽  
Sònia de Caralt ◽  
Enric Ballesteros ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Shallow Water ◽  
High Temperatures ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Rocky Shores ◽  
Relict Population ◽  
Summer Temperatures ◽  
Rocky Bottoms

Macroalgal forests have gone missing in several temperate rocky shores during the last decades, triggering important changes in the seascape. Cystoseira species are some of the main habitat-forming species on shallow water Mediterranean rocky bottoms and follow the same tendency, which has been mainly related to habitat destruction and pollution. Here we suggest that abnormal positive thermal events may have contributed to this widespread Cystoseira decline. Densities and size structure distribution of C. crinita showed a drastic decline on a relict population coinciding with abnormal high summer temperatures. Additionally, we experimentally tested in the laboratory the cause-effect of high temperatures and UV radiation on C. crinita populations. Although, C. crinita was able to resist punctual high temperature peaks, exceptional and maintained periods of high temperatures (28ºC) lead to the death of all individuals, compromising the viability of these populations. Thus, climate change may seriously compromise C. crinita stands and act synergically with historical drivers of macroalgal decline such as pollution, habitat destruction and increased herbivorism.

scholarly journals The future of marine biodiversity and marine ecosystem functioning in UK coastal and territorial waters (including UK Overseas Territories) – with an emphasis on marine macrophyte communities

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 521-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frithjof C. Küpper ◽  
Nicholas A. Kamenos
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Functioning ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Important Species ◽  
The Future ◽  
Overseas Territories ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning – including seaweed communities – in the territorial waters of the UK and its Overseas Territories are facing unprecedented pressures. Key stressors are changes in ecosystem functioning due to biodiversity loss caused by ocean warming (species replacement and migration, e.g. affecting kelp forests), sea level rise (e.g. loss of habitats including salt marshes), plastic pollution (e.g. entanglement and ingestion), alien species with increasing numbers of alien seaweeds (e.g. outcompeting native species and parasite transmission), overexploitation (e.g. loss of energy supply further up the food web), habitat destruction (e.g. loss of nursery areas for commercially important species) and ocean acidification (e.g. skeletal weakening of ecosystem engineers including coralline algal beds). These stressors are currently affecting biodiversity, and their impact can be projected for the future. All stressors may act alone or in synergy. Marine biodiversity provides crucial goods and services. Climate change and biodiversity loss pose new challenges for legislation. In particular, there are implications of climate change for the designation and management of Marine Protected Areas and natural carbon storage by marine systems to help control the global climate system. The UK currently has legal obligations to protect biodiversity under international and European law.

scholarly journals An Introduction to Ecomodernism

2021 ◽  
pp. 163-175
Author(s):  
Hidde Boersma
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Production Process ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Meat Production ◽  
Demand Side ◽  
Yield Gaps ◽  
The Impact

AbstractLand use change has detrimental impacts on the planet. It is not only a major cause of biodiversity loss, through habitat destruction and fragmentation, but also an important driver for climate change, through deforestation and peat oxidation. Land use change is mainly driven by food production, of which meat production comprises the major share. Ecomodernists therefore feel reduction of the impact of meat production is paramount for a sustainable future. To achieve this, ecomodernists focus on intensification of the production process to produce more on less land, both through the closing of global yield gaps and through the development of integrated indoor systems like agroparks. On the demand side, ecomodernists feel a diverse strategy is needed, from the development of meat substitutes and lab meat, to the persuasion of consumers to move from beef to monogastrics like pork or chicken.

scholarly journals Neoliberalism and the Environment: Are We Aware Of Appropriate Action to Save the Planet and Do We Think We Are Doing Enough?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellie-Anne Jones ◽  
Rick Stafford
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Government Intervention ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
The Uk

We currently face several, interlinked environmental crises, including climate change, habitat destruction and biodiversity loss. However, many governments seem unwilling to take strong and immediate action to address these threats, preferring to promote neoliberal approaches to allow consumers and the general public to make environmentally friendly choices. This is despite neoliberal approaches being much less likely to be successful than government leadership, taxation, subsidies, and legislation in addressing environmental issues. In this study, we examine public perception of environmental threats and solutions to these threats, in a survey, mainly completed in the UK. Climate change is seen as the biggest issue, likely due to recent activist campaigns and subsequent media attention on the issue. Neoliberal attitudes, such as green consumer choices to environmental concerns, do still dominate in a series of possible presented solutions, and score more highly than lifestyle changes such as changing diet. However, when questioned specifically about plastic pollution, government intervention to ban all unnecessary plastic scored very strongly, indicating a shift from a consumer driven response. Furthermore, most participants think they are at best only partly ‘doing their bit’ to protect the environment. The results demonstrate that the public are aware that not enough is happening to protect the environment and provide evidence that there is willingness for stronger government intervention to address environmental issues, although there is potential resistance to major lifestyle changes.

scholarly journals Climate change as a catalyst of social evolution

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanette Moss ◽  
Geoffrey While
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Group ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Social Complexity ◽  
Group Formation ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Animal Societies

Anthropogenic climatic change will be a major factor shaping natural populations over the foreseeable future. The scope of this issue has spawned the integrative field of global change biology, which is chiefly concerned with identifying vulnerabilities of natural systems to climate change and integrating these into models of biodiversity loss. Meanwhile, there remains considerable latitude for investigating the multiple indirect and nuanced ways that broad-scale shifts in the abiotic environment will impact biological systems. One major unexplored category of effects is on social organisation. While climate has consistently been implicated as a major source of natural selection responsible for facilitating the evolution of complex animal societies, studies directed at testing these links on contemporary climatic time scales have thus far been limited to a select few higher-order, eusocial, taxa. Here, we present the case for how climate change, and specifically rising global temperatures, could catalyze social change at multiple stages of social evolution. We argue that these effects will manifest themselves through a range of subtle, climate-mediated pathways affecting the opportunities, nature, and context of interactions between individuals. We propose a broad conceptual framework for considering these pathways first at the individual level, and then discuss how feedbacks between bottom-up and top-down processes could mediate population-level shifts. We then implement this framework to explore the capacity for climate-mediated shifts in social evolution within three broad categories of social complexity: social group formation, social group maintenance, and social elaboration. For each category, we leverage social evolutionary theory and phylogenetic work spanning diverse systems to describe the pivotal traits that underpin transitions from each level of social complexity. In doing so, we aim to build a case for how short-term individual responses to climate could scale to impart constructive and/or destructive effects on the origins, maintenance, and diversification of animal societies.

scholarly journals Viviparous sea snakes can be used as bioindicators for diverse marine environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressure ◽  
Marine Habitat ◽  
Marine Fauna ◽  
Anthropogenic Changes ◽  
Sea Snakes ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Set Up

Shallow tropical marine ecosystems are under great anthropogenic pressure due to habitat destruction, overfishing, shrimping, climate change, and tourism. This is an issue of global concern as such environments hold a tremendous biodiversity much of which remains to be described. The present situation urgently calls for time- and resource-efficient methods to identify and delineate the most valuable remaining areas and to set up priorities for their management and conservation. Using indicator species can be a way to accomplish this goal. In this paper we evaluate whether viviparous sea snakes can serve as bioindicators for other rare or cryptic tropical marine fauna. Based on seven generally acknowledged criteria for bioindicators, we argue that using viviparous sea snakes as bioindicators can help monitoring marine habitats to gauge the effects of climate change, habitat change and loss, decline in biodiversity and other anthropogenic changes. However, to maximize their efficacy as bioindicators, deeper knowledge about viviparous sea snakes natural history is urgently needed. Topics for expanded research programs include the taxonomy of some groups, their breeding and feeding biology, habitat selection and their geographical distribution. Despite these gaps in our understanding, we argue that viviparous sea snakes can be utilized as bioindicators of marine ecosystem health. KEYWORDS: anthropogenic changes, conservation, herpetology, marine habitat, monitoring

scholarly journals Neoliberalism and the Environment: Are We Aware of Appropriate Action to Save the Planet and Do We Think We Are Doing Enough?

Earth ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-339
Author(s):  
Ellie-Anne Jones ◽  
Rick Stafford
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Government Intervention ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
The Uk

We currently face several interlinked environmental crises, including climate change, habitat destruction and biodiversity loss. However, many governments seem unwilling to take strong and immediate action to address these threats, preferring to promote neoliberal approaches to allow consumers and the general public to make environmentally friendly choices. This is despite neoliberal approaches being much less likely to be successful than government leadership, taxation, subsidies, and legislation in addressing environmental issues. In this study, we examine public perception of environmental threats and solutions to these threats in a survey mainly completed in the UK. Climate change is seen as the biggest issue, likely due to recent activist campaigns and subsequent media attention on the issue. Neoliberal attitudes, such as green consumer choices to environmental concerns, do still dominate in a series of possible presented solutions, and they score more highly than lifestyle changes, such as changing diet. However, when questioned specifically about plastic pollution, government intervention to ban all unnecessary plastic scored very strongly, indicating a shift from a consumer-driven response. Furthermore, most participants think they are at best only partly “doing their bit” to protect the environment. The results demonstrate that the public is aware that not enough is happening to protect the environment and provide evidence that there is willingness for stronger government intervention to address environmental issues; however, there is potential resistance to major lifestyle changes.

scholarly journals Potential and limitations of finite element modelling in assessing structural integrity of coralline algae under future global change

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 5871-5883 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. A. Melbourne ◽  
J. Griffin ◽  
D. N. Schmidt ◽  
E. J. Rayfield
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Finite Element ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Geometric Model ◽  
Algal Growth ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Rocky Shores ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Scan Data ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Coralline algae are important habitat formers found on all rocky shores. While the impact of future ocean acidification on the physiological performance of the species has been well studied, little research has focused on potential changes in structural integrity in response to climate change. A previous study using 2-D Finite Element Analysis (FEA) suggested increased vulnerability to fracture (by wave action or boring) in algae grown under high CO2 conditions. To assess how realistically 2-D simplified models represent structural performance, a series of increasingly biologically accurate 3-D FE models that represent different aspects of coralline algal growth were developed. Simplified geometric 3-D models of the genus Lithothamnion were compared to models created from computed tomography (CT) scan data of the same genus. The biologically accurate model and the simplified geometric model representing individual cells had similar average stresses and stress distributions, emphasising the importance of the cell walls in dissipating the stress throughout the structure. In contrast models without the accurate representation of the cell geometry resulted in larger stress and strain results. Our more complex 3-D model reiterated the potential of climate change to diminish the structural integrity of the organism. This suggests that under future environmental conditions the weakening of the coralline algal skeleton along with increased external pressures (wave and bioerosion) may negatively influence the ability for coralline algae to maintain a habitat able to sustain high levels of biodiversity.

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