1. The Mw 7.8 earthquake that struck the north-east coast of the South Island of New Zealand in November 2016 caused extensive upheaval, of up to 6 m, over 110 km of coastline. Intertidal habitats were greatly affected with extensive dieoff of algal communities, high mortalities of benthic invertebrates, and greatly reduced ecosystem functioning, such as primary productivity. Only isolated pockets of key species remained in these areas, many of which were within protected areas around Kaikōura. The loss of key species of algae and invertebrates fragmented marine populationsand compromised connectivity and recovery processes because of the large dispersal distances needed to replenish populations. Severe sedimentation from terrestrial slips and erosion of newly exposed sedimentary rock compromised settlement and recruitment processes of marine species at many sites, even if distant propagules should arrive.3. The combination of habitat disruption, loss of species and their functioning, and impacts on commercial fisheries, especially of abalone (Haliotis iris), requires multiple perspectives on recovery dynamics. 4. This paper describes these effects and discusses implications for the recovery of coastal ecosystems that include the essential involvement of mana whenua (indigenous Māori people), fishers, and the wider community, which suffered concomitant economic, recreational, and cultural impacts. These community perspectives will underpin the protection of surviving remnants of intertidal marine populations, the potential use of restoration techniques, and ultimately a successful socioecological recovery.
Aim: Ecologists traditionally study how contemporary local processes, such as biological interactions and physical stressors, affect the distribution and abundance of organisms. By comparison, biogeographers study the distribution of the same organisms, but focus on historic, larger-scale processes that can cause mass mortalities, such as earthquakes. Here we document cascading effects of rare biogeographical (seismic) and more common ecological (temperature-related) processes on the distribution and abundances of coastal foundation species.Location: Intertidal wave-exposed rocky reefs around Kaikōura, New Zealand, dominated by large, long-lived, and iconic southern bull kelps (Durvillaea antarctica and Durvillaea willana). Methods:In November 2016, a 7.8 Mw earthquake uplifted the coastline around Kaikōura by up to 2 m, and a year later the region experienced the hottest summer on record. Extensive sampling of intertidal communities over 15 km coastline were done shortly after the earthquake and heatwaves and 4 years after the earthquake.Results: Durvillaea lost 75% of its canopy to uplift and the heatwaves reduced canopies that had survived the uplift by an additional 35%. The survey done 4 years after the earthquake showed that Durvillaea had not recovered and that the intertidal zone in many places now was dominated by small turfs and foliose seaweed. Main conclusions:Cascading impacts from seismic uplift and heatwaves have destroyed populations of Durvillaea around Kaikōura. Surviving smaller and sparser Durvillaea patches will likely compromise capacity for self-replacement and lower resilience to future stressors. These results are discussed in a global biogeographicalecological context of seismic activity and extreme heatwaves and highlight that these events, which are not particularly rare in a geological context, may have common long-lasting ecological legacies.
Digital citizen science platforms are prominent examples of modern volunteerism that provide people with opportunities to observe natural phenomena and to engage in scientific processes. In this study, we explore the values and motivations underlying sustained participation in digital citizen science projects through the lenses of two social psychology theories (Schwartz's Human Values Theory and Self-Determination Theory). We present in-depth analyses of interviews with 15 long-term volunteers in two digital citizen science initiatives (Järviwiki and Safecast) that have been collecting environmental data for a decade in Finland and Japan. Our results advance the understanding of the values underpinning motivations. Our analyses show that openness-to-change values, such as self-direction, are important for initial participation, yet a diverse range of values, except for power, play a role in sustaining participation. Our study also shows that the values related to sustained participation are linked with extrinsic motivations, suggesting that when extrinsic motivators are self-directed, people will not only perform tasks willingly and enthusiastically but also in a sustained manner. Conceptualizing the behavioral continuum that drives volunteering actions provides practical insights that can assist the design, development, and evaluation of digital citizen science platforms.
Coastal marine ecosystems are under stress, yet actionable information about the cumulative effects of human impacts has eluded ecologists. Habitat-forming seaweeds in temperate regions provide myriad irreplaceable ecosystem services, but they are increasingly at risk of local and regional extinction from extreme climatic events and the cumulative impacts of land-use change and extractive activities. Informing appropriate management strategies to reduce the impacts of stressors requires comprehensive knowledge of species diversity, abundance and distributions. Remote sensing undoubtedly provides answers, but collecting imagery at appropriate resolution and spatial extent, and then accurately and precisely validating these datasets is not straightforward. Comprehensive and long-running monitoring of rocky reefs exist globally but are often limited to a small subset of reef platforms readily accessible to in-situ studies. Key vulnerable habitat-forming seaweeds are often not well-assessed by traditional in-situ methods, nor are they well-captured by passive remote sensing by satellites. Here we describe the utility of drone-based methods for monitoring and detecting key rocky intertidal habitat types, the limitations and caveats of these methods, and suggest a standardised workflow for achieving consistent results that will fulfil the needs of managers for conservation efforts.
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