Continent-wide declines in shallow reef life over a decade of ocean warming

Edgar, Graham J.; Stuart‐Smith, Rick D.; Heather, Freddie J.; Barrett, Neville S.; Turak, Emre; Sweatman, Hugh; Emslie, Michael J.; Brock, Danny; Hicks, Jamie; French, Ben J.; Baker, Susan; Howe, Steffan; Jordan, Alan; Knott, Nathan A.; Mooney, Peter; Cooper, A.; Oh, Elizabeth S.; Soler, Germán; Mellin, Camille; Ling, Scott D.; Dunic, Jillian C.; Turnbull, John; Day, Paul B.; Larkin, Meryl F.; Seroussi, Yanir; Stuart-Smith, JF; Clausius, Ella; Davis, Tom R.; Shields, Joe; Shields, Derek; Johnson, Olivia J.; Fuchs, Yann Herrera; Denis-Roy, Lara; Jones, Tyson R.; Bates, Amanda E.

doi:10.1038/s41586-023-05833-y

Cited by 39 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Identifying the processes driving the observed habitat transitions could help better characterise the impact of anthropogenic activities on benthic habitats (see for example Donovan et al (2018) for a similar approach at a finer spatial scale). Our classification could thus provide an interesting template to further explore changes in benthic habitats across the world with expanded monitoring efforts (Graham J. Edgar, Rick D. Stuart-Smith, et al 2023).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From local seafloor imagery to global patterns in benthic habitat states: contribution of citizen science to habitat classification across latitudes

Violet,

Boyé,

Dubois

et al. 2024

Preprint

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AimThe aim of this study was to define reef benthic habitat states and explore their spatial and temporal variability at a global scale using an innovative clustering pipeline.LocationThe study uses data on the transects surveyed on shallow (< 20m) reef ecosystems across the globe. Time period: Transects sampled between 2008 and 2021. Major taxa studied: Macroalgae, sessile invertebrates, hydrozoans, seagrass, corals.MethodsPercentage cover was estimated for 24 functional groups of sessile biota and substratum from annotated underwater photoquadrats taken along 6,554 transects by scuba divers contributing to the Reef Life Survey dataset. A clustering pipeline combining a non-linear dimension-reduction technique (UMAP), with a density-based clustering approach (HDBSCAN), was used to identify benthic habitat states. Spatial and temporal variation in habitat distribution was then explored across ecoregions.ResultsTheUMAP-HDBSCANpipeline identified 17 distinct clusters representing different benthic habitats and gradients of ecological state. Certain habitat states displayed clear biogeographic patterns, predominantly occurring in temperate regions or tropical waters. Notably, some reefs dominated by turf algae were ubiquitous across latitudinal zones. Transition zones between temperate and tropical waters emerged as spatial hotspots of habitat state diversity. Temporal analyses revealed changes in the proportion of certain states over time, notably an increase in turf algae occurrence.Main ConclusionsTheUMAP-HDBSCANclustering pipeline effectively characterised fine-scale benthic habitat states at a global scale, confirming known broader biogeographic patterns, including the importance of temperate-tropical transition zones as hotspots of habitat state diversity. This fine-scale, yet broadly-scalable habitat classification could be applied as a standardised template for tracking benthic habitat change across space and time at a global scale. TheUMAP-HDBSCANpipeline has proven to be a powerful and versatile approach for analysing complex biological datasets and can be applied in various ecological domains.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From local seafloor imagery to global patterns in benthic habitat states: contribution of citizen science to habitat classification across latitudes

Violet,

Boyé,

Dubois

et al. 2024

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…We used average annual SST rather than temperature at the time of sampling, because realised fish body sizes integrate temperature over their lifespans, which is most appropriately captured by the annual temperatures when fish ages are unknown. Nonetheless, we relate community mean body sizes to the cell SST values in each year sampled (rather than average over the whole sampling period) to account for the potential effect of heatwaves and climate warming in the dataset (see Edgar et al, 2023 for overall temperature trends across the studied area). For the purposes of this study, we classify sites as temperate (cool water) or tropical (warm water) according to the 'realm' category within the Marine Ecosystems of the World classification scheme, with tropical sites falling within the Central Indo-Pacific realm and temperate sites within the Temperate Australia realm (Figure 2).…”

Section: Temperature Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Mean reef fish body size decreases towards warmer waters

Coghlan,

Blanchard,

Wotherspoon

et al. 2024

Ecology Letters

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Aquatic ectotherms often attain smaller body sizes at higher temperatures. By analysing ~15,000 coastal‐reef fish surveys across a 15°C spatial sea surface temperature (SST) gradient, we found that the mean length of fish in communities decreased by ~5% for each 1°C temperature increase across space, or 50% decrease in mean length from 14 to 29°C mean annual SST. Community mean body size change was driven by differential temperature responses within trophic groups and temperature‐driven change in their relative abundance. Herbivores, invertivores and planktivores became smaller on average in warmer temperatures, but no trend was found in piscivores. Nearly 25% of the temperature‐related community mean size trend was attributable to trophic composition at the warmest sites, but at colder temperatures, this was <1% due to trophic groups being similarly sized. Our findings suggest that small changes in temperature are associated with large changes in fish community composition and body sizes, with important ecological implications.

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“…Biogeographic-scale species range shifts are globally increasing due to climate change driven by human activities (Burrows et al, 2011;Masson-Delmotte et al, 2021). Marine ecosystems are changing rapidly following widespread changes in the abundance and distribution of a wide range of species (Edgar et al, 2023;Hoegh-Guldberg & Bruno, 2010). Forest-forming laminarian algae, kelps, contribute with key ecosystem services and due to their role as ecosystem engineers sensu Jones et al (1994), and changes in their distribution are of special concern under climate change (Babcock et al, 2019;Cuba et al, 2022;Fragkopoulou et al, 2022;Steneck et al, 2002;Thomsen et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A species distribution model of the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera: Worldwide changes and a focus on the Southeast Pacific

Gonzalez‐Aragon,

Rivadeneira,

Lara

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Worldwide climate‐driven shifts in the distribution of species is of special concern when it involves habitat‐forming species. In the coastal environment, large Laminarian algae—kelps—form key coastal ecosystems that support complex and diverse food webs. Among kelps, Macrocystis pyrifera is the most widely distributed habitat‐forming species and provides essential ecosystem services. This study aimed to establish the main drivers of future distributional changes on a global scale and use them to predict future habitat suitability. Using species distribution models (SDM), we examined the changes in global distribution of M. pyrifera under different emission scenarios with a focus on the Southeast Pacific shores. To constrain the drivers of our simulations to the most important factors controlling kelp forest distribution across spatial scales, we explored a suite of environmental variables and validated the predictions derived from the SDMs. Minimum sea surface temperature was the single most important variable explaining the global distribution of suitable habitat for M. pyrifera. Under different climate change scenarios, we always observed a decrease of suitable habitat at low latitudes, while an increase was detected in other regions, mostly at high latitudes. Along the Southeast Pacific, we observed an upper range contraction of −17.08° S of latitude for 2090–2100 under the RCP8.5 scenario, implying a loss of habitat suitability throughout the coast of Peru and poleward to −27.83° S in Chile. Along the area of Northern Chile where a complete habitat loss is predicted by our model, natural stands are under heavy exploitation. The loss of habitat suitability will take place worldwide: Significant impacts on marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are likely. Furthermore, changes in habitat suitability are a harbinger of massive impacts in the socio‐ecological systems of the Southeast Pacific.

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Continent-wide declines in shallow reef life over a decade of ocean warming

Cited by 39 publications

References 55 publications

From local seafloor imagery to global patterns in benthic habitat states: contribution of citizen science to habitat classification across latitudes

From local seafloor imagery to global patterns in benthic habitat states: contribution of citizen science to habitat classification across latitudes

Mean reef fish body size decreases towards warmer waters

A species distribution model of the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera: Worldwide changes and a focus on the Southeast Pacific

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