Historical comparisons reveal multiple drivers of decadal change of an ecosystem engineer at the range edge

Abstract

Biogenic reefs are important for habitat provision and coastal protection. Long-term datasets on the distribution and abundance of Sabellaria alveolata (L.) are available from Britain. The aim of this study was to combine historical records and contemporary data to (1) describe spatiotemporal variation in winter temperatures, (2) document short-term and long-term changes in the distribution and abundance of S. alveolata and discuss these changes in relation to extreme weather events and recent warming, and (3) assess the potential for artificial coastal defense structures to function as habitat for S. alveolata. A semi-quantitative abundance scale (ACFOR) was used to compare broadscale, long-term and interannual abundance of S. alveolata near its range edge in NW Britain. S. alveolata disappeared from the North Wales and Wirral coastlines where it had been abundant prior to the cold winter of 1962/1963. Population declines were also observed following the recent cold winters of 2009/2010 and 2010/2011. Extensive surveys in 2004 and 2012 revealed that S. alveolata had recolonized locations from which it had previously disappeared. Furthermore, it had increased in abundance at many locations, possibly in response to recent warming. S. alveolata was recorded on the majority of artificial coastal defense structures surveyed, suggesting that the proliferation of artificial coastal defense structures along this stretch of coastline may have enabled S. alveolata to spread across stretches of unsuitable natural habitat. Long-term and broadscale contextual monitoring is essential for monitoring responses of organisms to climate change. Historical data and gray literature can be invaluable sources of information. Our results support the theory that Lusitanian species are responding positively to climate warming but also that short-term extreme weather events can have potentially devastating widespread and lasting effects on organisms. Furthermore, the proliferation of coastal defense structures has implications for phylogeography, population genetics, and connectivity of coastal populations.

The amphipod assemblages of Sabellaria alveolata reefs from the NW coast of Portugal: An account of the present knowledge, new records, and some biogeographic considerations

“…These polychaetes are widely distributed along the European Atlantic coast, from Ireland to the south of Morocco (Firth et al 2015) and punctually in the Mediterranean Sea (Sparla et al 1992;Gambi et al 1996;Nicoletti et al 2001). S. alveolata reefs normally grow parallel to the coastline and in the direction of main tidal currents (Dubois et al 2006), and they usually develop in the intertidal or shallow subtidal habitat (De Grave and Whitaker 1997).…”

Reducing the data-deficiency of threatened European habitats: Spatial variation of sabellariid worm reefs and associated fauna in the Sicily Channel, Mediterranean Sea

“…Piccioni et al, 1988) may be responsible, at least in part, for such biogeographic patterns. In non-Mediterranean regions, the majority of studies reported the exclusive occurrence of S. alveolata (e.g., Wilson, 1976;Dubois et al, 2002;Plicanti et al, 2016) or S. spinulosa (e.g., Hendrick and Foster-Smith, 2006), with the first species normally being more common and abundant in the intertidal environment (e.g., Firth et al, 2015), while the second in the subtidal environment (e.g., Pearce et al, 2014). In some cases, coexisting S. alveolata and S. spinulosa have been recorded (e.g., Wilson, 1970aWilson, , 1970b, but not at the small scale documented in the Sicily Channel.…”

“…Muller and Stone, 2001;Wolff et al, 2016) and is modelled to further increase in the near future due to climate change (Webster et al, 2005;Sriver and Huber, 2006;Trapp et al, 2007). The tube-building activity of Sabellaria may effectively repair small damaged areas of the reef within weeks or months (Cunningham et al, 1984;Vorberg, 2000;Plicanti et al, 2016), but heavier impacts may take years up to decades (Firth et al, 2015) to recover depending on temporally variable processes, such as larval supply (Gruet, 1986;Ayata et al, 2009). Permanent changes to the structure of the reef are also reported (Gibb et al, 2014).…”

“…These can develop in the intertidal and shallow subtidal zone as encrusting formations adhering to rocks, ballshaped ('hummocks') structures or large banks (Wilson, 1971;Dubois et al, 2002Dubois et al, , 2006Desroy et al, 2011), whose 'reefiness' can be quantified based on a number of physical and biological characteristics (Hendrick and Foster-Smith, 2006). Sabellariid constructions are not only found on natural substrates, but also on artificial structures Firth et al, 2015).…”

Plymouth — A World Harbour through the ages

“…Building on DELOS, the European Union-funded THESEUS (www.theseusproject.eu) and URBANE (www.urbaneproject.org) projects progressed our understanding of the processes underpinning the patterns of biodiversity on artificial structures at a range of spatial scales from small (mm-cm) (e.g. Bracewell et al, 2013, Coombes et al, 2013, Coombes et al, 2015, medium (cm-m) (Martins et al, 2010;Firth et al, 2013bFirth et al, , 2014a) and large geographic scales (Firth et al, 2014a(Firth et al, , 2015.…”