Identifying potential marine climate change refugia: A case study in Canada’s Pacific marine ecosystems

Ban, Stephen S.; Alidina, Hussein M.; Okey, Thomas A.; Gregg, Rachel M.; Ban, Natalie C.

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2016.07.004

Cited by 29 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…and L . pertusa [56, 80, 81]), and that Cobb Seamount may serve as an area of oceanographic stability [21, 81], supports the paradigm that seamounts are potential refugia for biota from marine climate change [5]. That all taxa observed during the visual survey are commonly found on the North American coast, refutes the paradigm that seamounts have high levels of endemism (a paradigm already in dispute for seamounts in the Northeast Pacific [5, 82]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Documented species include commercial fish species (e.g., Anoplopoma fimbria sablefish and Sebastes spp. rockfishes [18, 20]), and it was recently suggested Cobb Seamount may be refugia for mainland marine ecosystems [21]. Although the benthos of Cobb Seamount has been visually surveyed in the past (pinnacle top [17]; <180 m [18]; <700 m depth [11]), information on the benthic community structure, composition, species turnover, and distribution has been limited to qualitative observations of communities and their patterns of vertical zonation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Structure and Distribution of Benthic Communities on a Shallow Seamount (Cobb Seamount, Northeast Pacific Ocean)

2016

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Partially owing to their isolation and remote distribution, research on seamounts is still in its infancy, with few comprehensive datasets and empirical evidence supporting or refuting prevailing ecological paradigms. As anthropogenic activity in the high seas increases, so does the need for better understanding of seamount ecosystems and factors that influence the distribution of sensitive benthic communities. This study used quantitative community analyses to detail the structure, diversity, and distribution of benthic mega-epifauna communities on Cobb Seamount, a shallow seamount in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Underwater vehicles were used to visually survey the benthos and seafloor in ~1600 images (~5 m2 in size) between 34 and 1154 m depth. The analyses of 74 taxa from 11 phyla resulted in the identification of nine communities. Each community was typified by taxa considered to provide biological structure and/or be a primary producer. The majority of the community-defining taxa were either cold-water corals, sponges, or algae. Communities were generally distributed as bands encircling the seamount, and depth was consistently shown to be the strongest environmental proxy of the community-structuring processes. The remaining variability in community structure was partially explained by substrate type, rugosity, and slope. The study used environmental metrics, derived from ship-based multibeam bathymetry, to model the distribution of communities on the seamount. This model was successfully applied to map the distribution of communities on a 220 km2 region of Cobb Seamount. The results of the study support the paradigms that seamounts are diversity 'hotspots', that the majority of seamount communities are at risk to disturbance from bottom fishing, and that seamounts are refugia for biota, while refuting the idea that seamounts have high endemism.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Structure and Distribution of Benthic Communities on a Shallow Seamount (Cobb Seamount, Northeast Pacific Ocean)

2016

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“…Marine protected areas may play a greater role in mediating tropicalisation if scientists and managers begin to anticipate future change and manage beyond extant conditions to “future‐proof” the ecological systems and functions that we value (Bruno et al, ; Coleman et al, ). For example, there may be benefit in identifying potential thermal refugia (Ban, Alidina, Okey, Gregg, & Ban, ). Similarly, areas with oceanographic conditions that allow kelp to thrive (Lourenço et al, ) could be prioritised for protection to prolong persistence in landscapes of degradation and tropicalisation.…”

Section: Approaches To Managing Tropicalised Reefsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tropicalisation of temperate reefs: Implications for ecosystem functions and management actions

et al. 2019

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Temperate reefs from around the world are becoming tropicalised, as warm‐water species shift their distribution towards the poles in response to warming. This is already causing profound shifts in dominant foundation species and associated ecological communities as canopy seaweeds such as kelp are replaced by tropical species. Here, we argue that the cascading consequences of tropicalisation for the ecosystem properties and functions of warming temperate reefs depend largely on the taxa that end up dominating the seafloor. We put forward three potential tropicalisation trajectories, that differ in whether seaweeds, turf or corals become dominant. We highlight potential gains to certain ecosystem functions for some tropicalisation endpoints. For example, local benthic fish productivity may increase in some tropicalised reefs as a higher proportion of primary production is directly consumed, but this will be at the expense of other functions such as carbon export. We argue that understanding these changes in flows of energy and materials is essential to formulate new conservation strategies and management approaches that minimise risks as well as capture potential opportunities. Regardless of which trajectory is followed, tropicalised systems represent largely novel ecosystem configurations. This poses major challenges to traditional conservation and environmental management approaches, which typically focus on maintaining or returning species to particular locations. We outline management practices that may either mitigate predicted structural and functional changes or make the most of potential new opportunities in tropicalised reefs. These include marine protected areas to increase resilience and connectivity, the development of new fisheries that target range‐expanding invaders, and assisted evolution and migration strategies to facilitate the dominance of large habitat formers like corals or seaweeds. We highlight important ecological and ethical challenges associated with developing novel approaches to manage tropicalised reefs, which may need to become increasingly interventionist. As technological innovations continue to emerge, having clear goals and considering the ethics surrounding interventions among the broader community are essential steps to successfully develop novel management approaches. A plain language summary is available for this article.

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“…Similarly, because species cannot spread beyond their required habitats, the poleward edges of key marine habitats are likely to play disproportionately large conservation roles . Due to the heterogeneous nature of climate change, some parts of the ocean are predicted to warm much faster than others, and thermal refugia—patches with climatic conditions that have not and are not predicted to change dramatically—could also accumulate species and warrant additional protection, although those refugia may be rare in the oceans . The paths taken by species shifting in response to climate change, termed “migration corridors” in terrestrial ecology, are also likely to accumulate species in the future and contribute substantially to conservation outcomes .…”

Section: Recommendations For Improving Mpa Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biogeographic constraints to marine conservation in a changing climate

Fredston

Gaines

Halpern

2018

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

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The siting of protected areas to achieve management and conservation objectives draws heavily on biogeographic concepts of the spatial distribution and connectivity of species. However, the marine protected area (MPA) literature rarely acknowledges how biogeographic theories underpin MPA and MPA network design. We review which theories from biogeography have been incorporated into marine spatial planning and which relevant concepts have yet to be translated to inform the next generation of design principles. This biogeographic perspective will only become more relevant as climate change amplifies these spatial and temporal dynamics, and as species begin to shift in and out of existing MPAs. The scale of climate velocities predicted for the 21st century dwarfs all but the largest MPAs currently in place, raising the possibility that in coming decades many MPAs will no longer contain the species or assemblages they were established to protect. We present a number of design elements that could improve the success of MPAs and MPA networks in light of biogeographic processes and climate change. Biogeographically informed MPA networks of the future may resemble the habitat corridors currently being considered for many terrestrial regions.

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Identifying potential marine climate change refugia: A case study in Canada’s Pacific marine ecosystems

Cited by 29 publications

References 75 publications

The Structure and Distribution of Benthic Communities on a Shallow Seamount (Cobb Seamount, Northeast Pacific Ocean)

The Structure and Distribution of Benthic Communities on a Shallow Seamount (Cobb Seamount, Northeast Pacific Ocean)

Tropicalisation of temperate reefs: Implications for ecosystem functions and management actions

Biogeographic constraints to marine conservation in a changing climate

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