Ocean warming and tropical invaders erode the performance of a key herbivore

Yeruham, Erez; Shpigel, Muki; Abelson, Avigdor; Rilov, Gil

doi:10.1002/ecy.2925

Cited by 47 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 81 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The frequency of population collapses and local extinctions has also increased especially in land-locked basins impacted by global warming. One such case is the Levantine basin in the Mediterranean Sea (Yeruham et al, 2015(Yeruham et al, , 2019Rilov, 2016;Corrales et al, 2018;Givan et al, 2018), where native biodiversity is gradually being replaced by alien species (Katsanevakis et al, 2018). Moreover, mass mortalities are increasingly occurring in association with strong and recurrent marine heat waves (Garrabou et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Twelve Recommendations for Advancing Marine Conservation in European and Contiguous Seas

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Like most ocean regions today, the European and contiguous seas experience cumulative impacts from local human activities and global pressures. They are largely in poor environmental condition with deteriorating trends. Despite several success stories, European policies for marine conservation fall short of being effective. Acknowledging the challenges for marine conservation, a 4-year multinational network, MarCons, supported collaborative marine conservation efforts to bridge the gap between science, management and policy, aiming to contribute in reversing present negative trends. By consolidating a large network of more than 100 scientists from 26 countries, and conducting a series of workshops over 4 years (2016-2020), MarCons analyzed challenges, opportunities and obstacles for advancing marine conservation in the European and contiguous seas. Here, we synthesize the major issues that emerged from this analysis and make 12 key recommendations for policy makers, marine managers, and researchers. To increase the effectiveness of marine conservation planning, we recommend (1) designing coherent networks of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the framework of marine spatial planning (MSP) and applying systematic conservation planning principles, including re-evaluation of existing management zones, (2) designing MPA networks within a broader transboundary planning framework, and (3) implementing integrated land-freshwater-sea approaches. To address inadequate or poorly informed management, we recommend (4) developing and implementing

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Twelve Recommendations for Advancing Marine Conservation in European and Contiguous Seas

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Cystoseira and Sargassum ) through overgrazing, shifting the benthic reef habitat to turf (Sala et al, ; Vergés, Tomas, et al, ; Yeruham, Shpigel, Abelson, & Rilov, ). This state is likely maintained by the incessant forcing of rabbitfish on algae and their recruits in the turf (Bennett et al, ; Vergés, Tomas, et al, ; Yeruham et al, ). Additionally, it has been shown that competition between turfs and fucales may also inhibit the growth of the latter (O’Brien & Scheibling, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Throughout this expansion, rabbitfish have decimated algal forests that were dominated by canopy‐forming algae (e.g. Cystoseira and Sargassum ) through overgrazing, shifting the benthic reef habitat to turf (Sala et al, ; Vergés, Tomas, et al, ; Yeruham, Shpigel, Abelson, & Rilov, ). This state is likely maintained by the incessant forcing of rabbitfish on algae and their recruits in the turf (Bennett et al, ; Vergés, Tomas, et al, ; Yeruham et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tropicalization may invert trophic state and carbon budget of shallow temperate rocky reefs

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

1. Global warming mediates and maintains the tropicalization of temperate marine ecosystems. Recent studies have demonstrated that this process causes shifts from algal forests to denuded non-canopy states in temperate reefs. It has been suggested that these changes would incur significant consequences to ecosystem functioning. 2.In this study, we tested how tropicalization affects habitat-provisioning functions and carbon turnover of a shallow reef in the fast-warming and highly invaded southeastern Mediterranean Sea, in-situ. On a single shallow reef, we conducted measurements of these functions in three habitats: dwindling native brown algal (Cystoseira) forest, dominant turf (formed by overgrazing of tropical rabbitfish) and expanding tropical shrubs dominated by red calcifying algae (Galaxaura rugosa).3. Algal forest was an autotrophic net carbon sink and provided habitat for high species diversity and the largest community biomass. The denuded turf was heterotrophic and provided habitat for the lowest species diversity and community biomass. While diversity was as high in tropical shrubs as in the algal forest, it had lower biomass and functioned as a heterotrophic net carbon source. Synthesis.Our study exemplifies possible functional consequences of tropicalization-driven regime shifts on shallow temperate rocky reefs, and how these can invert the net trophic state and carbon balance. K E Y W O R D S algal forests turf shrubs, calcification CaCO 3 dissolution, carbon sink source, ecosystem functioning, in-situ benthic incubation chambers, net community production respiration, regime phase shift, shallow temperate rocky reefs | 845 Journal of Ecology PELEG Et aL.

show abstract

“…Proper understanding of the taxonomic and functional changes that these modifications are entailing requires the availability of data on preimpact conditions. Due to the speed at which such changes are occurring in the Eastern Mediterranean, a thorough basin-scale survey of native biodiversity is mandatory before it is irremediably lost (Peleg et al 2019;Yeruham et al 2019). Acknowledgements The sorting and identification of the material was conducted during a citizen science workshop funded by the Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy of the University of Vienna.…”

Section: Is Biodiversity Underestimation a Broader Pattern In The Easmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low diversity or poorly explored? Mesophotic molluscs highlight undersampling in the Eastern Mediterranean

Albano

Azzarone

Amati³

et al. 2020

Biodivers Conserv

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mesophotic assemblages are the next frontier of marine exploration in the Mediterranean Sea. Located below recreational scuba diving depths, they are difficult to access but host a diverse array of habitats structured by large invertebrate species. The Eastern Mediterranean has been much less explored than the western part of the basin and its mesophotic habitats are virtually unknown. We here describe two mesophotic (77–92 m depth) molluscan assemblages at a rocky reef and on a soft substrate off northern Israel. We record 172 species, of which 43 (25%) are first records for Israel and increase its overall marine molluscan diversity by 7%. Only five of these species have been reported in recent surveys of the nearby Lebanon, suggesting that our results are robust at a broader scale than our study area and that the reported west-to-east declining diversity gradient in the Mediterranean needs a reappraisal based on proper sampling of the eastern basin. We found only four (2%) non-indigenous species, represented by seven (0.5%) specimens. These results suggest that pristine native assemblages still thrive at this depth in Israel, in contrast to the shallow subtidal heavily affected by global warming and biological invasions, calling for strong conservation actions for these valuable but vulnerable habitats.

show abstract

Ocean warming and tropical invaders erode the performance of a key herbivore

Cited by 47 publications

References 81 publications

Twelve Recommendations for Advancing Marine Conservation in European and Contiguous Seas

Twelve Recommendations for Advancing Marine Conservation in European and Contiguous Seas

Tropicalization may invert trophic state and carbon budget of shallow temperate rocky reefs

Low diversity or poorly explored? Mesophotic molluscs highlight undersampling in the Eastern Mediterranean

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About