Revision of the southern distribution limit for the tropical marine herbivore Syphonota geographica (A. Adams &amp; Reeve, 1850) (Heterobranchia: Aplysiidae) in a global climate change hot-spot

Nimbs, Matt J.; Smith, Stephen

doi:10.7882/az.2017.019

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…As most marine heterobranch species have relatively short lifespans and often highly specific food and habitat requirements [5,6], they have been hypothesised to be sensitive to environmental change, detectable through changes in species presence and distribution (e.g., [7][8][9]). This is supported through several of the earlier observations in the SSC program with citizen scientists providing a number of observations of range extensions across NSW [10][11][12][13][14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 61%

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Citizen Scientists Record Significant Range Extensions for Tropical Sea Slug Species in Subtropical Eastern Australia

Smith

Nimbs

2022

Diversity

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The Sea Slug Census program in Australia engages with citizen scientists to record the diversity and distribution of sea slugs across multiple locations. The program has consistently recorded shifts in distribution patterns but a recent, nine-day census in subtropical eastern Australia recorded unprecedented range extensions of tropical species. Seven species (six chromodorids and one polycerid) were found further south of their previously known distribution with Hypselodoris bertschi being recorded for the first time in Australia. These observations suggested the recent transport of larvae via the East Australian Current with recruitment to coastal sites possibly promoted by a protracted period of strong onshore winds associated with the 2021/22 La Niña in the western Pacific. With the increasing frequency of poleward range extensions of marine taxa, citizen science programs such as the Sea Slug Census provide the opportunity to substantially increase monitoring efforts. Linking with iNaturalist strengthens the value of the observations through online peer review to confirm species identities as well as the incorporation of substantiated (Research Grade) records into international biodiversity databases such as GBIF.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 61%

“…A determination of an extension to a species range was made by reference to the databases of the authors as well as publications detailing sea slug distributions in NSW [10][11][12][13][14][30][31]. The taxonomic structure of this paper follows the World Register of Marine Species [32].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizen Scientists Record Significant Range Extensions for Tropical Sea Slug Species in Subtropical Eastern Australia

Smith

Nimbs

2022

Diversity

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“…Within the numerically largest group, the Nudibranchia, animals from both the major suborders Cladobranchia and Doridina are present, with 9 and 17 species, respectively. This broad taxonomic spread illustrates that range shifts are occurring across much of the Heterobranchia and are not confined to groups that contain potentially invasive taxa, such as the aeolids [28,30], polycerids [90,91], and sea hares [35,40].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The central eastern Australian coast is a known climate change hot-spot where warming conditions are proving favourable for gradual poleward shifts in southern range limits for several marine taxa (e.g., Harasti; Scott, et al; Davis [37][38][39]). Since early 2014, we have identified and reported 28 species of sea slug south of their previously known range [5,[40][41][42][43] (Figure 1). The distance of such shifts varies from a regional scale at distances of 100s of km to a bioregional scale of >1000 km.…”

Section: Recent Poleward Range Extensions In Eastern Australiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond Capricornia: Tropical Sea Slugs (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia) Extend Their Distributions into the Tasman Sea

Nimbs

Smith

2018

Diversity

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There is increasing evidence of poleward migration of a broad range of taxa under the influence of a warming ocean. However, patchy research effort, the lack of pre-existing baseline data, and taxonomic uncertainty for some taxa means that unambiguous interpretation of observations is often difficult. Here, we propose that heterobranch sea slugs provide a useful target group for monitoring shifts in distribution. As many sea slugs are highly colourful, popular with underwater photographers and rock-pool ramblers, and found in accessible habitats, they provide an ideal target for citizen scientist programs, such as the Sea Slug Census. This maximises our ability to rapidly gain usable diversity and distributional data. Here, we review records of recent range extensions by tropical species into the subtropical and temperate waters of eastern Australia and document, for the first time in Australian waters, observations of three tropical species of sea slug as well as range extensions for a further six to various locations in the Tasman Sea.

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“…Poloczanska et al (2016) observed an expansion of the geographic limits of the distribution of many species towards higher latitudes and deeper zones. For some species of Heterobranchia, the poleward range expansion due to global warming has been documented (Goddard et al, 2011; Nimbs & Smith, 2016, 2017, 2018), although at present, no analysis allows for a more detailed forecast of probable changes in their distribution under future climate change scenarios.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity and conservation of “solar‐powered” sea slugs from the Western Atlantic under climate change scenarios

2022

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Elysiais a genus of sea slugs in which some species can "steal" chloroplasts (kleptoplasty) from algae and keep them photosynthetically active inside their cells. Solarpowered animals are more susceptible to climate change as photosynthesis can increase the stress for these animals in extreme environmental conditions. Here, we used the Maxent algorithm and environmental envelopes (i.e. the multi-dimensional environmental space in which a species can occur) to model the ecological niche of 21 Elysia species in the Caribbean to estimate their current and future potential distribution. We then used predicted distributions to map potential taxonomical richness and to describe the representation of the genus inside the marine protected areas (MPAs). For most species, we show an expansion of the northern and southern range of distribution, but a reduction in the central part. Although changes in richness appeared in different areas, predictions emphasize four large extensions that have a potential current richness of 13 and will have no species in the future: Pamlico Sound, North Carolina; the southwest of the Gulf of Mexico; the Great Bahama Bank; and the southwest of Brazil. Out of the total area with environmental conditions adequate for at least one of the species in the genus, 24.7% is located within MPAs.

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Revision of the southern distribution limit for the tropical marine herbivore Syphonota geographica (A. Adams & Reeve, 1850) (Heterobranchia: Aplysiidae) in a global climate change hot-spot

Cited by 4 publications

References 21 publications

Citizen Scientists Record Significant Range Extensions for Tropical Sea Slug Species in Subtropical Eastern Australia

Citizen Scientists Record Significant Range Extensions for Tropical Sea Slug Species in Subtropical Eastern Australia

Beyond Capricornia: Tropical Sea Slugs (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia) Extend Their Distributions into the Tasman Sea

Biodiversity and conservation of “solar‐powered” sea slugs from the Western Atlantic under climate change scenarios

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