Aim High-latitude coral reef communities composed of tropical, subtropical and temperate species are heralded as climate change refuges for vulnerable tropical coral reef species, giving them high, but as yet unrealized, conservation priority. We review the ecology of subtropical reefs in the context of climate change and evaluate management strategies ensuring both their own continuity and their potential to act as refuges for tropical species.Location Global high-latitude coral reef environments.Methods We review the literature about refuges management, high-latitude reefs, climate change effects on reef organisms and the conservation of reefs.Results High-latitude coral reef systems are functionally different from their tropical counterparts, characterized by unique biogeographical overlap of taxa at their range margins, endemic species and strong seasonality in species composition. They are shaped by marginal environmental conditions, which are predicted to undergo greater changes than reefs at lower latitudes, resulting in community re-assembly through range shifts, altered dispersal patterns, survivorship and habitat loss. The combined impact of these changes, however, is difficult to assess, as some effects may be antagonistic. Climate change conservation options include passive management strategies such as no-take reserves that aim to minimize local disturbances, and active strategies such as relocating populations to refuge sites. Success of active intervention relies on the long-term persistence of relocated populations, which is unlikely for highlatitude populations once source tropical populations at lower latitudes are locally extinct.Main conclusion High-latitude reefs are poised for rapid modification under climate change. Management should anticipate these changes by setting up no-take reserves on suitable subtropical reefs now to foster ecosystem resilience through reduced anthropogenic impacts. Given the uncertainty over which species will arrive or depart and lack of knowledge about the history of most subtropical reef development, active management is presently not the best use of management resources.
Marine wildlife faces a growing number of threats across the globe, and the survival of many species and populations will be dependent on conservation action. One threat in particular that has emerged over the last 4 decades is the pollution of oceanic and coastal habitats with plastic debris. The increased occurrence of plastics in marine ecosystems mirrors the increased prevalence of plastics in society, and reflects the high durability and persistence of plastics in the environment. In an effort to guide future research and assist mitigation approaches to marine conservation, we have generated a list of 16 priority research questions based on the expert opinions of 26 researchers from around the world, whose research expertise spans several disciplines, and covers each of the world's oceans and the taxa most at risk from plastic pollution. This paper highlights a growing concern related to threats posed to marine wildlife from microplastics and fragmented debris, the need for data at scales relevant to management, and the urgent need to develop interdisciplinary research and management partnerships to limit the release of plastics into the environment and curb the future impacts of plastic pollution.
We describe the structure of the macrofaunal community inhabiting holdfasts of the kelp Ecklonia radiata sampled over a 4 year period on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, Australia. Both the physical and biological structures of the holdfast are described. Analyses focused on the relationships between holdfast volume and a range of summary community statistics (number of species, total abundance, total biomass) as well as the description of successional patterns with increasing holdfast size for the common species, higher taxa and trophic groups. The holdfast habitat suppons a diverse faunal community that was dominated by polychaete worms and amphipod crustaceans, which together accounted for 78% of the total number of organisms sampled. Many of the species present have a much wider distribution in both intertidal and sublittoral marine habitats. Successional patterns within the holdfast were from a community dominated by small worms with a predominance of deposit-feeding strategies to one with a greater representation of amphipods with omnivorous feeding strategies. There was also a trend to increasing mean size of individuals with increasing holdfast size, which may be attributable to either growth of individuals over time or physical hmitations (smaller spaces) in smaller holdfasts. The analysis of differences in spatial patterns for summary statistics of the community structure (species number, number of individuals, faunal density) suggested that small-scale variabihty (sites within locations) was more important than larger scale variability (between locations) and that the most easterly sites at each location supported the highest species count and number of individuals.
Although the Indo-Pacific is the global centre of diversity for the heterobranch sea slugs, their distribution remains, in many places, largely unknown. On the Australian east coast, their diversity decreases from approximately 1000 species in the northern Great Barrier Reef to fewer than 400 in Bass Strait. While occurrence records for some of the more populated sections of the coast are well known, data are patchy for more remote areas. Many species have very short lifecycles, so they can respond rapidly to changes in environmental conditions. The New South Wales coast is a recognised climate change hot-spot and southward shifts in distribution have already been documented for several species. However, thorough documentation of present distributions is an essential prerequisite for identifying further range extensions. While distribution data are available in the public realm, much is also held privately as photographic collections, diaries and logs. This paper consolidates the current occurrence data from both private and public sources as part of a broader study of sea slug distribution in south-eastern Australia and provides an inventory by region. A total of 382 species, 155 genera and 54 families is reported from the mainland coast of New South Wales.
Although the Solitary Islands Manne Reserve lies at latitude 30" S on the east coast of Austral~a, over 700 km south of the Great Barrier Reef it contains b e n t h~c communities dominated by extenslve areas of scleractln~an corals A qual~tative survey publ~shed In 1974 reported a total of 34 coral specles in the region and more recent records Include a total of 55 coral species Here, we present the results of the first quantitative b e n t h~c surveys for 7 s~t e s in the Solitary Islands Manne Reserve As a result of these surveys an additIona135 specles of scleractin~an coral have been recorded from the region bnnging the total to 90 coral specles In 28 genera from l 1 families However 21 of the 55 coral specles previously recorded were not found dunng this study These results indicate that a d y n a m~c temporal pattern oi specles recultment and replacement is occurnng within these subtropical coral conununities Scleractinian coral cover ranged from a low of 8 5% at Muttonbird Island the reef closest to the coastline to 50 9 % at SW Sol~tary Island These values are w t h i n the range of coral cover reported for troplcal fnnging reefs M u l t~d~m e n s~o n a l s c a l~n g (MDS) analysis indicated 4 malor slte groupings the 2 sites closest to shore the most northern offshore slte, which was different from all other sltes South Solltary Island and the other 3 island s~t e s which showed some similarity to one another The major differences among sltes were higher coral species nchness and the relative Importance of Acropora specles on the more northern and offshore reefs, and higher abundance of large macroalgae close to the coastline The Solitary Islands coral rommunlties contain a unlque assoclation of tropical species neal their southern lat~tudlnal range, and subtropical scleractinian species which are rare or absent from the Great Barner Reef r e q o n Although coral cover 1s high at the Solitary Islands, these high-lat~tude sltes are less dlverse than trop~cal f n n g~n g reefs, with respect to both total number of coral species and the number of species per sampllng unlt Furthermore, the pnmary substratum is formed by rock rather than lunestone so the extenslve coral communit~es fall to form coral reefs at this latitude KEY WORDS: Subtropical reefs . Coral community structure
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