Alveopora japonica beds thriving under kelp

Denis, Vianney; Chen, C. A.; Song, Juhun; Woo, Seonock

doi:10.1007/s00338-013-1019-z

Cited by 18 publications

(18 citation statements)

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“…Rapid warming, such as during marine heatwaves, can also result in mass die‐offs of kelp (Wernberg et al, ). These phenomena have led to extensive losses of seaweed forests and the species they support over hundreds of kilometres of coastlines, with declines now documented from eastern and western Australia to Japan, Korea and the Mediterranean (Denis, Chen, Song, & Woo, ; Kumagai et al, ; Vergés, Tomas, et al, ; Wernberg et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

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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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2019

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“…This species occurs in subtidal benthic habitats in NWP ranging from southern Taiwan through Jeju Island, Korea and to mainland Japan (Figure 1; Veron, 2000). A. japonica has benefited from recent environmental changes such as the increase in seawater temperatures in high-latitude habitats (Denis et al, 2013;Denis et al, 2014;Vieira et al, 2016). The Jeju Island populations have rapidly repopulated recently due to the accelerated recruitment rate along with a superior competitive ability for space (Denis et al, 2013;Denis et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A. japonica has benefited from recent environmental changes such as the increase in seawater temperatures in high-latitude habitats (Denis et al, 2013;Denis et al, 2014;Vieira et al, 2016). The Jeju Island populations have rapidly repopulated recently due to the accelerated recruitment rate along with a superior competitive ability for space (Denis et al, 2013;Denis et al, 2014). A recent ecological survey revealed that Jeju Island populations in Korea are now propagating rapidly, which has resulted in strong competition for space with the regionally dominant and ecologically and economically important kelp species Ecklonia cava (Denis et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Jeju Island populations have rapidly repopulated recently due to the accelerated recruitment rate along with a superior competitive ability for space (Denis et al, 2013;Denis et al, 2014). A recent ecological survey revealed that Jeju Island populations in Korea are now propagating rapidly, which has resulted in strong competition for space with the regionally dominant and ecologically and economically important kelp species Ecklonia cava (Denis et al, 2013). This may be due to parallel occurrences of kelp decreasing and scleractinian coral increasing due to the rising seawater temperature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This may be due to parallel occurrences of kelp decreasing and scleractinian coral increasing due to the rising seawater temperature. Nonetheless, A. japonica appears to be competitively superior to E. cava, which has led to a dramatic decline in kelp populations, causing a significant loss in regional biodiversity, particularly for economically important fisheries (Denis et al, 2013). Hence, public concern over the potential adverse effects of A. japonica populations on fisheries production has increased in the local community of Jeju Island.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Origin of the Subtropical Coral Alveopora japonica (Scleractinia: Acroporidae) in High-Latitude Environments

et al. 2020

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Marine ecosystems in temperate regions have been significantly affected by rising seawater temperatures due to climate change. Alveopora japonica, a small zooxanthellate scleractinian coral, occurs in the northwestern Pacific including Taiwan, Japan, and Jeju Island in Korea. The northern populations around Jeju Island have recently undergone rapid growth in numbers, with negative impacts on local biodiversity. However, it is unclear whether these Korean populations occurred historically and where they originate from. In this study, we investigated the phylogenetic relationships of A. japonica along with its endosymbiont Symbiodiniaceae across five geographic regions, including Jeju Island in Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. Nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences revealed unexpected species-level divergence among three distinct phylogenetic clusters (Korea, Taiwan, and Japan) with no sharing of haplotypes among lineages, suggesting these may each represent cryptic species in Alveopora. 23S ribosomal DNA of Symbiodiniaceae showed two well-separated phylogenetic clusters, in which Korean and Japanese symbionts shared the same clade and Taiwanese ones formed a distinct clade. Given the deep phylogenetic divergences among the lineages for both corals and Symbiodiniaceae, the Korean populations appear to have existed for a long evolutionary time period rather than representing a poleward migration from subtropical environments following recent climate change. Our study highlights cryptic species diversity in Alveopora at high-latitude environments.

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