Associations of concern: declining seagrasses and threatened dependent species

Hughes, A. Randall; Williams, Susan L.; Duarte, Carlos M.; Heck, Kenneth L.; Waycott, Michelle

doi:10.1890/080041

Cited by 261 publications

(141 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Aquatic vegetation serves many important ecological and socioeconomic functions, including providing essential habitat for many aquatic species, stabilizing and enriching sediments, regulating the nutrient cycle and maintaining fishery production [1][2][3]. Water quality degradation is often associated with the disappearance of aquatic vegetation [4,5] and the increase of algal bloom [6]; thus, aquatic vegetation has been widely used as an indicator of water quality and nutrient loading in aquatic systems [7,8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Satellite remote sensing has many advantages in aquatic vegetation monitoring: (1) repeat coverage by remote sensing enables the detection of changes over time, which has proven beneficial for rapidly assessing the optical variables in coastal and inland water [13,14]; (2) satellite data are in a digital format and can be easily integrated into a geographic information system (GIS) for analysis; and (3) satellite remote sensing is more practical and economical than the other monitoring methods [12,15]. In comparison, airborne imagery is unsuitable for regular monitoring on large spatial and temporal scales because it is costly and time consuming to process [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mapping Aquatic Vegetation in a Large, Shallow Eutrophic Lake: A Frequency-Based Approach Using Multiple Years of MODIS Data

et al. 2015

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Aquatic vegetation serves many important ecological and socioeconomic functions in lake ecosystems. The presence of floating algae poses difficulties for accurately estimating the distribution of aquatic vegetation in eutrophic lakes. We present an approach to map the distribution of aquatic vegetation in Lake Taihu (a large, shallow eutrophic lake in China) and reduce the influence of floating algae on aquatic vegetation mapping. the 11 years. Our findings suggest that (1) the proposed approach can be used to map the distribution of aquatic vegetation in eutrophic algae-rich waters and (2) dramatic changes occurred in the distribution of aquatic vegetation in Lake Taihu during the 11-year study.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping Aquatic Vegetation in a Large, Shallow Eutrophic Lake: A Frequency-Based Approach Using Multiple Years of MODIS Data

et al. 2015

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“…In fact, large-scale seagrass losses have been reported in many coastal areas, mainly due to intense humanrelated activities, what has caused a worldwide declining trend (Orth et al, 2006;Duarte et al, 2008;Hughes et al, 2009;Waycott et al, 2009;Short et al, 2011). Importantly, when seagrasses disappear, the 'goods and ecological services' they provide are eroded, affecting the coastal ecosystem (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decadal changes in the structure of Cymodocea nodosa seagrass meadows: Natural vs. human influences

Tuya

Ribeiro-Leite²,

Arto-Cuesta³

et al. 2014

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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Keywords: seagrass water quality decline human-mediated impact Canary Islands a b s t r a c t Seagrass meadows are deteriorating worldwide. However, numerous declines are still unreported, which avoid accurate evaluations of seagrass global trends. This is particularly relevant for the western African coast and nearby oceanic archipelagos in the eastern Atlantic. The seagrass Cymodocea nodosa is an 'ecological engineer' on shallow soft bottoms of the Canary Islands. A comparative decadal study was conducted in 21 C. nodosa seagrass meadows at Gran Canaria Island to compare the structure (shoot density, leaf length and cover) between 2003 and 2012. Overall, 11 meadows exhibited a severe regression, while 10 remained relatively stable. During this period, natural influences (sea surface temperature, Chlorophyll-a concentration and PAR light, as well as the number of storm episodes detaching seagrasses) had a low predictive power on temporal patterns in seagrass structure. In contrast, proximity from a range of human-mediated influences (e.g. the number of outfalls and ports) seem to be related to the loss of seagrass; the rate of seagrass erosion between 2003 and 2012 was significantly predicted by the number of human-mediated impacts around each meadow. This result highlights promoting management actions to conserve meadows of C. nodosa at the study region through efficient management of local impacts.

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“…In many coastal marine systems, macrophytes such as kelp and seagrasses are the dominant biogenic habitat formers, supporting hundreds of species-including economically important fishes, abalone, and lobster (6, 7)-such that changes in their abundance cascade throughout the entire ecosystem (8,9). Plantherbivore interactions play an important role in structuring these marine systems (10), as illustrated by the dramatic community shifts that occur when natural levels of herbivory are altered (11).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term empirical evidence of ocean warming leading to tropicalization of fish communities, increased herbivory, and loss of kelp

Vergés

Doropoulos

Malcolm

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

333

340

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Some of the most profound effects of climate change on ecological communities are due to alterations in species interactions rather than direct physiological effects of changing environmental conditions. Empirical evidence of historical changes in species interactions within climate-impacted communities is, however, rare and difficult to obtain. Here, we demonstrate the recent disappearance of key habitat-forming kelp forests from a warming tropical-temperate transition zone in eastern Australia. Using a 10-y video dataset encompassing a 0.6°C warming period, we show how herbivory increased as kelp gradually declined and then disappeared. Concurrently, fish communities from sites where kelp was originally abundant but subsequently disappeared became increasingly dominated by tropical herbivores. Feeding assays identified two key tropical/ subtropical herbivores that consumed transplanted kelp within hours at these sites. There was also a distinct increase in the abundance of fishes that consume epilithic algae, and much higher bite rates by this group at sites without kelp, suggesting a key role for these fishes in maintaining reefs in kelp-free states by removing kelp recruits. Changes in kelp abundance showed no direct relationship to seawater temperatures over the decade and were also unrelated to other measured abiotic factors (nutrients and storms). Our results show that warming-mediated increases in fish herbivory pose a significant threat to kelp-dominated ecosystems in Australia and, potentially, globally.climate change | macroalgae | plant-herbivore interactions | range shifts | tropicalization

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Associations of concern: declining seagrasses and threatened dependent species

Abstract: w ww ww w. .f fr ro on nt ti ie er rs si in ne ec co ol lo og gy y. .o or rg g

Cited by 261 publications

References 25 publications

Mapping Aquatic Vegetation in a Large, Shallow Eutrophic Lake: A Frequency-Based Approach Using Multiple Years of MODIS Data

Mapping Aquatic Vegetation in a Large, Shallow Eutrophic Lake: A Frequency-Based Approach Using Multiple Years of MODIS Data

Decadal changes in the structure of Cymodocea nodosa seagrass meadows: Natural vs. human influences

Long-term empirical evidence of ocean warming leading to tropicalization of fish communities, increased herbivory, and loss of kelp

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