Large-scale shift from sugar kelp (<i>Saccharina latissima</i>) to ephemeral algae along the south and west coast of Norway

Moy, Frithjof E.; Christie, Hartvig

doi:10.1080/17451000.2011.637561

Cited by 184 publications

(200 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Similar retreats of cold water algae corresponding to warmer summer SST have been described globally (e.g. in France, Cosson (1999); southern Norway, Moy and Christie (2012); Japan, Tanaka et al (2012); Australia, Wernberg et al (2009)).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Climate driven changes in subtidal kelp forest communities in NW Spain

Voerman

Llera²,

Rico

2013

Marine Environmental Research

107

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a b s t r a c tReconstructions suggest a massive decline of nearly 1400 ha of kelp forest in North Western Spain in 2007. In line with global rising temperatures, we hypothesized that Sea Surface Temperature (SST) surpassed a lethal threshold for kelp. We examined whether changes in SST correlated to the proposed decline in kelp forest. All investigated SST characteristics suggested to affect kelp abundance increased significantly during the past thirty years, reaching extreme values during the last decade. In addition over the past two decades, the landscape formerly dominated by both cold and warm temperate canopy forming and understory species changed to one dominated by warm temperate understory species, resulting in a loss of vertical community structure. Fisheries landing data of kelp associated species was used to support the suggested change in kelp abundance. Subsequent recovery of the kelp appears to be occurring in deeper waters.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Climate driven changes in subtidal kelp forest communities in NW Spain

Voerman

Llera²,

Rico

2013

Marine Environmental Research

107

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“…will decrease in response to global change stressors, as has been observed elsewhere in the northeast Atlantic (Moy and Christie, 2012;Raybaud et al, 2013;. The shift from long-lived perennial species to short-lived annual species represents a shift in habitat structure from temporally-stable to 'boom and bust' and is likely to have major implications for primary production and biogenic habitat provision.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kelp forests exhibit high levels of primary productivity (Mann, 1973;Krumhansl and Scheibling, 2012), form an important component of inshore food webs (Leclerc et al, 2013), and provide habitat for a wide range of associated flora and fauna (Anderson et al, 2005;. The ecological structure and functioning of kelp forest ecosystems is, however, being impacted by a range of environmental change stressors, including oceanic warming Vergés et al, 2014), extreme climatic events (Byrnes et al, 2011;Wernberg et al, 2013), reduced water quality (Gorgula and Connell, 2004;Moy and Christie, 2012), altered trophic interactions (Tegner and Dayton, 2000;Ling et al, 2009) and the spread of non-native species (Saunders and Metaxas, 2008). Such stressors can cause shifts in the distributions and/or relative abundances of HFS within kelp forests Smale et al, 2015), which can have knock-on effects for the wider community (Ling, 2008;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The structure of biogenic habitat and epibiotic assemblages associated with the global invasive kelp Undaria pinnatifida in comparison to native macroalgae

et al. 2015

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Kelp forests dominate temperate and polar rocky coastlines and represent critical marine habitats because they support elevated rates of primary and secondary production and high biodiversity. A major threat to the stability of these ecosystems is the proliferation of nonnative species, such as the Japanese kelp Undaria pinnatifida ('Wakame'), which has recently colonised natural habitats in the UK. We quantified the abundance and biomass of U. pinnatifida on a natural rocky reef habitat over 10 months to make comparisons with three native canopy-forming brown algae (Laminaria ochroleuca, Saccharina latissima, and Saccorhiza polyschides). We also examined the biogenic habitat structure provided by, and epibiotic assemblages associated with, U. pinnatifida in comparison to native macroalgae. Surveys conducted within the Plymouth Sound Special Area of Conservation indicated that U. pinnatifida is now a dominant and conspicuous member of kelp-dominated communities on natural substrata. Crucially, U. pinnatifida supported a structurally dissimilar and less diverse epibiotic assemblage than the native perennial kelp species. However, U. pinnatifidaassociated assemblages were similar to those associated with Saccorhiza polyschides, which has a similar life history and growth strategy. Our results suggest that a shift towards U. pinnatifida dominated reefs could result in impoverished epibiotic assemblages and lower local biodiversity, although this could be offset, to some extent, by the climate-driven proliferation of L. ochroleuca at the poleward range edge, which provides complex biogenic habitat and harbours relatively high biodiversity. Clearly, greater understanding of the long-term dynamics and competitive interactions between these habitat-forming species is needed to accurately predict future biodiversity patterns.

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“…Kelp forest declines have now been documented in many regions in response to a variety of stressors (18,(31)(32)(33)(34)(35), but kelp abundances have been stable or increasing in other areas (17,36,37). Here, we amass a global database of kelp abundances to provide a comprehensive picture of kelp forest change.…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

Global patterns of kelp forest change over the past half-century

Krumhansl

Okamoto

Rassweiler

et al. 2016

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

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571

524

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Kelp forests (Order Laminariales) form key biogenic habitats in coastal regions of temperate and Arctic seas worldwide, providing ecosystem services valued in the range of billions of dollars annually. Although local evidence suggests that kelp forests are increasingly threatened by a variety of stressors, no comprehensive global analysis of change in kelp abundances currently exists.Here, we build and analyze a global database of kelp time series spanning the past half-century to assess regional and global trends in kelp abundances. We detected a high degree of geographic variation in trends, with regional variability in the direction and magnitude of change far exceeding a small global average decline (instantaneous rate of change = −0.018 y −1 ). Our analysis identified declines in 38% of ecoregions for which there are data (−0.015 to −0.18 y −1 ), increases in 27% of ecoregions (0.015 to 0.11 y −1 ), and no detectable change in 35% of ecoregions. These spatially variable trajectories reflected regional differences in the drivers of change, uncertainty in some regions owing to poor spatial and temporal data coverage, and the dynamic nature of kelp populations. We conclude that although global drivers could be affecting kelp forests at multiple scales, local stressors and regional variation in the effects of these drivers dominate kelp dynamics, in contrast to many other marine and terrestrial foundation species. A ssessing ecosystem change on a global scale has been instrumental in highlighting the magnitude of human impacts on natural ecosystems. For example, awareness of global declines in fish populations (1), coral reefs (2), and tropical rainforests (3) has substantially increased public interest and subsequent political motivation for environmental conservation. In some cases, global assessments have highlighted complex patterns of change (4, 5), which often reflect variable trajectories among regions (4). SignificanceKelp forests support diverse and productive ecological communities throughout temperate and arctic regions worldwide, providing numerous ecosystem services to humans. Literature suggests that kelp forests are increasingly threatened by a variety of human impacts, including climate change, overfishing, and direct harvest. We provide the first globally comprehensive analysis of kelp forest change over the past 50 y, identifying a high degree of variation in the magnitude and direction of change across the geographic range of kelps. These results suggest region-specific responses to global change, with local drivers playing an important role in driving patterns of kelp abundance. Increased monitoring aimed at understanding regional kelp forest dynamics is likely to prove most effective for the adaptive management of these important ecosystems.

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Large-scale shift from sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) to ephemeral algae along the south and west coast of Norway

Cited by 184 publications

References 56 publications

Climate driven changes in subtidal kelp forest communities in NW Spain

Climate driven changes in subtidal kelp forest communities in NW Spain

The structure of biogenic habitat and epibiotic assemblages associated with the global invasive kelp Undaria pinnatifida in comparison to native macroalgae

Global patterns of kelp forest change over the past half-century

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