Positive species interactions strengthen in a high-CO<sub>2</sub>ocean

Ferreira, Camilo M.; Connell, Sean D.; Goldenberg, Silvan U.; Nagelkerken, Ivan

doi:10.1098/rspb.2021.0475

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 54 publications

(76 reference statements)

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“…Understanding ecosystem trajectories is particularly challenging when ecosystem functioning could change via a cascade of altered interactions, such as what might occur in response to an ecological tipping point or within a trophic chain (e.g. Ferreira et al 2021). Clearly, however, the ecological impact of these indirect effects can be significant (Mumby 2017), and therefore identifying and understanding them is vitally important in our ability to scale up direct physiological effects of OA to an ecosystem level.…”

Section: The Future Of Indirect Effects Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

The indirect effects of ocean acidification on corals and coral communities

Hill

Hoogenboom

2022

Coral Reefs

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Ocean acidification (OA) is a major threat to marine calcifying organisms. This manuscript gives an overview of the physiological effects of acidification on reef-building corals from a cellular to population scale. In addition, we present the first review of the indirect effects resulting from altered species interactions. We find that the direct effects of acidification are more consistently negative at larger spatial scales, suggesting an accumulation of sub-lethal physiological effects can result in notable changes at a population and an ecosystem level. We identify that the indirect effects of acidification also have the potential to contribute to declines in coral cover under future acidified conditions. Of particular concern for reef persistence are declines in the abundance of crustose coralline algae which can result in loss of stable substrate and settlement cues for corals, potentially compounding the direct negative effects on coral recruitment rates. In addition, an increase in the abundance of bioeroders and bioerosive capacity may compound declines in calcification and result in a shift towards net dissolution. There are significant knowledge gaps around many indirect effects, including changes in herbivory and associated coral–macroalgal interactions, and changes in habitat provision of corals to fish, invertebrates and plankton, and the impact of changes to these interactions for both individual corals and reef biodiversity as structural complexity declines. This research highlights the potential of indirect effects to contribute to alterations in reef ecosystem functions and processes. Such knowledge will be critical for scaling-up the impacts of OA from individual corals to reef ecosystems and for understanding the effects of OA on reef-dependent human societies.

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Section: The Future Of Indirect Effects Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

The indirect effects of ocean acidification on corals and coral communities

Hill

Hoogenboom

2022

Coral Reefs

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Heterogeneity around CO2 vents obscures the effects of ocean acidification on shallow reef communities

Blain

Kulins

Radford

et al. 2021

ICES Journal of Marine Science

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Studies that use CO2 vents as natural laboratories to investigate the impacts of ocean acidification (OA) typically employ control-impact designs or local-scale gradients in pH or pCO2, where impacted sites are compared to reference sites. While these strategies can accurately represent well-defined and stable vent systems in relatively homogenous environments, it may not adequately encompass the natural variability of heterogeneous coastal environments where many CO2 vents exist. Here, we assess the influence of spatial heterogeneity on the perceived impacts of OA at a vent system well established in the OA literature. Specifically, we use a multi-scale approach to investigate and map the spatial variability in seawater pH and benthic communities surrounding vents at Whakaari-White Island, New Zealand to better understand the scale and complexity of ecological impacts of an acidified environment. We found a network of vents embedded in complex topography throughout the study area, and spatially variable pH and pCO2 levels. The distribution of habitats (i.e. macroalgal forests and turfing algae) was most strongly related to substratum type and sea urchin densities, rather than pH. Epifaunal communities within turfing algae differed with sampling distance from vents, but this pattern was driven by higher abundances of a number of taxa immediately adjacent to vents, where pH and temperature gradients are steep and white bacterial mats are prevalent. Our results contrast with previous studies at White Island that have used a control-impact design and suggested significant impacts of elevated CO2 on benthic communities. Instead, we demonstrate a highly heterogeneous reef where it is difficult to separate effects of reduced pH from spatial variation in reef communities. We urge that future research carefully considers and quantifies the biological and physical complexity of venting environments, and suggest that in dynamic systems, such as White Island, the use of control-impact designs can oversimplify and potentially overestimate the future impacts of OA.

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Positive species interactions strengthen in a high-CO₂ocean

et al. 2021

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Negative interactions among species are a major force shaping natural communities and are predicted to strengthen as climate change intensifies. Similarly, positive interactions are anticipated to intensify and could buffer the consequences of climate-driven disturbances. We used in situ experiments at volcanic CO 2 vents within a temperate rocky reef to show that ocean acidification can drive community reorganization through indirect and direct positive pathways. A keystone species, the algal-farming damselfish Parma alboscapularis, enhanced primary productivity through its weeding of algae whose productivity was also boosted by elevated CO 2 . The accelerated primary productivity was associated with increased densities of primary consumers (herbivorous invertebrates), which indirectly supported increased secondary consumers densities (predatory fish) (i.e. strengthening of bottom-up fuelling). However, this keystone species also reduced predatory fish densities through behavioural interference, releasing invertebrate prey from predation pressure and enabling a further boost in prey densities (i.e. weakening of top-down control). We uncover a novel mechanism where a keystone herbivore mediates bottom-up and top-down processes simultaneously to boost populations of a coexisting herbivore, resulting in altered food web interactions and predator populations under future ocean acidification.

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Positive species interactions strengthen in a high-CO₂ocean

Cited by 3 publications

References 54 publications

The indirect effects of ocean acidification on corals and coral communities

The indirect effects of ocean acidification on corals and coral communities

Heterogeneity around CO2 vents obscures the effects of ocean acidification on shallow reef communities

Positive species interactions strengthen in a high-CO₂ocean

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Positive species interactions strengthen in a high-CO2ocean

Cited by 3 publications

References 54 publications

The indirect effects of ocean acidification on corals and coral communities

The indirect effects of ocean acidification on corals and coral communities

Heterogeneity around CO2 vents obscures the effects of ocean acidification on shallow reef communities

Positive species interactions strengthen in a high-CO2ocean

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Positive species interactions strengthen in a high-CO₂ocean

Positive species interactions strengthen in a high-CO₂ocean