Restore or Redefine: Future Trajectories for Restoration

Coleman, Melinda A.; Wood, Georgina; Filbee‐Dexter, Karen; Minne, Antoine J. P.; Goold, Hugh D.; Vergés, Adriana; Marzinelli, Ezequiel M.; Steinberg, Peter D.; Wernberg, Thomas

doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00237

Cited by 95 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 110 publications

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“…Even under the most optimistic scenario (RCP 2.6), this implies a loss of 6% of total blue carbon stock and a 15% loss of blue carbon sequestration rates for Australian vegetated coastal ecosystems (Table 2 ). Kelp forest management and restoration programs show potential to revert this alarming trajectory 40 – 42 . Restoration and proactive management actions could help minimize increased CO 2 emissions from loss of standing stock and maintain valuable carbon sequestration rates from kelp forests, including along Australia's Great Southrn Reef.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substantial blue carbon in overlooked Australian kelp forests

Filbee‐Dexter

Wernberg

2020

Sci Rep

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Recognition of the potential for vegetated coastal ecosystems to store and sequester carbon has led to their increasing inclusion into global carbon budgets and carbon offset schemes. However, kelp forests have been overlooked in evaluations of this ‘blue carbon’, which have been limited to tidal marshes, mangrove forests, and seagrass beds. We determined the continental-scale contribution to blue carbon from kelp forests in Australia using areal extent, biomass, and productivity measures from across the entire Great Southern Reef. We reveal that these kelp forests represent 10.3–22.7 Tg C and contribute 1.3–2.8 Tg C year−1 in sequestered production, amounting to more than 30% of total blue carbon stored and sequestered around the Australian continent, and ~ 3% of the total global blue carbon. We conclude that the omission of kelp forests from blue carbon assessments significantly underestimates the carbon storage and sequestration potential from vegetated coastal ecosystems globally.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substantial blue carbon in overlooked Australian kelp forests

Filbee‐Dexter

Wernberg

2020

Sci Rep

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“…Global kelp loss has prompted calls for more interventionist management approaches to actively ensure long-term persistence against climate change 80,81 . In the case of Australian kelp forests, the use of interventionist measures may be one of the few routes left to address the alarming predicted range contraction of Ecklonia and extinction of other seaweeds 80,82,83 . These strategies include assisted adaptation and evolution, which are founded on the concept that incorporating stress tolerant genes or genotypes into extant populations can boost their resilience to future change 83 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the case of Australian kelp forests, the use of interventionist measures may be one of the few routes left to address the alarming predicted range contraction of Ecklonia and extinction of other seaweeds 80,82,83 . These strategies include assisted adaptation and evolution, which are founded on the concept that incorporating stress tolerant genes or genotypes into extant populations can boost their resilience to future change 83 . This highlights a pressing need to identify where and when one may find such tolerant individuals and populations to apply such approaches.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic tropicalisation following a marine heatwave

Coleman

Minne

Vranken

et al. 2020

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Extreme events are increasing globally with devastating ecological consequences, but the impacts on underlying genetic diversity and structure are often cryptic and poorly understood, hindering assessment of adaptive capacity and ecosystem vulnerability to future change. Using very rare "before" data we empirically demonstrate that an extreme marine heatwave caused a significant poleward shift in genetic clusters of kelp forests whereby alleles characteristic of cool water were replaced by those that predominated in warm water across 200 km of coastline. This "genetic tropicalisation" was facilitated by significant mortality of kelp and other co-occurring seaweeds within the footprint of the heatwave that opened space for rapid local proliferation of surviving kelp genotypes or dispersal and recruitment of spores from warmer waters. Genetic diversity declined and inbreeding increased in the newly tropicalised site, but these metrics were relative stable elsewhere within the footprint of the heatwave. Thus, extreme events such as marine heatwaves not only lead to significant mortality and population loss but can also drive significant genetic change in natural populations. Climate change is increasing the intensity and frequency of extreme events 1,2 with significant impacts to species and ecosystems on both evolutionary and contemporary time scales 3. Because extreme events, by definition, exceed normal environmental conditions, they drive significant mortality, range shifts and the transition to novel ecosystem states 4-6. However, in contrast to the ecological impacts of extreme climatic events which are often obvious and well documented, their impact on underlying patterns of genetic diversity and structure and the implications for adaptability to future change is obscure and often unknown 3,7-10 , particularly for marine systems. Marine heatwaves are extreme events defined as discrete periods of anomalously warm-water that exceed historical norms of ocean temperature 11 and are superimposed on a background of ocean warming. Marine heatwaves are increasing in frequency and duration globally 12 with significant consequences for coastal marine species, communities and the ecosystem services they provide 13-17. While we have an emerging understanding of how ocean warming may affect the genetics of marine species e.g. 18,19 , there are few empirical studies demonstrating the genetic impact of extreme marine heatwaves (but see 20,21. One of the most severe marine heatwaves ever recorded impacted ~ 2,000 km of coast off Western Australia in 2011 22 , where sea temperatures soared up to 5.5 °C above normal for several weeks Fig. 1 23,24. The heatwave precipitated widespread and significant local extinction and range contraction of entire marine communities 6,24,25 , shifts in ecological structure 6,26 and impacted fisheries 27 significantly compromising the vast ecosystem goods and services along this coastline 28. Marine forests, comprised of foundation species of kelps and seaweeds that underpin biodiversity throug...

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“…This approach has a set of attendant risks, such as the possibility of inadvertently selecting for genotypes that perform better in nurseries or hatcheries than they do in nature. Nevertheless, it offers the possibility to develop restoration methods that can more precisely achieve some goals, or that are better able to survive in changing conditions (Coleman et al, 2020). This endeavor should involve meaningful dialog between researchers and practitioners, as well as ethicists and others, to guide research that is ethical as well as pragmatic.…”

Section: Future Optionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…High mortality is common in restoration efforts, often from inappropriate site selection, or failure to remove the underlying causes of degradation. Understanding the importance of propagule quality will likely also yield insights: quality can encompass traits such as viability, size (which can reflect energy reserves available for initial growth and establishment), damage, bacterial infection, genetic diversity and provenance (reflecting origin and diversity: Coleman et al, 2020). The traits may each influence a propagule's ability to survive and grow in the conditions it is subjected to.…”

Section: Future Optionsmentioning

confidence: 99%