Tracking widespread climate-driven change on temperate and tropical reefs

Stuart‐Smith, Rick D.; Edgar, Graham; Clausius, Ella; Oh, Elizabeth S.; Barrett, Neville; Emslie, Michael J.; Bates, Amanda E.; Bax, Nicholas J.; Brock, Daniel J.; Cooper, A.; Davis, Tom R.; Day, Paul B.; Dunic, Jillian C.; Green, Andrew; Hasweera, Norfaizny; Hicks, Jamie; Holmes, Thomas H.; Jones, Ben K.; Jordan, Alan; Knott, Nathan A.; Larkin, Meryl F.; Ling, Scott D.; Mooney, Peter; Pocklington, Jacqueline B.; Seroussi, Yanir; Shaw, Ian; Shields, Derek; Smith, Margo L; Soler, Germán; Stuart-Smith, JF; Turak, Emre; Turnbull, John; Mellin, Camille

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.067

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…This metric can be particularly useful for identifying changes in the structure of ecosystems. One of the sites surveyed by (Rick D. Stuart-Smith et al 2022), Beware Reef underwent a major ecological change following an overgrazing event in 2013 by Centrostephanus rodgersii sea urchins (N. Barrett et al 2014). Our metric allows us to observe that the regime change towards a urchin barren state is not complete.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finaly, We investigated temporal trends at the site level by comparing the proportion transects classified into the different habitat states at five different sites temperate Australian sites already monitored by Rick D. Stuart-Smith et al (2022). We were interested to determine the extent to which the proportion of transects classified according to the different habitat states at a site could be an indicator of the overall ecological status of it.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…identifying changes in the structure of ecosystems. One of the sites surveyed by(Rick D. Stuart- Smith et al 2022), Beware Reef underwent a major ecological change following an overgrazing event in 2013 by Centrostephanus rodgersii sea urchins (N Barrett et al 2014)…”

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confidence: 99%

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From local seafloor imagery to global patterns in benthic habitat states: contribution of citizen science to habitat classification across latitudes

Violet,

Boyé,

Dubois

et al. 2024

Preprint

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AimThe aim of this study was to define reef benthic habitat states and explore their spatial and temporal variability at a global scale using an innovative clustering pipeline.LocationThe study uses data on the transects surveyed on shallow (< 20m) reef ecosystems across the globe. Time period: Transects sampled between 2008 and 2021. Major taxa studied: Macroalgae, sessile invertebrates, hydrozoans, seagrass, corals.MethodsPercentage cover was estimated for 24 functional groups of sessile biota and substratum from annotated underwater photoquadrats taken along 6,554 transects by scuba divers contributing to the Reef Life Survey dataset. A clustering pipeline combining a non-linear dimension-reduction technique (UMAP), with a density-based clustering approach (HDBSCAN), was used to identify benthic habitat states. Spatial and temporal variation in habitat distribution was then explored across ecoregions.ResultsTheUMAP-HDBSCANpipeline identified 17 distinct clusters representing different benthic habitats and gradients of ecological state. Certain habitat states displayed clear biogeographic patterns, predominantly occurring in temperate regions or tropical waters. Notably, some reefs dominated by turf algae were ubiquitous across latitudinal zones. Transition zones between temperate and tropical waters emerged as spatial hotspots of habitat state diversity. Temporal analyses revealed changes in the proportion of certain states over time, notably an increase in turf algae occurrence.Main ConclusionsTheUMAP-HDBSCANclustering pipeline effectively characterised fine-scale benthic habitat states at a global scale, confirming known broader biogeographic patterns, including the importance of temperate-tropical transition zones as hotspots of habitat state diversity. This fine-scale, yet broadly-scalable habitat classification could be applied as a standardised template for tracking benthic habitat change across space and time at a global scale. TheUMAP-HDBSCANpipeline has proven to be a powerful and versatile approach for analysing complex biological datasets and can be applied in various ecological domains.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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From local seafloor imagery to global patterns in benthic habitat states: contribution of citizen science to habitat classification across latitudes

Violet,

Boyé,

Dubois

et al. 2024

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…These transition zones are often influenced by western boundary currents that transport propagules of tropical and subtropical species poleward, as seen in Australia and Japan (Vergés et al., 2014 ). In these regions, many species live at the edges of their warm or cool thermal ranges, making them highly vulnerable to climate driven thermal anomalies (Beger et al., 2014 ; Mulders et al., 2022 ; Poloczanska et al., 2016 ; Stuart‐Smith et al., 2022 ; Zarzyczny et al., 2023 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taxa‐dependent temporal trends in the abundance and size of sea urchins in subtropical eastern Australia

McLaren,

Sommer,

Pandolfi

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Subtropical reefs host a dynamic mix of tropical, subtropical, and temperate species that is changing due to shifts in the abundance and distribution of species in response to ocean warming. In these transitional communities, biogeographic affinity is expected to predict changes in species composition, with projected increases of tropical species and declines in cool‐affinity temperate species. Understanding population dynamics of species along biogeographic transition zones is critical, especially for habitat engineers such as sea urchins that can facilitate ecosystem shifts through grazing. We investigated the population dynamics of sea urchins on coral‐associated subtropical reefs at 7 sites in eastern Australia (28.196° S to 30.95° S) over 9 years (2010–2019), a period impacted by warming and heatwaves. Specifically, we investigated the density and population size structure of taxa with temperate (Centrostephanus rodgersii, Phyllacanthus parvispinus), subtropical (Tripneustes australiae) and tropical (Diadema spp.) affinities. Counter to expectation, biogeographic affinity did not explain shifts in species abundances in this region. Although we expected the abundance of tropical species to increase at their cold range boundaries, tropical Diadema species declined across all sites. The subtropical T. australiae also showed declines, while populations of the temperate C. rodgersii were remarkably stable throughout our study period. Our results show that temporal patterns of sea urchin populations in this region cannot be predicted by bio‐geographic affinity alone and contribute critical information about the population dynamics of these important herbivores along this biogeographic transition zone.

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“…Ecosystems globally are rapidly restructuring into novel configurations in response to anthropogenic pressures 1,2 . These profound changes have wide-reaching implications for ecosystem functioning, climate warming mitigation, the provision of ecosystem services, and human wellbeing [3][4][5][6][7] .…”

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confidence: 99%

Temperature, species identity and morphological traits predict carbonate excretion and mineralogy in tropical reef fishes

et al. 2023

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Anthropogenic pressures are restructuring coral reefs globally. Sound predictions of the expected changes in key reef functions require adequate knowledge of their drivers. Here we investigate the determinants of a poorly-studied yet relevant biogeochemical function sustained by marine bony fishes: the excretion of intestinal carbonates. Compiling carbonate excretion rates and mineralogical composition from 382 individual coral reef fishes (85 species and 35 families), we identify the environmental factors and fish traits that predict them. We find that body mass and relative intestinal length (RIL) are the strongest predictors of carbonate excretion. Larger fishes and those with longer intestines excrete disproportionately less carbonate per unit mass than smaller fishes and those with shorter intestines. The mineralogical composition of excreted carbonates is highly conserved within families, but also controlled by RIL and temperature. These results fundamentally advance our understanding of the role of fishes in inorganic carbon cycling and how this contribution will change as community composition shifts under increasing anthropogenic pressures.

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Tracking widespread climate-driven change on temperate and tropical reefs

Cited by 10 publications

References 42 publications

From local seafloor imagery to global patterns in benthic habitat states: contribution of citizen science to habitat classification across latitudes

From local seafloor imagery to global patterns in benthic habitat states: contribution of citizen science to habitat classification across latitudes

Taxa‐dependent temporal trends in the abundance and size of sea urchins in subtropical eastern Australia

Temperature, species identity and morphological traits predict carbonate excretion and mineralogy in tropical reef fishes

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