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51. Rise of Ruppia in Chesapeake Bay: Climate change-driven turnover of foundation species creates new threats and management opportunities.

Author

Hensel, Marc J. S., Patrick, Christopher J., Orth, Robert J., Wilcox, David J., Dennison, William C., Gurbisz, Cassie, Hannam, Michael P., Landry, J. Brooke, Moore, Kenneth A., Murphy, Rebecca R., Testa, Jeremy M., Weller, Donald E., and Lefcheck, Jonathan S.

Subjects
MARINE heatwaves, ZOSTERA marina, SPECIES, ENVIRONMENTAL management, MARINE ecology
Abstract

Global change has converted many structurally complex and ecologically and economically valuable coastlines to bare substrate. In the structural habitats that remain, climate-tolerant and opportunistic species are increasing in response to environmental extremes and variability. The shifting of dominant foundation species identity with climate change poses a unique conservation challenge because species vary in their responses to environmental stressors and to management. Here, we combine 35 y of watershed modeling and biogeochemical water quality data with species comprehensive aerial surveys to describe causes and consequences of turnover in seagrass foundation species across 26,000 ha of habitat in the Chesapeake Bay. Repeated marine heatwaves have caused 54% retraction of the formerly dominant eelgrass (Zostera marina) since 1991, allowing 171% expansion of the temperature-tolerant widgeongrass (Ruppia maritima) that has likewise benefited from large-scale nutrient reductions. However, this phase shift in dominant seagrass identity now presents two significant shifts for management: Widgeongrass meadows are not only responsible for rapid, extensive recoveries but also for the largest crashes over the last four decades; and, while adapted to high temperatures, are much more susceptible than eelgrass to nutrient pulses driven by springtime runoff. Thus, by selecting for rapid post-disturbance recolonization but low resistance to punctuated freshwater flow disturbance, climate change could threaten the Chesapeake Bay seagrass' ability to provide consistent fishery habitat and sustain functioning over time. We demonstrate that understanding the dynamics of the next generation of foundation species is a critical management priority, because shifts from relatively stable habitat to high interannual variability can have far-reaching consequences across marine and terrestrial ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2023
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53. A Pleistocene legacy structures variation in modern seagrass ecosystems

Author

Duffy, J. Emmett, Stachowicz, John J., Reynolds, Pamela L., Hovel, Kevin A., Jahnke, Marlene, Sotka, Erik E., Boström, Christoffer, Boyer, Katharyn E., Cusson, Mathieu, Eklöf, Johan, Engelen, Aschwin H., Eriksson, Britas K., Fodrie, F. Joel, Griffin, John N., Hereu, Clara M., Hori, Masakazu, Hughes, A. Randall, Ivanov, Mikhail V., Jorgensen, Pablo, Kruschel, Claudia, Lee, Kun-Seop, Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Moksnes, Per-Olav, Nakaoka, Masahiro, O'Connor, Mary I., O'Connor, Nessa E., Orth, Robert J., Peterson, Bradley J., Reiss, Henning, Reiss, Katrin, Richardson, J. Paul, Rossi, Francesca, Ruesink, Jennifer L., Schultz, Stewart T., Thormar, Jonas, Tomas, Fiona, Unsworth, Richard, Voigt, Erin, Whalen, Matthew A., Ziegler, Shelby L., Olsen, Jeanine L., Duffy, J. Emmett, Stachowicz, John J., Reynolds, Pamela L., Hovel, Kevin A., Jahnke, Marlene, Sotka, Erik E., Boström, Christoffer, Boyer, Katharyn E., Cusson, Mathieu, Eklöf, Johan, Engelen, Aschwin H., Eriksson, Britas K., Fodrie, F. Joel, Griffin, John N., Hereu, Clara M., Hori, Masakazu, Hughes, A. Randall, Ivanov, Mikhail V., Jorgensen, Pablo, Kruschel, Claudia, Lee, Kun-Seop, Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Moksnes, Per-Olav, Nakaoka, Masahiro, O'Connor, Mary I., O'Connor, Nessa E., Orth, Robert J., Peterson, Bradley J., Reiss, Henning, Reiss, Katrin, Richardson, J. Paul, Rossi, Francesca, Ruesink, Jennifer L., Schultz, Stewart T., Thormar, Jonas, Tomas, Fiona, Unsworth, Richard, Voigt, Erin, Whalen, Matthew A., Ziegler, Shelby L., and Olsen, Jeanine L.

Abstract

Distribution of Earth's biomes is structured by the match between climate and plant traits, which in turn shape associated communities and ecosystem processes and services. However, that climate-trait match can be disrupted by historical events, with lasting ecosystem impacts. As Earth's environment changes faster than at any time in human history, critical questions are whether and how organismal traits and ecosystems can adjust to altered conditions. We quantified the relative importance of current environmental forcing versus evolutionary history in shaping the growth form (stature and biomass) and associated community of eelgrass (Zostera marina), a widespread foundation plant of marine ecosystems along Northern Hemisphere coastlines, which experienced major shifts in distribution and genetic composition during the Pleistocene. We found that eelgrass stature and biomass retain a legacy of the Pleistocene colonization of the Atlantic from the ancestral Pacific range and of more recent within-basin bottlenecks and genetic differentiation. This evolutionary legacy in turn influences the biomass of associated algae and invertebrates that fuel coastal food webs, with effects comparable to or stronger than effects of current environmental forcing. Such historical lags in phenotypic acclimatization may constrain ecosystem adjustments to rapid anthropogenic climate change, thus altering predictions about the future functioning of ecosystems.

Published
2022
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54. Can metabolic traits explain animal community assembly and functioning?

Author

Brandl, Simon J., Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Bates, Amanda E., Rasher, Douglas B., and Norin, Tommy

Subjects
*ANIMAL communities, *BIOTIC communities, *BIOLOGICAL fitness, *ANIMAL ecology, *HABITATS, *LIFE history theory
Abstract

All animals on Earth compete for free energy, which is acquired, assimilated, and ultimately allocated to growth and reproduction. Competition is strongest within communities of sympatric, ecologically similar animals of roughly equal size (i.e. horizontal communities), which are often the focus of traditional community ecology. The replacement of taxonomic identities with functional traits has improved our ability to decipher the ecological dynamics that govern the assembly and functioning of animal communities. Yet, the use of low‐resolution and taxonomically idiosyncratic traits in animals may have hampered progress to date. An animal's metabolic rate (MR) determines the costs of basic organismal processes and activities, thus linking major aspects of the multifaceted constructs of ecological niches (where, when, and how energy is obtained) and ecological fitness (how much energy is accumulated and passed on to future generations). We review evidence from organismal physiology to large‐scale analyses across the tree of life to propose that MR gives rise to a group of meaningful functional traits – resting metabolic rate (RMR), maximum metabolic rate (MMR), and aerobic scope (AS) – that may permit an improved quantification of the energetic basis of species coexistence and, ultimately, the assembly and functioning of animal communities. Specifically, metabolic traits integrate across a variety of typical trait proxies for energy acquisition and allocation in animals (e.g. body size, diet, mobility, life history, habitat use), to yield a smaller suite of continuous quantities that: (1) can be precisely measured for individuals in a standardized fashion; and (2) apply to all animals regardless of their body plan, habitat, or taxonomic affiliation. While integrating metabolic traits into animal community ecology is neither a panacea to disentangling the nuanced effects of biological differences on animal community structure and functioning, nor without challenges, a small number of studies across different taxa suggest that MR may serve as a useful proxy for the energetic basis of competition in animals. Thus, the application of MR traits for animal communities can lead to a more general understanding of community assembly and functioning, enhance our ability to trace eco‐evolutionary dynamics from genotypes to phenotypes (and vice versa), and help predict the responses of animal communities to environmental change. While trait‐based ecology has improved our knowledge of animal communities to date, a more explicit energetic lens via the integration of metabolic traits may further strengthen the existing framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2023
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55. Data Synthesis for Environmental Management: A Case Study of Chesapeake Bay

Author

Orth, Robert J., primary, Dennison, William C., additional, Wilcox, David J., additional, Batiuk, Richard A., additional, Landry, J. Brooke, additional, Gurdisz, Cassie, additional, Keisman, Jennifer, additional, Hannam, Michael, additional, Lefcheck, Jonathan S., additional, Murphy, Rebecca A., additional, Moore, Kenneth A., additional, Patrick, Christopher, additional, Testa, Jeremy, additional, Weller, Donald E., additional, and Merritt, Melissa F., additional

Published
2022
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56. Belize Blue Carbon: Establishing a National Carbon Stock Estimate for Mangrove Ecosystems

Author

Morrissette, Hannah, primary, Baez, Stacy K., additional, Beers, Lisa, additional, Bood, Nadia, additional, Martinez, Ninon, additional, Novelo, Kevin, additional, Andrews, Gilbert, additional, Balan, Luis, additional, Beers, C. Scott, additional, Betancourt, Sumeet A., additional, Blanco, Reynel, additional, Bowden, Eeryn, additional, Burns-Perez, Virginia, additional, Carcamo, Mercedes, additional, Chevez, Luis, additional, Crooks, Steven, additional, Feller, Ilka, additional, Galvez, Galento, additional, Garbutt, Kent, additional, Gongora, Ronny, additional, Grijalva, Edalmi, additional, Lefcheck, Jonathan S., additional, Mahung, Alwyn, additional, Mattis, Colin, additional, McKoy, Tre, additional, Mclaughlin, Daniel, additional, Meza, Johan, additional, Pott, Edwardo, additional, Ramirez, Genevieve, additional, Ramnarace, Vivian, additional, Rash, Anthony, additional, Rosado, Samir, additional, Santos, Honorio, additional, Santoya, Leomir, additional, Sosa, Wilson, additional, Ugarte, Gabriela, additional, Viamil, Jose, additional, Young, Arlene, additional, Young, Jayron, additional, and Canty, Steven W.J., additional

Published
2022
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59. Integrating abundance and functional traits reveals new global hotspots of fish diversity

Author

Stuart-Smith, Rick D., Bates, Amanda E., Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Duffy, J. Emmett, Baker, Susan C., Thomson, Russell J., Stuart-Smith, Jemina F., Hill, Nicole A., Kininmonth, Stuart J., Airoldi, Laura, Becerro, Mikel A., Campbell, Stuart J., Dawson, Terence P., Navarrete, Sergio A., Soler, German A., Strain, Elisabeth M.A., Willis, Trevor J., and Edgar, Graham J.

Subjects
Fishes -- Genetic aspects -- Research, Biological diversity -- Research, Environmental issues, Science and technology, Zoology and wildlife conservation
Abstract

Species richness has dominated our view of global biodiversity patterns for centuries (1,2). The dominance of this paradigm is reflected in the focus by ecologists and conservation managers on richness and associated occurrence-based measures for understanding drivers of broadscale diversity patterns and as a biological basis for management (3,4). However, this is changing rapidly, as it is now recognized that not only the number of species but the species present, their phenotypes and the number of individuals of each species are critical in determining the nature and strength of the relationships between species diversity and a range of ecological functions (such as biomass production and nutrient cycling) (5). Integrating these measures should provide a more relevant representation of global biodiversity patterns in terms of ecological functions than that provided by simple species counts. Here we provide comparisons of a traditional global biodiversity distribution measure based on richness with metrics that incorporate species abundances and functional traits. We use data from standardized quantitative surveys of 2,473 marine reef fish species at 1,844 sites, spanning 133 degrees of latitude from all ocean basins, to identify new diversity hotspots in some temperate regions and the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. These relate to high diversity of functional traits amongst individuals in the community (calculated using Rao's [Q.sup.6]), and differ from previously reported patterns in functional diversity and richness for terrestrial animals, which emphasize species-rich tropical regions only (7,8). There is a global trend for greater evenness in the number of individuals of each species, across the reef fish species observed at sites ('community evenness'), at higher latitudes. This contributes to the distribution of functional diversity hotspots and contrasts with well-known latitudinal gradients in richness (2,4). Our findings suggest that the contribution of species diversity to a range of ecosystem functions varies over large scales, and imply that in tropical regions, which have higher numbers of species, each species contributes proportionally less to community-level ecological processes on average than species in temperate regions. Metrics of ecological function usefully complement metrics of species diversity in conservation management, including when identifying planning priorities and when tracking changes to biodiversity values., Species do not contribute equally to varied ecosystem processes and delivery of services (9), and thus the sustainability and resilience of these processes depend on aspects of diversity beyond the [...]

Published
2013

61. Revealing the drivers of taxonomic and functional diversity of nearshore fish assemblages: Implications for conservation priorities.

Author

Shah Esmaeili, Yasmina, N. Corte, Guilherme, Checon, Helio H., G. Bilatto, Carla, Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Zacagnini Amaral, Antonia Cecilia, Turra, Alexander, and Molinos, Jorge García

Subjects
FISH diversity, MARINE biodiversity, MARINE habitats, PROTECTED areas, FISH communities, INFORMATION resources management
Abstract

Aim: Understanding patterns and drivers of biodiversity are essential towards developing effective conservation strategies for shallow marine habitats broadly. However, little is known about the natural and anthropogenic factors that structure fish biodiversity of sandy beaches, one of the largest and most socio‐economically valuable nearshore habitats due to their endemic fauna, economic importance and cultural relevance. Here, we investigated how environmental variables and urbanization affect taxonomic and functional diversity of nearshore fish assemblages to provide general biodiversity patterns that can serve as baseline information for management plans when considering conservation prioritization. Location: Southeast Brazil. Methods: We surveyed fish communities at 77 sites along 150 km of coastline with different natural features and degrees of human influence using a combination of seine nets and surf‐BRUVS. We used generalized additive models (GAMs) to investigate the influence of environmental variables and urbanization on taxonomic and functional diversity of resident fish assemblages. Main results: We found that significant breaker wave height was the most important environmental variable in explaining the taxonomic and functional diversity of fish assemblages. The effects of increasing wave height were mostly negative, except for piscivorous fishes, which were most abundant at high energy sites, and for benthic and zoobenthivorous species, which were most abundant at sites with intermediate wave exposure. The latter species were also associated with higher chlorophyll‐a contributing to increased taxonomic richness and abundance. Further, anthropogenic impacts generally reduced diversity, with highest diversity only observed at the most pristine sites. Main conclusions: Our results demonstrate that both natural environmental variation and human activities structure the fish assemblages of sandy beach surf zones, affecting species that possess specific functional traits differently. These drivers should therefore be considered simultaneously in appointing protected areas in order to preserve a diversity of organisms and functional traits integral to productive beach ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2022
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62. Author Correction: General destabilizing effects of eutrophication on grassland productivity at multiple spatial scales (Nature Communications, (2020), 11, 1, (5375), 10.1038/s41467-020-19252-4)

Author

Hautier, Yann, Zhang, Pengfei, Loreau, Michel, Wilcox, Kevin R., Seabloom, Eric W., Borer, Elizabeth T., Byrnes, Jarrett E.K., Koerner, Sally E., Komatsu, Kimberly J., Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Hector, Andy, Adler, Peter B., Alberti, Juan, Arnillas, Carlos A., Bakker, Jonathan D., Brudvig, Lars A., Bugalho, Miguel N., Cadotte, Marc, Caldeira, Maria C., Carroll, Oliver, Crawley, Mick, Collins, Scott L., Daleo, Pedro, Dee, Laura E., Eisenhauer, Nico, Eskelinen, Anu, Fay, Philip A., Gilbert, Benjamin, Hansar, Amandine, Isbell, Forest, Knops, Johannes M.H., MacDougall, Andrew S., McCulley, Rebecca L., Moore, Joslin L., Morgan, John W., Mori, Akira S., Peri, Pablo L., Pos, Edwin T., Power, Sally A., Price, Jodi N., Reich, Peter B., Risch, Anita C., Roscher, Christiane, Sankaran, Mahesh, Schütz, Martin, Smith, Melinda, Stevens, Carly, Tognetti, Pedro M., Virtanen, Risto, Wardle, Glenda M., Wilfahrt, Peter A., Wang, Shaopeng, Hautier, Yann, Zhang, Pengfei, Loreau, Michel, Wilcox, Kevin R., Seabloom, Eric W., Borer, Elizabeth T., Byrnes, Jarrett E.K., Koerner, Sally E., Komatsu, Kimberly J., Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Hector, Andy, Adler, Peter B., Alberti, Juan, Arnillas, Carlos A., Bakker, Jonathan D., Brudvig, Lars A., Bugalho, Miguel N., Cadotte, Marc, Caldeira, Maria C., Carroll, Oliver, Crawley, Mick, Collins, Scott L., Daleo, Pedro, Dee, Laura E., Eisenhauer, Nico, Eskelinen, Anu, Fay, Philip A., Gilbert, Benjamin, Hansar, Amandine, Isbell, Forest, Knops, Johannes M.H., MacDougall, Andrew S., McCulley, Rebecca L., Moore, Joslin L., Morgan, John W., Mori, Akira S., Peri, Pablo L., Pos, Edwin T., Power, Sally A., Price, Jodi N., Reich, Peter B., Risch, Anita C., Roscher, Christiane, Sankaran, Mahesh, Schütz, Martin, Smith, Melinda, Stevens, Carly, Tognetti, Pedro M., Virtanen, Risto, Wardle, Glenda M., Wilfahrt, Peter A., and Wang, Shaopeng

Abstract

The original version of this Article contained an error in the author affiliations. The affiliation of Martin Schütz with Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zuercherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland was inadvertently omitted. Martin Schütz was incorrectly associated with Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, US. This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.

Published
2021

63. Author Correction: General destabilizing effects of eutrophication on grassland productivity at multiple spatial scales (Nature Communications, (2020), 11, 1, (5375), 10.1038/s41467-020-19252-4)

Author

Sub Ecology and Biodiversity, Ecology and Biodiversity, Hautier, Yann, Zhang, Pengfei, Loreau, Michel, Wilcox, Kevin R., Seabloom, Eric W., Borer, Elizabeth T., Byrnes, Jarrett E.K., Koerner, Sally E., Komatsu, Kimberly J., Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Hector, Andy, Adler, Peter B., Alberti, Juan, Arnillas, Carlos A., Bakker, Jonathan D., Brudvig, Lars A., Bugalho, Miguel N., Cadotte, Marc, Caldeira, Maria C., Carroll, Oliver, Crawley, Mick, Collins, Scott L., Daleo, Pedro, Dee, Laura E., Eisenhauer, Nico, Eskelinen, Anu, Fay, Philip A., Gilbert, Benjamin, Hansar, Amandine, Isbell, Forest, Knops, Johannes M.H., MacDougall, Andrew S., McCulley, Rebecca L., Moore, Joslin L., Morgan, John W., Mori, Akira S., Peri, Pablo L., Pos, Edwin T., Power, Sally A., Price, Jodi N., Reich, Peter B., Risch, Anita C., Roscher, Christiane, Sankaran, Mahesh, Schütz, Martin, Smith, Melinda, Stevens, Carly, Tognetti, Pedro M., Virtanen, Risto, Wardle, Glenda M., Wilfahrt, Peter A., Wang, Shaopeng, Sub Ecology and Biodiversity, Ecology and Biodiversity, Hautier, Yann, Zhang, Pengfei, Loreau, Michel, Wilcox, Kevin R., Seabloom, Eric W., Borer, Elizabeth T., Byrnes, Jarrett E.K., Koerner, Sally E., Komatsu, Kimberly J., Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Hector, Andy, Adler, Peter B., Alberti, Juan, Arnillas, Carlos A., Bakker, Jonathan D., Brudvig, Lars A., Bugalho, Miguel N., Cadotte, Marc, Caldeira, Maria C., Carroll, Oliver, Crawley, Mick, Collins, Scott L., Daleo, Pedro, Dee, Laura E., Eisenhauer, Nico, Eskelinen, Anu, Fay, Philip A., Gilbert, Benjamin, Hansar, Amandine, Isbell, Forest, Knops, Johannes M.H., MacDougall, Andrew S., McCulley, Rebecca L., Moore, Joslin L., Morgan, John W., Mori, Akira S., Peri, Pablo L., Pos, Edwin T., Power, Sally A., Price, Jodi N., Reich, Peter B., Risch, Anita C., Roscher, Christiane, Sankaran, Mahesh, Schütz, Martin, Smith, Melinda, Stevens, Carly, Tognetti, Pedro M., Virtanen, Risto, Wardle, Glenda M., Wilfahrt, Peter A., and Wang, Shaopeng

Published
2021

66. Keystone predators govern the pathway and pace of climate impacts in a subarctic marine ecosystem

Author

Rasher, Douglas B., primary, Steneck, Robert S., additional, Halfar, Jochen, additional, Kroeker, Kristy J., additional, Ries, Justin B., additional, Tinker, M. Tim, additional, Chan, Phoebe T. W., additional, Fietzke, Jan, additional, Kamenos, Nicholas A., additional, Konar, Brenda H., additional, Lefcheck, Jonathan S., additional, Norley, Christopher J. D., additional, Weitzman, Benjamin P., additional, Westfield, Isaac T., additional, and Estes, James A., additional

Published
2020
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68. Reef Life Survey: Establishing the ecological basis for conservation of shallow marine life

Author

Edgar, Graham J., Cooper, Antonia T., Baker, Susan C., Barker, William, Barrett, Neville S., Becerro, Mikel, Bates, Amanda E., Brock, Daniel J., Ceccarelli, Daniela M., Clausius, Ella, Davey, Marlene, Davis, Tom R., Day, Paul B., Green, Andrew, Griffiths, Samuel R., Hicks, Jamie, Hinojosa, Iván A., Jones, Ben K., Kininmonth, Stuart J., Larkin, Meryl F., Lazzari, Natali, Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Ling, Scott D., Mooney, Peter, Oh, Elizabeth, Pérez-Matus, A., Pocklington, Jacqueline B., Riera, Rodrigo, Sanabria Fernández, José Antonio, Seroussi, Yanir, Shaw, Ian, Shields, Derek, Shields, Joe, Smith, Margo, Soler, German, Stuart-Smith, Jemina F., Turnbull, John, and Stuart-Smith, Rick D.

Subjects
Coral reefs, Marine protected area, Climate change, Effects of fishing, Citizen science, Sea snake
Abstract

Este artículo contiene 14 páginas, 7 figuras., Reef Life Survey (RLS) provides a new model for ecological monitoring through training experienced recreational divers in underwater visual census methods to the level of skilled scientists. Detail produced is similar to that of programs with professional scientific teams, at low cost to allow global coverage. RLS differs from most other citizen science initiatives in its emphasis on rigorous training and data quality rather than open participation, selectively involving the most skilled and committed members. Volunteers participate primarily because they appreciate the close relationship with scientists, other divers, and managers, and see their efforts directly contributing to improved environmental outcomes. RLS works closely with Australian management agencies, scheduling annual events at core monitoring sites associated with 10 inshore marine protected areas Australiawide. Surveys of 12 offshore Australian Marine Parks (AMPs) are realized through 2–4 week voyages in a sailing catamaran crewed by volunteers. Across the AMP network, RLS surveys have quantified densities of fishes, mobile invertebrates, macroalgae and corals at 350 shallow coral reef sites (180 sites surveyed on two or more occasions), providing an understanding of (i) population changes amongst threatened species including sea snakes, (ii) responses of fish and invertebrate populations following fisheries closures, (iii) ecosystem-wide impacts of marine heat-waves, and (iv) the extent that AMPs spanning the network comprehensively encompass national coral reef biodiversity. This scientist/volunteer/manager collaboration could be greatly expanded globally (presently 3537 sites in 53 countries)., Reef Life Survey Foundation has been sustained through grants from the Ian Potter Foundation and Minderoo Foundation, reporting contracts from Parks Australia, and administrative and analytical support from the University of Tasmania. The RLS program was established through a grant to GJE through the former Commonwealth Environment Research Facilities Program. Analyses were supported by the Australian Research Council and the Marine Biodiversity Hub, a collaborative partnership supported through the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program. Additional advice and assistance have been provided by the Department for Environment and Water (South Australia), Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (Tasmania), Department of Primary Industries (New South Wales), Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (Western Australia), and Parks Victoria. Data management and distribution is supported through the Integrated Marine Observing System.

Published
2020

70. Keystone predators govern the pathway and pace of climate impacts in a subarctic marine ecosystem

Author

Rasher, Douglas B., Steneck, Robert S., Halfar, Jochen, Kroeker, Kristy J., Ries, Justin B., Tinker, M. Tim, Chan, Phoebe T. W., Fietzke, Jan, Kamenos, Nicholas A., Konar, Brenda H., Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Norley, Christopher J. D., Weitzman, Benjamin P., Westfield, Isaac T., Estes, James A., Rasher, Douglas B., Steneck, Robert S., Halfar, Jochen, Kroeker, Kristy J., Ries, Justin B., Tinker, M. Tim, Chan, Phoebe T. W., Fietzke, Jan, Kamenos, Nicholas A., Konar, Brenda H., Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Norley, Christopher J. D., Weitzman, Benjamin P., Westfield, Isaac T., and Estes, James A.

Abstract

Predator loss and climate change are hallmarks of the Anthropocene yet their interactive effects are largely unknown. Here, we show that massive calcareous reefs, built slowly by the alga Clathromorphum nereostratum over centuries to millennia, are now declining because of the emerging interplay between these two processes. Such reefs, the structural base of Aleutian kelp forests, are rapidly eroding because of overgrazing by herbivores. Historical reconstructions and experiments reveal that overgrazing was initiated by the loss of sea otters, Enhydra lutris (which gave rise to herbivores capable of causing bioerosion), and then accelerated with ocean warming and acidification (which increased per capita lethal grazing by 34 to 60% compared with preindustrial times). Thus, keystone predators can mediate the ways in which climate effects emerge in nature and the pace with which they alter ecosystems.

Published
2020
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71. Climate drives the geography of marine consumption by changing predator communities

Author

Whalen, Matthew A., Whippo, Ross D. B., Stachowicz, J. J., York, Paul H., Aiello, Erin, Alcoverro, Teresa, Altieri, Andrew H., Benedetti-Cecchi, Lisandro, Bertolini, Camilla, Bresch, Midoli, Bulleri, Fabio, Carnell, Paul E., Cimon, Stephanie, Connolly, Rod M., Cusson, Mathieu, Diskin, Meredith S., D’Souza, Elrika, Flores, Augusto A. V., Frodie, F. Joel, Galloway, Aaron W. E., Gaskins, Leo C., Graham, Olivia J., Hanley, Torrance C., Henderson, Christopher J., Hereu, Clara M., Hessing-Lewis, Margot, Hovel, Kevin A., Hughes, Brent B., Hughes, A. Randall, Hultgren, Kristin M., Jänes, Holger, Janiak, Dean S., Johnston, Lane N., Jorgensen, Pablo, Kelaher, Brendan P., Kruschel, Claudia, Lanham, Brendan S., Lee, Kun-Seop, Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Lozano-Álvarez, Enrique, Macreadie, Peter I., Monteith, Zachary L., O’Connor, Nessa E., Olds, Andrew D., O'Leary, Jennifer K., Patrick, Christopher J., Pino, Oscar, Poore, Alistair G. B., Rasheed, Michael A., Raymond, Wendel W., Reiss, Katrin, Rhoades, O. Kennedy, Robinson, Max T., Ross, Paige G., Rossi, Francesca, Schlacher, T. A., Seemann, Janina, Silliman, Brian R., Smee, Delbert L., Thiel, Martin, Unsworth, Richard K. F., van Tussenbroek, Brigitta I., Vergés, Adriana, Yeager, Mallarie E., Yednock, Bree K., Ziegler, Shelby, Duffy, J. Emmett, Whalen, Matthew A., Whippo, Ross D. B., Stachowicz, J. J., York, Paul H., Aiello, Erin, Alcoverro, Teresa, Altieri, Andrew H., Benedetti-Cecchi, Lisandro, Bertolini, Camilla, Bresch, Midoli, Bulleri, Fabio, Carnell, Paul E., Cimon, Stephanie, Connolly, Rod M., Cusson, Mathieu, Diskin, Meredith S., D’Souza, Elrika, Flores, Augusto A. V., Frodie, F. Joel, Galloway, Aaron W. E., Gaskins, Leo C., Graham, Olivia J., Hanley, Torrance C., Henderson, Christopher J., Hereu, Clara M., Hessing-Lewis, Margot, Hovel, Kevin A., Hughes, Brent B., Hughes, A. Randall, Hultgren, Kristin M., Jänes, Holger, Janiak, Dean S., Johnston, Lane N., Jorgensen, Pablo, Kelaher, Brendan P., Kruschel, Claudia, Lanham, Brendan S., Lee, Kun-Seop, Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Lozano-Álvarez, Enrique, Macreadie, Peter I., Monteith, Zachary L., O’Connor, Nessa E., Olds, Andrew D., O'Leary, Jennifer K., Patrick, Christopher J., Pino, Oscar, Poore, Alistair G. B., Rasheed, Michael A., Raymond, Wendel W., Reiss, Katrin, Rhoades, O. Kennedy, Robinson, Max T., Ross, Paige G., Rossi, Francesca, Schlacher, T. A., Seemann, Janina, Silliman, Brian R., Smee, Delbert L., Thiel, Martin, Unsworth, Richard K. F., van Tussenbroek, Brigitta I., Vergés, Adriana, Yeager, Mallarie E., Yednock, Bree K., Ziegler, Shelby, and Duffy, J. Emmett

Abstract

The global distribution of primary production and consumption by humans (fisheries) is well-documented, but we have no map linking the central ecological process of consumption within food webs to temperature and other ecological drivers. Using standardized assays that span 105° of latitude on four continents, we show that rates of bait consumption by generalist predators in shallow marine ecosystems are tightly linked to both temperature and the composition of consumer assemblages. Unexpectedly, rates of consumption peaked at midlatitudes (25 to 35°) in both Northern and Southern Hemispheres across both seagrass and unvegetated sediment habitats. This pattern contrasts with terrestrial systems, where biotic interactions reportedly weaken away from the equator, but it parallels an emerging pattern of a subtropical peak in marine biodiversity. The higher consumption at midlatitudes was closely related to the type of consumers present, which explained rates of consumption better than consumer density, biomass, species diversity, or habitat. Indeed, the apparent effect of temperature on consumption was mostly driven by temperature-associated turnover in consumer community composition. Our findings reinforce the key influence of climate warming on altered species composition and highlight its implications for the functioning of Earth’s ecosystems.

Published
2020

72. Long-term Annual Aerial Surveys of Submersed Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) Support Science, Management, and Restoration

Author

Orth, Robert J., primary, Dennison, William C., additional, Gurbisz, Cassie, additional, Hannam, Michael, additional, Keisman, Jeni, additional, Landry, J. Brooke, additional, Lefcheck, Jonathan S., additional, Moore, Kenneth A., additional, Murphy, Rebecca R., additional, Patrick, Christopher J., additional, Testa, Jeremy, additional, Weller, Donald E., additional, Wilcox, David J., additional, and Batiuk, Richard A., additional

Published
2019
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74. Are coastal habitats important nurseries? A meta‐analysis

Author

Lefcheck, Jonathan S., primary, Hughes, Brent B., additional, Johnson, Andrew J., additional, Pfirrmann, Bruce W., additional, Rasher, Douglas B., additional, Smyth, Ashley R., additional, Williams, Bethany L., additional, Beck, Michael W., additional, and Orth, Robert J., additional

Published
2019
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80. Multiple stressors threaten an important coastal foundation species

Author

Lefcheck, Jonathan S, Wilcox, David J, Murphy, Rebecca R, Marion, Scott R, and Orth, Robert J

Abstract

Interactions among global change stressors and their effects at large scales are often proposed but seldom evaluated, in part due to lack of comprehensive, sufficiently long-term, and spatially-extensive datasets. Seagrasses, which provide nursery habitat, improve water quality, and constitute a globally-important carbon sink, are among the most vulnerable habitats on the planet. Here, we unite 31-years of high-resolution aerial monitoring and water quality data to elucidate the patterns and drivers of eelgrass (Zostera marina) abundance in Chesapeake Bay, USA, one of the largest and most valuable estuaries in the world, with an unparalleled history of regulatory efforts. We show that eelgrass cover has declined 29% in total since 1991, with wide-ranging and severe ecological and economic consequences. We go on to identify an interaction between decreasing water clarity and warming temperatures as the primary driver of this trend. Declining clarity has gradually reduced eelgrass over the past two decades, primarily in deeper beds where light is already limiting. In shallow beds, however, reduced visibility exacerbates the physiological stress of acute warming, leading to recent instances of decline approaching 80%. While degraded water quality has long been known to influence underwater grasses worldwide, we demonstrate a clear and rapidly emerging interaction with climate change. We highlight the urgent need to integrate a broader perspective into local water quality management, in the Chesapeake Bay and in the many other coastal systems facing similar stressors.

Published
2016
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85. fluxweb: An R package to easily estimate energy fluxes in food webs.

Author

Gauzens, Benoit, Barnes, Andrew, Giling, Darren P., Hines, Jes, Jochum, Malte, Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Rosenbaum, Benjamin, Wang, Shaopeng, Brose, Ulrich, and Goslee, Sarah

Subjects
BIODIVERSITY monitoring, ECOSYSTEMS, FOOD chains, SPECIES distribution, FLUX (Energy)
Abstract

Understanding how changes in biodiversity will impact the stability and functioning of ecosystems is a central challenge in ecology. Food web approaches have been advocated to link community composition with ecosystem functioning by describing the fluxes of energy among species or trophic groups. However, estimating such fluxes remain problematic because current methods become unmanageable as network complexity increases.We developed a generalization of previous indirect estimation methods assuming a steady‐state system (Hunt et al.,); the model estimates energy fluxes in a top‐down manner assuming system equilibrium; each node's losses (consumption and physiological) balances its consumptive gains. Jointly, we provide theoretical and practical guidelines to use the fluxweb R package (available on CRAN at https://cran.rproject.org/web/packages/fluxweb/index.html). We also present how the framework can merge with the allometric theory of ecology (Brown, Gillooly, Allen, Savage, & West, ; to calculate fluxes based on easily obtainable organism‐level data (i.e., body masses and species groups—e.g., plants, animals), opening its use to food webs of all complexities. Physiological losses (metabolic losses or losses due to death other than from predation within the food web) may be directly measured or estimated using allometric relationships based on the metabolic theory of ecology, and losses and gains due to predation are a function of ecological efficiencies that describe the proportion of energy that is used for biomass production.The primary output is a matrix of fluxes among the nodes of the food web. These fluxes can be used to describe the role of a species, a function of interest (e.g., predation; total fluxes to predators), multiple functions, or total energy flux (system throughflow or multitrophic functioning). Additionally, the package includes functions to calculate network stability based on the Jacobian matrix, providing insight into how resilient the network is to small perturbations at steady state.Overall, fluxweb provides a flexible set of functions that greatly increase the feasibility of implementing food web energetic approaches to more complex systems. As such, the package facilitates novel opportunities for mechanistically linking quantitative food webs and ecosystem functioning in real and dynamic natural landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2019
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86. Abundance and local-scale processes contribute to multi-phyla gradients in global marine diversity

Author

Edgar, Graham J., Alexander, Timothy J., Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Bates, Amanda E., Kininmonth, Stuart J., Thomson, Russell J., Duffy, J. Emmett, Costello, Mark J., Stuart-Smith, Rick D., Edgar, Graham J., Alexander, Timothy J., Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Bates, Amanda E., Kininmonth, Stuart J., Thomson, Russell J., Duffy, J. Emmett, Costello, Mark J., and Stuart-Smith, Rick D.

Abstract

Among themost enduring ecological challenges is an integrated theory explaining the latitudinal biodiversity gradient, including discrepancies observed at different spatial scales. Analysis of Reef Life Survey data for 4127 marine species at 2406 coral and rocky sites worldwide confirms that the total ecoregion richness peaks in low latitudes, near +15 degrees N and -15 degrees S. However, although richness at survey sites is maximal near the equator for vertebrates, it peaks at high latitudes for large mobile invertebrates. Site richness for different groups is dependent on abundance, which is in turn correlated with temperature for fishes and nutrients for macroinvertebrates. We suggest that temperature-mediated fish predation and herbivory have constrained mobile macroinvertebrate diversity at the site scale across the tropics. Conversely, at the ecoregion scale, richness responds positively to coral reef area, highlighting potentially huge global biodiversity losses with coral decline. Improved conservation outcomes require management frameworks, informed by hierarchical monitoring, that cover differing site- and regional-scale processes across diverse taxa, including attention to invertebrate species, which appear disproportionately threatened by warming seas.

Published
2017
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87. Assessing national biodiversity trends for rocky and coral reefs through the integration of citizen science and scientific monitoring programs

Author

Australian Research Council, Ian Potter Foundation, Stuart-Smith, Rick D., Edgar, Graham J., Barrett, Neville S., Bates, Amanda E., Baker, Susan C., Bax, Nicholas J., Becerro, Mikel, Berkhout, Just, Blanchard, Julia L., Brock, Daniel J., Clark, Graeme F, Cooper, Antonia T., Davis, Tom R., Day, Paul B., Duffy, J. Emmett, Holmes, Thomas H., Howe, Steffan A., Jordan, Alan, Kininmonth, Stuart J., Knott, Nathan A., Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Ling, Scott D., Parr, Amanda, Strain, Elisabeth M. A., Sweatman, Hugh, Thomson, Russell J., Australian Research Council, Ian Potter Foundation, Stuart-Smith, Rick D., Edgar, Graham J., Barrett, Neville S., Bates, Amanda E., Baker, Susan C., Bax, Nicholas J., Becerro, Mikel, Berkhout, Just, Blanchard, Julia L., Brock, Daniel J., Clark, Graeme F, Cooper, Antonia T., Davis, Tom R., Day, Paul B., Duffy, J. Emmett, Holmes, Thomas H., Howe, Steffan A., Jordan, Alan, Kininmonth, Stuart J., Knott, Nathan A., Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Ling, Scott D., Parr, Amanda, Strain, Elisabeth M. A., Sweatman, Hugh, and Thomson, Russell J.

Abstract

Reporting progress against targets for international biodiversity agreements is hindered by a shortage of suitable biodiversity data. We describe a cost-effective system involving Reef Life Survey citizen scientists in the systematic collection of quantitative data covering multiple phyla that can underpin numerous marine biodiversity indicators at high spatial and temporal resolution. We then summarize the findings of a continental- and decadal-scale State of the Environment assessment for rocky and coral reefs based on indicators of ecosystem state relating to fishing, ocean warming, and invasive species and describing the distribution of threatened species. Fishing impacts are widespread, whereas substantial warming-related change affected some regions between 2005 and 2015. Invasive species are concentrated near harbors in southeastern Australia, and the threatened-species index is highest for the Great Australian Bight and Tasman Sea. Our approach can be applied globally to improve reporting against biodiversity targets and enhance public and policymakers’ understanding of marine biodiversity trends.

Published
2017

95. Biodiversity mediates top-down control in eelgrass ecosystems : a global comparative-experimental approach

Author

Duffy, J. Emmett, Reynolds, Pamela L., Boström, Christoffer, Coyer, James A., Cusson, Mathieu, Donadi, Serena, Douglass, James G., Eklöf, Johan S., Engelen, Aschwin H., Eriksson, Britas Klemens, Fredriksen, Stein, Gamfeldt, Lars, Gustafsson, Camilla, Hoarau, Galice, Hori, Masakazu, Hovel, Kevin, Iken, Katrin, Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Moksnes, Per-Olav, Nakaoka, Masahiro, O'Connor, Mary I., Olsen, Jeanine L., Richardson, J. Paul, Ruesink, Jennifer L., Sotka, Erik E., Thormar, Jonas, Whalen, Matthew A., Stachowicz, John J., Duffy, J. Emmett, Reynolds, Pamela L., Boström, Christoffer, Coyer, James A., Cusson, Mathieu, Donadi, Serena, Douglass, James G., Eklöf, Johan S., Engelen, Aschwin H., Eriksson, Britas Klemens, Fredriksen, Stein, Gamfeldt, Lars, Gustafsson, Camilla, Hoarau, Galice, Hori, Masakazu, Hovel, Kevin, Iken, Katrin, Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Moksnes, Per-Olav, Nakaoka, Masahiro, O'Connor, Mary I., Olsen, Jeanine L., Richardson, J. Paul, Ruesink, Jennifer L., Sotka, Erik E., Thormar, Jonas, Whalen, Matthew A., and Stachowicz, John J.

Abstract

Nutrient pollution and reduced grazing each can stimulate algal blooms as shown by numerous experiments. But because experiments rarely incorporate natural variation in environmental factors and biodiversity, conditions determining the relative strength of bottom-up and top-down forcing remain unresolved. We factorially added nutrients and reduced grazing at 15 sites across the range of the marine foundation species eelgrass (Zostera marina) to quantify how top-down and bottom-up control interact with natural gradients in biodiversity and environmental forcing. Experiments confirmed modest top-down control of algae, whereas fertilisation had no general effect. Unexpectedly, grazer and algal biomass were better predicted by cross-site variation in grazer and eelgrass diversity than by global environmental gradients. Moreover, these large-scale patterns corresponded strikingly with prior small-scale experiments. Our results link global and local evidence that biodiversity and top-down control strongly influence functioning of threatened seagrass ecosystems, and suggest that biodiversity is comparably important to global change stressors.

Published
2015
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96. The potential of trait-based approaches to contribute to marine conservation

Author

Stuart-Smith, Rick D., Bates, Amanda E., Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Duffy, J. Emmett, Baker, Susan C., Thomson, Russell J., Stuart-Smith, Jemina F., Hill, Nicole A., Kininmonth, Stuart J., Airoldi, Laura, Becerro, Mikel A., Campbell, Stuart J., Dawson, Terence P., Navarrete, Sergio A., Soler, German, Strain, Elisabeth M. A., Willis, Trevor J., Edgar, Graham J., Stuart-Smith, Rick D., Bates, Amanda E., Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Duffy, J. Emmett, Baker, Susan C., Thomson, Russell J., Stuart-Smith, Jemina F., Hill, Nicole A., Kininmonth, Stuart J., Airoldi, Laura, Becerro, Mikel A., Campbell, Stuart J., Dawson, Terence P., Navarrete, Sergio A., Soler, German, Strain, Elisabeth M. A., Willis, Trevor J., and Edgar, Graham J.

Abstract

The value of diversity metrics to represent ecological communities and inform broad-scale conservation objectives and policy has often been subject to debate and uncertainty [1,2]. In practice, diversity metrics are important in setting management and conservation priorities, just as economic indices contribute to global monetary and financial policies. Thus, key challenges for ecologists are to identify new ways to view and summarise patterns in biodiversity and improve on the metrics available for management purposes. In a recent paper on functional diversity patterns in reef fishes [3], we highlighted the potential of new insights gained from functional trait-based approaches to inform marine management, stressing the need to develop and refine biodiversity measures that are linked to ecology (rather than taxonomy). We used a unique, fisheries-independent reef fish identity and abundance dataset, collected using standardised methods from equatorial to high latitude regions all over the world, to provide the first global view of the distribution of individuals amongst species (including a measure of evenness) and functional traits amongst marine communities. A recent paper by Robinson et al. [4] published in Marine Policy criticised the use of our evenness index as a measure of biodiversity, and questioned the use of functional trait-based metrics derived from surveys of standardised areas for decisions relating to broad-scale management of marine systems. In this paper we respond to Robinson et al. and rebut their claims related to sampling bias and broad-scale applicability of trait-based approaches., AuthorCount:18

Published
2015
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100. Biodiversity mediates top-down control in eelgrass ecosystems: a global comparative-experimental approach

Author

Duffy, J. Emmett, primary, Reynolds, Pamela L., additional, Boström, Christoffer, additional, Coyer, James A., additional, Cusson, Mathieu, additional, Donadi, Serena, additional, Douglass, James G., additional, Eklöf, Johan S., additional, Engelen, Aschwin H., additional, Eriksson, Britas Klemens, additional, Fredriksen, Stein, additional, Gamfeldt, Lars, additional, Gustafsson, Camilla, additional, Hoarau, Galice, additional, Hori, Masakazu, additional, Hovel, Kevin, additional, Iken, Katrin, additional, Lefcheck, Jonathan S., additional, Moksnes, Per-Olav, additional, Nakaoka, Masahiro, additional, O'Connor, Mary I., additional, Olsen, Jeanine L., additional, Richardson, J. Paul, additional, Ruesink, Jennifer L., additional, Sotka, Erik E., additional, Thormar, Jonas, additional, Whalen, Matthew A., additional, and Stachowicz, John J., additional

Published
2015
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