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Safeguarding nutrients from coral reefs under climate change

Authors :
Camille Mellin
Christina C. Hicks
Damien A. Fordham
Christopher D. Golden
Marian Kjellevold
M. Aaron MacNeil
Eva Maire
Sangeeta Mangubhai
David Mouillot
Kirsty L. Nash
Johnstone O. Omukoto
James P. W. Robinson
Rick D. Stuart-Smith
Jessica Zamborain-Mason
Graham J. Edgar
Nicholas A. J. Graham
Australian Institute of Marine Science [Townsville] (AIMS Townsville)
Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)
University of Adelaide
Lancaster Environment Centre
Lancaster University
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Dalhousie University [Halifax]
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
MARine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation (UMR MARBEC)
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)
University of Tasmania [Hobart, Australia] (UTAS)
University of Alabama [Tuscaloosa] (UA)
Queen's University [Kingston, Canada]
Source :
Nature Ecology & Evolution, Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2022, 6 (12), pp.1808-1817. ⟨10.1038/s41559-022-01878-w⟩
Publication Year :
2022
Publisher :
Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2022.

Abstract

International audience; The sustainability of coral reef fisheries is jeopardized by complex and interacting socio-ecological stressors that undermine their contribution to food and nutrition security. Climate change has emerged as one of the key stressors threatening coral reefs and their fish-associated services. How fish nutrient concentrations respond to warming oceans remains unclear but these responses are probably affected by both direct (metabolism and trophodynamics) and indirect (habitat and species range shifts) effects. Climate-driven coral habitat loss can cause changes in fish abundance and biomass, revealing potential winners and losers among major fisheries targets that can be predicted using ecological indicators and biological traits. A critical next step is to extend research focused on the quantity of available food (fish biomass) to also consider its nutritional quality, which is relevant to progress in the fields of food security and malnutrition. Biological traits are robust predictors of fish nutrient content and thus potentially indicate how climate-driven changes are expected to impact nutrient availability within future food webs on coral reefs. Here, we outline future research priorities and an anticipatory framework towards sustainable reef fisheries contributing to nutrition-sensitive food systems in a warming ocean.

Details

ISSN :
2397334X
Volume :
6
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Nature Ecology & Evolution
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....86147311193b2fbbc04fbb78c415916b
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01878-w