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The influence of physical factors on kelp and sea urchin distribution in previously and still grazed areas in the NE Atlantic.

ABSTRACT: The spatial distribution of kelp (Laminaria hyperborea) and sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) in the NE Atlantic are highly related to physical factors and to temporal changes in temperature. On a large scale, we identified borders for kelp recovery and sea urchin persistence along the north-south gradient. Sea urchin persistence was also related to the coast-ocean gradient. The southern border corresponds to summer temperatures exceeding about 10°C, a threshold value known to be critical for sea urchin recruitment and development. The outer border along the coast-ocean gradient is related to temperature, wave exposure and salinity. On a finer scale, kelp recovery occurs mainly at ridges in outer, wave exposed, saline and warm areas whereas sea urchins still dominate in inner, shallow and cold areas, particularly in areas with optimal current speed for sea urchin foraging. In contrast to other studies in Europe, we here show a positive influence of climate change to presence of a long-lived climax canopy-forming kelp. The extent of the coast-ocean gradient varies within the study area, and is especially wide in the southern part where the presence of islands and skerries increases the area of the shallow coastal zone. This creates a large area with intermediate physical conditions for the two species and a mosaic of kelp and sea urchin dominated patches. The statistical models (GAM and BRT) show high performance and indicate recovery of kelp in 45-60% of the study area. The study shows the value of combining a traditional (GAM) and a more complex (BRT) modeling approach to gain insight into complex spatial patterns of species or habitats. The results, methods and approaches are of general ecological relevance regardless of ecosystems and species, although they are particularly relevant for understanding and exploring the corresponding changes between algae and grazers in different coastal areas.

SUBMITTER: Rinde E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4064999 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Global climate change is affecting carbon cycling by driving changes in primary productivity and rates of carbon fixation, release and storage within Earth's vegetated systems. There is, however, limited understanding of how carbon flow between donor and recipient habitats will respond to climatic changes. Macroalgal-dominated habitats, such as kelp forests, are gaining recognition as important carbon donors within coastal carbon cycles, yet rates of carbon assimilation and transfer through these habitats are poorly resolved. Here, we investigated the likely impacts of ocean warming on coastal carbon cycling by quantifying rates of carbon assimilation and transfer in Laminaria hyperborea kelp forests-one of the most extensive coastal vegetated habitat types in the NE Atlantic-along a latitudinal temperature gradient. Kelp forests within warm climatic regimes assimilated, on average, more than three times less carbon and donated less than half the amount of particulate carbon compared to those from cold regimes. These patterns were not related to variability in other environmental parameters. Across their wider geographical distribution, plants exhibited reduced sizes toward their warm-water equatorward range edge, further suggesting that carbon flow is reduced under warmer climates. Overall, we estimated that Laminaria hyperborea forests stored ~11.49 Tg C in living biomass and released particulate carbon at a rate of ~5.71 Tg C year-1 . This estimated flow of carbon was markedly higher than reported values for most other marine and terrestrial vegetated habitat types in Europe. Together, our observations suggest that continued warming will diminish the amount of carbon that is assimilated and transported through temperate kelp forests in NE Atlantic, with potential consequences for the coastal carbon cycle. Our findings underline the need to consider climate-driven changes in the capacity of ecosystems to fix and donate carbon when assessing the impacts of climate change on carbon cycling.

Dataset Information

The influence of physical factors on kelp and sea urchin distribution in previously and still grazed areas in the NE Atlantic.

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