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Saldaña PH, Angelini C, Bertness MD, Altieri AH. Dead foundation species drive ecosystem dynamics. Trends Ecol Evol 2024; 39:294-305. [PMID: 37923644 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2023] [Revised: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Foundation species facilitate communities, modulate energy flow, and define ecosystems, but their ecological roles after death are frequently overlooked. Here, we reveal the widespread importance of their dead structures as unique, interacting components of ecosystems that are vulnerable to global change. Key metabolic activity, mobility, and morphology traits of foundation species either change or persist after death with important consequences for ecosystem functions, biodiversity, and subsidy dynamics. Dead foundation species frequently mediate ecosystem stability, resilience, and transitions, often through feedbacks, and harnessing their structural and trophic roles can improve restoration outcomes. Enhanced recognition of dead foundation species and their incorporation into habitat monitoring, ecological theory, and ecosystem forecasting can help solve the escalating conservation challenges of the Anthropocene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick H Saldaña
- Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
| | - Christine Angelini
- Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Mark D Bertness
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Andrew H Altieri
- Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
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2
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Rosa Filho JS, Alves RVA, Santos IT, Oliveira MA, Frédou FL, Craveiro N. The role of habitat heterogeneity and timescales on the recovery of reef epifaunal communities affected by a massive oil spill in the tropics. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2024; 199:116001. [PMID: 38199040 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.116001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
From August 2019 to January 2020 the Brazilian Coast was impacted by the largest oil spill in the Tropical oceans ever since. Paiva Beach, one of the most preserved sandy beaches in the northeast tropical Brazilian coast, was among the most affected regions by the oil spill in October 2019. This area has important reef systems that harbor abundant macroalgal assemblages with very diverse epifaunal communities. The present study aims to evaluate the impacts of the 2019 oil spill on epifauna associated with the seaweed species Jania capillacea and Penicillus capitatus collected in Paiva Beach from July 2019 to October 2022, and use the interaction macroalgae/epifauna/timescale as a proxy to quantify the effects of oil spills on communities structure and recovery. The epifauna of both algae did not suffer severe changes in abundance immediately after the spill, however, the abundance of taxa like echinoderms, sea spiders (Pycnogonida) and peracarid crustaceans dropped during or soon after the event, whereas others, like sabellid worms, had strong increase in abundance, possibly related to the spill. Both phytal assemblages also had distinct temporal patterns in species diversity and abundance, the last being strongly correlated to amphipod abundance for some taxa. The epifauna of J. capillacea had a short-term tendency of decrease in taxonomic diversity, whereas the epifaunal communities of P. capitatus gained a few taxa in the months immediately after the disaster. The diversity profiles of both communities returned to pre-spill conditions a few months later, with a slower abundance recovery in J. capillacea. Local environmental characteristics like landscape heterogeneity, connectivity with other environments, and critical-species (mainly amphipods) were possibly the main buffering factors for the phytal communities after the oil spill.
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Affiliation(s)
- José S Rosa Filho
- Laboratório de Bentos, Departamento de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, 1235, 50740-550 Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
| | - Rodrigo V A Alves
- Laboratório de Bentos, Departamento de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, 1235, 50740-550 Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Ingrid T Santos
- Laboratório de Bentos, Departamento de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, 1235, 50740-550 Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Matheus A Oliveira
- Laboratório de Zooplâncton, Departamento de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, 1235, 50740-550 Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Flávia L Frédou
- Laboratório de Estudos de Impactos Antrópicos na Biodiversidade marinha e Estuarina, Departamento de Pesca e Aquicultura, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Rua Manuel de Medeiros, s/n, 52171-900 Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Nykon Craveiro
- Laboratório de Bentos, Departamento de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, 1235, 50740-550 Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
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3
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Wolfe K, Desbiens AA, Mumby PJ. Emigration patterns of motile cryptofauna and their implications for trophic functioning in coral reefs. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9960. [PMID: 37006892 PMCID: PMC10049886 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Patterns of movement of marine species can reflect strategies of reproduction and dispersal, species' interactions, trophodynamics, and susceptibility to change, and thus critically inform how we manage populations and ecosystems. On coral reefs, the density and diversity of metazoan taxa are greatest in dead coral and rubble, which are suggested to fuel food webs from the bottom up. Yet, biomass and secondary productivity in rubble is predominantly available in some of the smallest individuals, limiting how accessible this energy is to higher trophic levels. We address the bioavailability of motile coral reef cryptofauna based on small-scale patterns of emigration in rubble. We deployed modified RUbble Biodiversity Samplers (RUBS) and emergence traps in a shallow rubble patch at Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef, to detect community-level differences in the directional influx of motile cryptofauna under five habitat accessibility regimes. The mean density (0.13-4.5 ind cm-3) and biomass (0.14-5.2 mg cm-3) of cryptofauna were high and varied depending on microhabitat accessibility. Emergent zooplankton represented a distinct community (dominated by the Appendicularia and Calanoida) with the lowest density and biomass, indicating constraints on nocturnal resource availability. Mean cryptofauna density and biomass were greatest when interstitial access within rubble was blocked, driven by the rapid proliferation of small harpacticoid copepods from the rubble surface, leading to trophic simplification. Individuals with high biomass (e.g., decapods, gobies, and echinoderms) were greatest when interstitial access within rubble was unrestricted. Treatments with a closed rubble surface did not differ from those completely open, suggesting that top-down predation does not diminish rubble-derived resources. Our results show that conspecific cues and species' interactions (e.g., competition and predation) within rubble are most critical in shaping ecological outcomes within the cryptobiome. These findings have implications for prey accessibility through trophic and community size structuring in rubble, which may become increasingly relevant as benthic reef complexity shifts in the Anthropocene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kennedy Wolfe
- Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef StudiesUniversity of QueenslandBrisbaneQueensland4072Australia
| | - Amelia A. Desbiens
- Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef StudiesUniversity of QueenslandBrisbaneQueensland4072Australia
| | - Peter J. Mumby
- Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef StudiesUniversity of QueenslandBrisbaneQueensland4072Australia
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Mellin C, Hicks CC, Fordham DA, Golden CD, Kjellevold M, MacNeil MA, Maire E, Mangubhai S, Mouillot D, Nash KL, Omukoto JO, Robinson JPW, Stuart-Smith RD, Zamborain-Mason J, Edgar GJ, Graham NAJ. Safeguarding nutrients from coral reefs under climate change. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:1808-1817. [PMID: 36192542 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01878-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Mellin
- The Environment Institute and School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
| | | | - Damien A Fordham
- The Environment Institute and School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Christopher D Golden
- Department of Nutrition, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - M Aaron MacNeil
- Ocean Frontier Institute, Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Eva Maire
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | | | - David Mouillot
- MARBEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, IFREMER, IRD, MARBEC, Montpellier, France
| | - Kirsty L Nash
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
- Centre for Marine Socioecology, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Johnstone O Omukoto
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
- Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Mombasa, Kenya
| | | | - Rick D Stuart-Smith
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Jessica Zamborain-Mason
- Department of Nutrition, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Graham J Edgar
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
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5
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Bosch NE, Pessarrodona A, Filbee-Dexter K, Tuya F, Mulders Y, Bell S, Langlois T, Wernberg T. Habitat configurations shape the trophic and energetic dynamics of reef fishes in a tropical-temperate transition zone: implications under a warming future. Oecologia 2022; 200:455-470. [PMID: 36344837 PMCID: PMC9675646 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05278-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the extent to which species' traits mediate patterns of community assembly is key to predict the effect of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on ecosystem functioning. Here, we apply a trait-based community assembly framework to understand how four different habitat configurations (kelp forests, Sargassum spp. beds, hard corals, and turfs) shape the trophic and energetic dynamics of reef fish assemblages in a tropical-temperate transition zone. Specifically, we tested (i) the degree of trait divergence and convergence in each habitat, (ii) which traits explained variation in species' abundances, and (iii) differences in standing biomass (kg ha-1), secondary productivity (kg ha-1 day-1) and turnover (% day-1). Fish assemblages in coral and kelp habitats displayed greater evidence of trait convergence, while turf and Sargassum spp. habitats displayed a higher degree of trait divergence, a pattern that was mostly driven by traits related to resource use and thermal affinity. This filtering effect had an imprint on the trophic and energetic dynamics of reef fishes, with turf habitats supporting higher fish biomass and productivity. However, these gains were strongly dependent on trophic guild, with herbivores/detritivores disproportionately contributing to among-habitat differences. Despite these perceived overall gains, turnover was decoupled for fishes that act as conduit of energy to higher trophic levels (i.e. microinvertivores), with coral habitats displaying higher rates of fish biomass replenishment than turf despite their lower productivity. This has important implications for biodiversity conservation and fisheries management, questioning the long-term sustainability of ecological processes and fisheries yields in increasingly altered marine habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nestor E Bosch
- School of Biological Sciences, The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.
| | - Albert Pessarrodona
- School of Biological Sciences, The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Karen Filbee-Dexter
- School of Biological Sciences, The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
- Institute of Marine Research, Nye Flødevigveien 20, 4817, His, Norway
| | - Fernando Tuya
- Grupo en Biodiversidad y Conservación, IU-ECOAQUA, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Crta. Taliarte S/N, 35214, Telde, Spain
| | - Yannick Mulders
- School of Biological Sciences, The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Sahira Bell
- School of Biological Sciences, The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Tim Langlois
- School of Biological Sciences, The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Thomas Wernberg
- School of Biological Sciences, The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
- Institute of Marine Research, Nye Flødevigveien 20, 4817, His, Norway
- Department of Science and Environment, Roskilde University, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark
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6
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Pessarrodona A, Grimaldi CM. On the ecology of Cystophora spp. forests. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2022; 58:760-772. [PMID: 36054376 PMCID: PMC10092567 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.13285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Cystophora is the second largest genus of fucoids worldwide and, like many other forest-forming macroalgae, is increasingly threatened by a range of anthropogenic impacts including ocean warming. Yet, limited ecological information is available from the warm portion of their range (SW Western Australia), where severe range contractions are predicted to occur. Here, we provide the first insights on the abundance, diversity, productivity, and stand structure of Cystophora forests in this region. Forests were ubiquitous over more than 800 km of coastline and dominated sheltered and moderately-exposed reefs. Stand biomass and productivity were similar or greater than that of kelp forests in the temperate reef communities examined, suggesting that Cystophora spp. play a similarly important ecological role. The stand structure of Cystophora forests was, however, different than those of kelp forests, with most stands featuring an abundant bank of sub-canopy juveniles and only a few plants forming the canopy layer. Stand productivity followed an opposite seasonal pattern than that of kelps, with maximal growth in late autumn through early winter and net biomass loss in summer. Annually, stands contributed between 2.2 and 5.7 kg · m-2 (fresh biomass) to reef productivity depending on the dominant stand species. We propose that Cystophora forests play an important and unique role in supporting subtidal temperate diversity and productivity throughout temperate Australia, and urge a better understanding of their ecology and responses to anthropogenic threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert Pessarrodona
- UWA Oceans Institute and School of Biological SciencesUniversity of Western AustraliaCrawleyWestern Australia6009Australia
| | - Camille M. Grimaldi
- UWA Oceans Institute and Oceans Graduate SchoolUniversity of Western AustraliaCrawleyWestern Australia6009Australia
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Stella JS, Wolfe K, Roff G, Rogers A, Priest M, Golbuu Y, Mumby PJ. Functional and phylogenetic responses of motile cryptofauna to habitat degradation. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:2203-2219. [PMID: 36054747 PMCID: PMC9826372 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Biodiversity of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, including coral reefs, is dominated by small, often cryptic, invertebrate taxa that play important roles in ecosystem structure and functioning. While cryptofauna community structure is determined by strong small-scale microhabitat associations, the extent to which ecological and environmental factors shape these communities are largely unknown, as is the relative importance of particular microhabitats in supporting reef trophodynamics from the bottom up. The goal of this study was to address these knowledge gaps, provided coral reefs are increasingly exposed to multiple disturbances and environmental gradients that influence habitat complexity, condition and ecosystem functioning. We compared the density, biomass, size range, phylogenetic diversity and functional roles of motile cryptofauna in Palau, Western Micronesia, among four coral-derived microhabitats representing various states of degradation (live coral [Acropora and Pocillopora], dead coral and coral rubble) from reefs along a gradient of effluent exposure. In total, 122 families across ten phyla were identified, dominated by the Arthropoda (Crustacea) and Mollusca. Cryptofauna biomass was greatest in live Pocillopora, while coral rubble contained the greatest density and diversity. Size ranges were broader in live corals than both dead coral and rubble. From a bottom-up perspective, effluent exposure had mixed effects on cryptic communities including a decline in total biomass in rubble. From a top-down perspective, cryptofauna were generally unaffected by predator biomass. Our data show that, as coral reef ecosystems continue to decline in response to more frequent and severe disturbances, habitats other than live coral may become increasingly important in supporting coral reef biodiversity and food webs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica S. Stella
- The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park AuthorityTownsvilleQueenslandAustralia
| | - Kennedy Wolfe
- Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef StudiesUniversity of QueenslandSt LuciaQueenslandAustralia
| | - George Roff
- Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef StudiesUniversity of QueenslandSt LuciaQueenslandAustralia
| | - Alice Rogers
- Victoria University of Wellington, School of Biological SciencesWellingtonNew Zealand
| | - Mark Priest
- Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef StudiesUniversity of QueenslandSt LuciaQueenslandAustralia
| | | | - Peter J. Mumby
- Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef StudiesUniversity of QueenslandSt LuciaQueenslandAustralia
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Fraser KM, Lefcheck JS, Ling SD, Mellin C, Stuart-Smith RD, Edgar GJ. Production of mobile invertebrate communities on shallow reefs from temperate to tropical seas. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201798. [PMID: 33352078 PMCID: PMC7779515 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 11/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Primary productivity of marine ecosystems is largely driven by broad gradients in environmental and ecological properties. By contrast, secondary productivity tends to be more variable, influenced by bottom-up (resource-driven) and top-down (predatory) processes, other environmental drivers, and mediation by the physical structure of habitats. Here, we use a continental-scale dataset on small mobile invertebrates (epifauna), common on surfaces in all marine ecosystems, to test influences of potential drivers of temperature-standardized secondary production across a large biogeographic range. We found epifaunal production to be remarkably consistent along a temperate to tropical Australian latitudinal gradient of 28.6°, spanning kelp forests to coral reefs (approx. 3500 km). Using a model selection procedure, epifaunal production was primarily related to biogenic habitat group, which explained up to 45% of total variability. Production was otherwise invariant to predictors capturing primary productivity, the local biomass of fishes (proxy for predation pressure), and environmental, geographical, and human impacts. Highly predictable levels of epifaunal productivity associated with distinct habitat groups across continental scales should allow accurate modelling of the contributions of these ubiquitous invertebrates to coastal food webs, thus improving understanding of likely changes to food web structure with ocean warming and other anthropogenic impacts on marine ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- K. M. Fraser
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Taroona, Tasmania 7053, Australia
| | - J. S. Lefcheck
- Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network, MarineGEO, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Road, Edgewater, MD 21037, USA
| | - S. D. Ling
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Taroona, Tasmania 7053, Australia
| | - C. Mellin
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Taroona, Tasmania 7053, Australia
- The Environment Institute and School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
| | - R. D. Stuart-Smith
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Taroona, Tasmania 7053, Australia
| | - G. J. Edgar
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Taroona, Tasmania 7053, Australia
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