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Zarco-Perello S, Fairclough D, Dowling C, DiBattista J, Austin R, Wernberg T, Taylor B. Maximization of fitness by phenological and phenotypic plasticity in range expanding rabbitfish (Siganidae). J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:1666-1678. [PMID: 35543704 PMCID: PMC9546425 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Global warming is modifying the phenology, life‐history traits and biogeography of species around the world. Evidence of these effects have increased over recent decades; however, we still have a poor understanding of the possible outcomes of their interplay across global climatic gradients, hindering our ability to accurately predict the consequences of climate change in populations and ecosystems. We examined the effect that changes in biogeography can have on the life‐history traits of two of the most successful range‐extending fish species in the world: the tropical rabbitfishes Siganus fuscescens and Siganus rivulatus. Both species have established abundant populations at higher latitudes in the northern and southern hemispheres and have been identified as important ecological engineers with the potential to alter the community structure of seaweed forests (Laminariales and Fucales) in temperate regions. Life‐history trait information from across their global distribution was compiled from the published literature and meta‐analyses were conducted to assess changes in (i) the onset and duration of reproductive periods, (ii) size at maturity, (iii) fecundity, (iv) growth rates, (v) maximum body sizes and (vi) longevity in populations at the leading edge of range expansion in relation to sea surface temperature and primary productivity (a common proxy for nutritional resource levels). Populations at highest latitudes had shortened their reproductive periods and reduced growth rates, taking longer to reach sexual maturity and maximum sizes, but compensated this with higher fecundity per length class and longer lifespans than populations in warmer environments. Low primary productivity and temperature in the Mediterranean Sea resulted in lower growth rates and body sizes for S. rivulatus, but also lower length at maturity, increasing life‐time reproductive output. The results suggest that plasticity in the phenology and life‐history traits of range‐expanding species would be important to enhance their fitness in high latitude environments, facilitating their persistence and possible further poleward expansions. Quantifying the magnitude and direction of these responses can improve our understanding and ability to forecast species redistributions and its repercussions in the functioning of temperate ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salvador Zarco-Perello
- School of Biological Sciences, UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth.,Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Perth
| | - David Fairclough
- Western Australian Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Government of Western Australia, North Beach, WA, Australia
| | - Chris Dowling
- Western Australian Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Government of Western Australia, North Beach, WA, Australia
| | - Joey DiBattista
- Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Rachel Austin
- School of Biological Sciences, UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth
| | - Thomas Wernberg
- School of Biological Sciences, UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth.,Institute of Marine Research, Nye Flødevigveien 20, 4817, His, Norway
| | - Brett Taylor
- University of Guam Marine Laboratory, UOG Station, Mangilao, Guam, 96923, USA
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Bosch NE, McLean M, Zarco-Perello S, Bennett S, Stuart-Smith RD, Vergés A, Pessarrodona A, Tuya F, Langlois T, Spencer C, Bell S, Saunders BJ, Harvey ES, Wernberg T. Persistent thermally driven shift in the functional trait structure of herbivorous fishes: Evidence of top-down control on the rebound potential of temperate seaweed forests? Glob Chang Biol 2022; 28:2296-2311. [PMID: 34981602 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Extreme climatic events can reshape the functional structure of ecological communities, potentially altering ecological interactions and ecosystem functioning. While these shifts have been widely documented, evidence of their persistence and potential flow-on effects on ecosystem structure following relaxation of extreme events remains limited. Here, we investigate changes in the functional trait structure - encompassing dimensions of resource use, thermal affinity, and body size - of herbivorous fishes in a temperate reef system that experienced an extreme marine heatwave (MHW) and subsequent return to cool conditions. We quantify how changes in the trait structure modified the nature and intensity of herbivory-related functions (macroalgae, turf, and sediment removal), and explored the potential flow-on effects on the recovery dynamics of macroalgal foundation species. The trait structure of the herbivorous fish assemblage shifted as a result of the MHW, from dominance of cool-water browsing species to increased evenness in the distribution of abundance among temperate and tropical guilds supporting novel herbivory roles (i.e. scraping, cropping, and sediment sucking). Despite the abundance of tropical herbivorous fishes and intensity of herbivory-related functions declined following a period of cooling after the MHW, the underlying trait structure displayed limited recovery. Concomitantly, algal assemblages displayed a lack of recovery of the formerly dominant foundational species, the kelp Ecklonia radiata, transitioning to an alternative state dominated by turf and Sargassum spp. Our study demonstrates a legacy effect of an extreme MHW and exemplified the value of monitoring phenotypic (trait mediated) changes in the nature of core ecosystem processes to predict and adapt to the future configurations of changing reef ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nestor E Bosch
- The UWA Oceans Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Matthew McLean
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Salvador Zarco-Perello
- The UWA Oceans Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Scott Bennett
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Rick D Stuart-Smith
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Adriana Vergés
- Centre of Marine Science & Innovation, Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia
- Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Mosman, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Albert Pessarrodona
- The UWA Oceans Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Fernando Tuya
- Grupo en Biodiversidad y Conservación, IU-ECOAQUA, Universidad de Las Palmas de G.C., Canary Islands, Spain
| | - Tim Langlois
- The UWA Oceans Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Claude Spencer
- The UWA Oceans Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Sahira Bell
- The UWA Oceans Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Benjamin J Saunders
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Euan S Harvey
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Thomas Wernberg
- The UWA Oceans Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
- Institute of Marine Research, His, Norway
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Barrientos S, Zarco-Perello S, Piñeiro-Corbeira C, Barreiro R, Wernberg T. Feeding preferences of range-shifting and native herbivorous fishes in temperate ecosystems. Mar Environ Res 2021; 172:105508. [PMID: 34710739 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Revised: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Temperate reefs are being tropicalized worldwide. In temperate Western Australia, a marine heatwave led to a regime shift from kelp (Ecklonia radiata) dominated to canopy-free reefs, together with an increase in tropical herbivorous fishes that contribute to keeping low kelp abundances and even prevent kelp reestablishment in northern regions. However, whether tropical herbivorous fishes prefer kelps over other seaweeds and/or whether this preference changes with latitude remains untested. Multiple-choice experiments (young kelp vs. other seaweeds) with tropical, subtropical and temperate herbivorous fishes show shifting species-specific preferences and fish-to-fish interference shifting with latitude (assays replicated in two regions four degrees of latitude apart). Against expectations, only the temperate Kyphosus sydneyanus preferred kelp over other seaweeds, but only in the lower latitude region. Siganus fuscescens, the most abundant tropical herbivore in both regions, preferred grazing on turf, suggesting that tropical fish might reduce kelp recruitment by consuming microscopic sporophytes in turf matrix.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Barrientos
- BioCost Research Group, Facultad de Ciencias and Centro de Investigaciones Científicas Avanzadas (CICA), Universidad de A Coruña, 15071, A Coruña, Spain.
| | - Salvador Zarco-Perello
- School of Biological Sciences and UWA Oceans Institute. The University of Western Australia, 39 Fairway, Crawley, 6009, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Cristina Piñeiro-Corbeira
- BioCost Research Group, Facultad de Ciencias and Centro de Investigaciones Científicas Avanzadas (CICA), Universidad de A Coruña, 15071, A Coruña, Spain
| | - Rodolfo Barreiro
- BioCost Research Group, Facultad de Ciencias and Centro de Investigaciones Científicas Avanzadas (CICA), Universidad de A Coruña, 15071, A Coruña, Spain
| | - Thomas Wernberg
- School of Biological Sciences and UWA Oceans Institute. The University of Western Australia, 39 Fairway, Crawley, 6009, Western Australia, Australia
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Zarco-Perello S, Langlois TJ, Holmes T, Vanderklift MA, Wernberg T. Overwintering tropical herbivores accelerate detritus production on temperate reefs. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20192046. [PMID: 31744442 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The tropicalization of temperate marine ecosystems can lead to increased herbivory rates, reducing the standing stock of seaweeds and potentially causing increases in detritus production. However, long-term studies analysing these processes associated with the persistence of tropical herbivores in temperate reefs are lacking. We assessed the seasonal variation in abundances, macrophyte consumption, feeding modes and defecation rates of the range-extending tropical rabbitfish Siganus fuscescens and the temperate silver drummer Kyphosus sydneyanus and herring cale Olisthops cyanomelas on tropicalized reefs of Western Australia. Rabbitfish overwintered in temperate reefs, consumed more kelp and other macrophytes in all feeding modes, and defecated more during both summer and winter than the temperate herbivores. Herbivory and defecation increased with rabbitfish abundance, but this was dependent on temperature, with higher rates attained by big schools during summer and lower rates in winter. Still, rabbitfish surpassed temperate herbivores, leading to a fivefold acceleration in the transformation of macrophyte standing stock to detritus, a function usually attributed to sea urchins in kelp forests. Our results suggest that further warming and tropicalization will not only increase primary consumption and affect the habitat structure of temperate reefs but also increase detritus production, with the potential to modify energy pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salvador Zarco-Perello
- School of Biological Sciences and UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley (Perth), Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Tim J Langlois
- School of Biological Sciences and UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley (Perth), Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Thomas Holmes
- Marine Science Program, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Kensington, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Mathew A Vanderklift
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Thomas Wernberg
- School of Biological Sciences and UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley (Perth), Western Australia 6009, Australia.,Department of Science and Environment, Roskilde University, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
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Zarco-Perello S, Simões N. Ordinary kriging vs inverse distance weighting: spatial interpolation of the sessile community of Madagascar reef, Gulf of Mexico. PeerJ 2017; 5:e4078. [PMID: 29204321 PMCID: PMC5712470 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2017] [Accepted: 11/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Information about the distribution and abundance of the habitat-forming sessile organisms in marine ecosystems is of great importance for conservation and natural resource managers. Spatial interpolation methodologies can be useful to generate this information from in situ sampling points, especially in circumstances where remote sensing methodologies cannot be applied due to small-scale spatial variability of the natural communities and low light penetration in the water column. Interpolation methods are widely used in environmental sciences; however, published studies using these methodologies in coral reef science are scarce. We compared the accuracy of the two most commonly used interpolation methods in all disciplines, inverse distance weighting (IDW) and ordinary kriging (OK), to predict the distribution and abundance of hard corals, octocorals, macroalgae, sponges and zoantharians and identify hotspots of these habitat-forming organisms using data sampled at three different spatial scales (5, 10 and 20 m) in Madagascar reef, Gulf of Mexico. The deeper sandy environments of the leeward and windward regions of Madagascar reef were dominated by macroalgae and seconded by octocorals. However, the shallow rocky environments of the reef crest had the highest richness of habitat-forming groups of organisms; here, we registered high abundances of octocorals and macroalgae, with sponges, Millepora alcicornis and zoantharians dominating in some patches, creating high levels of habitat heterogeneity. IDW and OK generated similar maps of distribution for all the taxa; however, cross-validation tests showed that IDW outperformed OK in the prediction of their abundances. When the sampling distance was at 20 m, both interpolation techniques performed poorly, but as the sampling was done at shorter distances prediction accuracies increased, especially for IDW. OK had higher mean prediction errors and failed to correctly interpolate the highest abundance values measured in situ, except for macroalgae, whereas IDW had lower mean prediction errors and high correlations between predicted and measured values in all cases when sampling was every 5 m. The accurate spatial interpolations created using IDW allowed us to see the spatial variability of each taxa at a biological and spatial resolution that remote sensing would not have been able to produce. Our study sets the basis for further research projects and conservation management in Madagascar reef and encourages similar studies in the region and other parts of the world where remote sensing technologies are not suitable for use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salvador Zarco-Perello
- Unidad Académica Sisal, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Sisal, Yucatán, México
- School of Biological Sciences and UWA Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Nuno Simões
- Unidad Académica Sisal, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Sisal, Yucatán, México
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Zarco-Perello S, Wernberg T, Langlois TJ, Vanderklift MA. Tropicalization strengthens consumer pressure on habitat-forming seaweeds. Sci Rep 2017; 7:820. [PMID: 28400614 PMCID: PMC5429775 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-00991-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2017] [Accepted: 03/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Ocean warming is driving species poleward, causing a 'tropicalization' of temperate ecosystems around the world. Increasing abundances of tropical herbivores on temperate reefs could accelerate declines in habitat-forming seaweeds with devastating consequences for these important marine ecosystems. Here we document an expansion of rabbitfish (Siganus fuscescens), a tropical herbivore, on temperate reefs in Western Australia following a marine heatwave and demonstrate their impact on local kelp forests (Ecklonia radiata). Before the heatwave there were no rabbitfish and low rates of kelp herbivory but after the heatwave rabbitfish were common at most reefs and consumption of kelp was high. Herbivory increased 30-fold and kelp abundance decreased by 70% at reefs where rabbitfish had established. In contrast, where rabbitfish were absent, kelp abundance and herbivory did not change. Video-analysis confirmed that rabbitfish were the main consumers of kelp, followed by silver drummers (Kyphosus sydneyanus), a temperate herbivore. These results represent a likely indirect effect of the heatwave beyond its acute impacts, and they provide evidence that range-shifting tropical herbivores can contribute to declines in habitat-forming seaweeds within a few years of their establishment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salvador Zarco-Perello
- School of Biological Sciences and UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley (Perth), 6009, Western Australia, Australia.
| | - Thomas Wernberg
- School of Biological Sciences and UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley (Perth), 6009, Western Australia, Australia.
| | - Tim J Langlois
- School of Biological Sciences and UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley (Perth), 6009, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Mathew A Vanderklift
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, Crawley, Western Australia, 6009, Australia
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