The tropicalization of temperate marine ecosystems: climate-mediated changes in herbivory and community phase shifts

Adriana Vergés*, Peter D. Steinberg, Mark E. Hay, Alistair G B Poore, Alexandra H. Campbell, Enric Ballesteros, Kenneth L. Heck, David J. Booth, Melinda A. Coleman, David A. Feary, Will Figueira, Tim Langlois, Ezequiel M. Marzinelli, Toni Mizerek, Peter J. Mumby, Yohei Nakamura, Moninya Roughan, Erik van Sebille, Alex Sen Gupta, Dan A. SmaleFiona Tomas, Thomas Wernberg, Shaun K. Wilson

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    802 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Climate-driven changes in biotic interactions can profoundly alter ecological communities, particularly when they impact foundation species. In marine systems, changes in herbivory and the consequent loss of dominant habitat forming species can result in dramatic community phase shifts, such as from coral to macroalgal dominance when tropical fish herbivory decreases, and from algal forests to 'barrens' when temperate urchin grazing increases. Here, we propose a novel phase-shift away from macroalgal dominance caused by tropical herbivores extending their range into temperate regions. We argue that this phase shift is facilitated by poleward-flowing boundary currents that are creating ocean warming hotspots around the globe, enabling the range expansion of tropical species and increasing their grazing rates in temperate areas. Overgrazing of temperate macroalgae by tropical herbivorous fishes has already occurred in Japan and the Mediterranean. Emerging evidence suggests similar phenomena are occurring in other temperate regions, with increasing occurrence of tropical fishes on temperate reefs.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number20140846
    Pages (from-to)1-10
    Number of pages10
    JournalProceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
    Volume281
    Issue number1789
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 22 Aug 2014

    Keywords

    • Climate change
    • Ecosystem impacts
    • Functional diversity
    • Macroalgae
    • Range shift
    • Western boundary currents

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