A regime shift in intertidal assemblages triggered by loss of algal canopies: A multidecadal survey.
Mar Environ Res
; 160: 104981, 2020 Sep.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32907719
ABSTRACT
Canopy-forming macroalgae recently experienced a worldwide decline. This is relevant, because canopies sustain complex food webs in temperate coasts. We assessed the die-back of the canopy-forming alga Fucus serratus in N Spain, at its warm distributional range boundary, and its effects on associated assemblages. We combined long-term descriptive surveys with canopy-removal experiments. Results showed that rapid shifts to turf-forming communities were mostly the direct consequence of the canopy loss, rather than a concurrent process directly triggered by climate change. The switch alters the whole food web, as the prominent role of F.serratus and other cold-temperate intertidal fucoids is not being replaced by functionally equivalent species. Canopy loss caused a rapid biotic homogenization at regional scale which is spreading towards the west, from the edge to the central part of the former distributional range of F.serratus in N Spain. The most obvious effect is the ecological and functional impoverishment of the coastal system.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Alga Marinha
/
Fucus
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Mar Environ Res
Assunto da revista:
BIOLOGIA
/
SAUDE AMBIENTAL
/
TOXICOLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Espanha