Article
Environmental Sciences
Christina Bonsell, Kenneth H. Dunton
Summary: Our study in a shallow High Arctic kelp bed in the Beaufort Sea, Alaska, examined patterns of propagule recruitment to assess succession timescale and trajectory. We found that bottom waters remain frozen with low light levels for 8-9 months, while summer period is characterized by higher temperatures and measurable irradiance. Spatial differences in epilithic assemblages were observed, with a positive correlation between cover by crustose coralline algae and distance to river inputs.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Katherine C. Cavanaugh, Kyle C. Cavanaugh, Camille C. Pawlak, Tom W. Bell, Vienna R. Saccomanno
Summary: Bull kelp populations in northern California drastically declined due to the combination of a marine heatwave, sea star wasting disease, and an increase in herbivorous purple urchin populations. However, small populations of bull kelp were able to survive. Traditional satellite measurements underestimated or excluded these remnant populations, while Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles (UAV) had limited coverage. The development of CubeSat constellations allowed for frequent, high-resolution imagery, enabling the mapping of bull kelp refugia.
REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Eric Jorda-Molina, Paul E. Renaud, Marc J. Silberberger, Arunima Sen, Bodil A. Bluhm, Michael L. Carroll, William G. Ambrose Jr, Finlo Cottier, Henning Reiss
Summary: The western fjords around the Svalbard archipelago are experiencing increased warm water intrusions, leading to ecological shifts in their ecosystems. The impacts of these warm water intrusions on the previously stable and colder northern fjords are not well understood. Through analyzing macrobenthic fauna in Rijpfjorden, researchers found that a strong seafloor warm water temperature anomaly in 2006 caused a significant decrease in abundance and species richness in 2007, but the communities recovered by 2010. However, the outer parts of the fjord experienced dominance of a few taxa, resulting in a decrease in evenness and diversity.
MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Oceanography
Rob P. Harbour, Craig R. Smith, Teresa F. Fernandes, Andrew K. Sweetman
Summary: Food availability in Norwegian fjords is unique due to the presence of rare nutritional sources like macrophytodetritus and terrestrial organic matter, leading to increased beta diversity in deep-sea environments. Kelp plays a crucial role in the trophic ecology of deep-sea communities in these fjords, and its loss could have significant impacts on the ecosystem. The expansion of boreal forests along the fjords may result in an inevitable increase in the transport of wood materials and forest detritus to deep-sea habitats.
DEEP-SEA RESEARCH PART I-OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH PAPERS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Chloe Chen-Kraus, Njaratiana A. Raharinoro, Miravo A. Randrianirinarisoa, David J. Anderson, Richard R. Lawler, David P. Watts, Alison F. Richard
Summary: Human impacts on the natural world are increasing and are generally considered a threat to wildlife conservation and the persistence of species. However, not all human activities are antithetical to conservation and not all taxa are impacted in the same ways. A study on critically endangered Verreaux's sifakas in Madagascar found that certain human-related activities were perceived as threats by the sifakas, leading to immediate behavioral shifts. However, these activities did not have a discernible negative impact on the sifakas' population at the reserve.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Rachel Zuercher
Summary: Pelagic-benthic coupling in the marine environment has significant impacts on productivity, trophic interactions, and community structure in nearshore ecosystems. This study investigates the use of kelp- and phytoplankton-based carbon by rockfish in kelp forests in central California. The findings show that rockfish species that forage in the water column have a higher use of phytoplankton-based carbon compared to species on or near benthic substrates. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of variable juvenile rockfish recruitment in understanding rockfish's utilization of phytoplankton-based energy.
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zonghe Yu, Yingqiu Zhang, Lei Zhou, Hongyan Sun
Summary: The study shows that hypoxia influences the distribution and recruitment of sea cucumber Holothuria leucospilota, leading to a decline in population size in the South China Sea. While population size decreased significantly at site S1 after 2017, it increased substantially at site S2 during the summers of 2017 and 2020.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Studies
Tommaso Sitzia, Simone Iacopino, Edoardo Alterio, Francesco Comiti, Nicola Surian, Luca Mao, Mario Aristide Lenzi, Thomas Campagnaro, Lorenzo Picco
Summary: In this article, the authors discuss the relationship between riverine geomorphological patterns and plant community structures under different intensities of human disturbance. Their research conducted along three major gravel-bed rivers in the Italian Alps demonstrates that the variance in woody species can be explained by geomorphology and the intensity of human disturbance. They also propose an interpretation key and adaptation of the intermediate disturbance hypothesis.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Kristian Bell, Tim S. Doherty, Tricia Wevill, Don A. Driscoll
Summary: Maintaining ecosystem processes within patches of remnant vegetation is critical for minimizing biodiversity loss. In agricultural landscapes, foundation plant species that interact with multiple other species are a conservation priority. A study in Australia showed that reintroducing controlled burns and removing competitors can restore a foundation plant species in degraded agricultural areas.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kaire Torn, Georg Martin, Tiina Paalme, Greta Reisalu
Summary: Coastal regions, with significant ecological and socioeconomic values, are increasingly affected by marine litter. A manipulative field experiment investigated the impact of macro-sized marine litter on biomass and net primary production of hard and soft bottom communities. The experiment found that plastic bag cover had a rapid negative impact on vegetation biomass in soft-bottom communities, while the impact on hard-bottom vegetation was non-significant.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Eva Cacabelos, Ignacio Gestoso, Patricio Ramalhosa, Joao Canning-Clode
Summary: This study investigates the synergistic interactions between fragmentation and biological invasions using submerged experimental settlement panels. The results show that crustose coralline algae can suppress the recruitment of some non-indigenous species, while highly fragmented habitats may promote the colonization of invasive species.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jason D. Fridley, Insu Jo, Philip E. Hulme, Richard P. Duncan
Summary: Although both native range phylogenetic diversity (PD) and phylogenetic nearest neighbour distance (PNND) predict the invasiveness of naturalized plants in New Zealand, habitat-specific models indicate that only PD is consistent with an invasion mechanism based on competitive ability. Effects of PNND were greatest in grasslands that have been extensively modified by fire and grazing, suggesting they are more likely driven by invader pre-adaptation to modified habitat conditions. Due to the importance of matching species' traits to environmental context, invasiveness risk assessments perform better when applied to invaders of particular habitats.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
A. S. Medeiros, A. Williams, D. Milosevic
Summary: The study demonstrated the effectiveness of monitoring biological impairment in Arctic streams caused by human activities through analyzing benthic invertebrates. It showed that biomonitoring is applicable in Arctic environments and can provide a rapid and cost-effective means of assessing future environmental impact.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Review
Ecology
Aphrodite Kantsa, Consuelo M. De Moraes, Mark C. Mescher
Summary: Mediterranean-type ecosystems (MTEs) are found in five distinct global regions and include centers of agricultural production and hotspots of extratropical biodiversity. There has been considerable research on the persistence of diverse biological communities in MTEs, but important questions remain about the limits of ecological resilience in the face of accelerating environmental change.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
B. J. O. Robinson, D. K. A. Barnes, L. J. Grange, S. A. Morley
Summary: Climate-related disturbance regimes are rapidly changing, affecting ecosystems profoundly. The literature is divided on how disturbance influences biodiversity, with iceberg scouring playing a key role in maintaining high biodiversity in Antarctica's shallows.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Jared D. Figurski, Jan Freiwald, Steve I. Lonhart, Curt D. Storlazzi
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
(2016)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Chela J. Zabin, Michelle Marraffini, Steve I. Lonhart, Linda McCann, Lina Ceballos, Chad King, James Watanabe, John S. Pearse, Gregory M. Ruiz
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
O. Kennedy Rhoades, Steve I. Lonhart, John J. Stachowicz
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2018)
Article
Oceanography
Curt D. Storlazzi, Theresa A. Fregoso, Jared D. Figurski, Jan Freiwald, Steve I. Lonhart, David P. Finlayson
CONTINENTAL SHELF RESEARCH
(2013)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Amy F. Ritter, Kerstin Wasson, Steve I. Lonhart, Rikke K. Preisler, Andrea Woolfolk, Katie A. Griffith, Sarah Connors, Kimberly W. Heiman
ESTUARIES AND COASTS
(2008)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Jason S. Sadowski, Julie A. Gonzalez, Steve I. Lonhart, Rikke Jeppesen, Tracy M. Grimes, Edwin D. Grosholz
MARINE ECOLOGY-AN EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE
(2018)
Article
Biology
O. Kennedy Rhoades, Steve Lonhart, John J. Stachowicz
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2019)
Article
Ecology
Devona C. Yates, Steve Lonhart, Scott L. Hamilton
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
(2020)
Article
Biology
S. L. Hamilton, V. R. Saccomanno, W. N. Heady, A. L. Gehman, S. Lonhart, R. Beas-Luna, F. T. Francis, L. Lee, L. Rogers-Bennett, A. K. Salomon, S. A. Gravem
Summary: The prevalence of disease-driven mass mortality events is increasing, with poorly resolved understanding of spatial variation in magnitude, timing, and triggers. A study on sea star wasting disease found that it affected the sunflower sea star more severely in the southern half of its range, leading to population declines and a lack of evidence for recovery. Temperature became more important in predicting the sea star distribution post-outbreak, indicating an interaction between disease severity and warmer waters in affecting outbreak severity.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Daniel P. Malone, Kathryn Davis, Steve I. Lonhart, Avrey Parsons-Field, Jennifer E. Caselle, Mark H. Carr
Summary: Kelp forests are highly productive ecosystems that provide a wide range of ecosystem services. Recognizing their importance, the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) conducted a large-scale, long-term monitoring study of kelp forest ecosystems along the coast of California and Oregon. By surveying the ecological community and geomorphological attributes annually, the study aimed to understand the spatial and temporal patterns of kelp forests and evaluate the contributions of biological and environmental variables. The data from this study have been used to inform fisheries management, design marine protected areas, and assess the ecological consequences of climate change.
Article
Ecology
Nick Tolimieri, Andrew O. Shelton, Jameal F. Samhouri, Chris J. Harvey, Blake E. Feist, Gregory D. Williams, Kelly S. Andrews, Kinsey E. Frick, Steve Lonhart, Genoa Sullaway, Owen Liu, Helen D. Berry, Jenny Waddell
Summary: This study investigated changes in kelp communities along the Olympic Coast of Washington State, USA. It found that anomalous warm-water events and sea star wasting syndrome caused a decrease in kelp abundance, but the kelp quickly recovered after 2015. The density of purple sea urchins increased significantly, but this increase was observed after the warm period. Sea stars did not recover from the syndrome. Spatial variation was found to play an important role in structuring changes in kelp forest communities associated with disturbances.
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
(2023)
Article
Ecology
D Zacherl, SD Gaines, SI Lonhart
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2003)