Persistent differences between coastal and offshore kelp forest communities in a warming Gulf of Maine.
Kelp forests provide important ecosystem services, yet coastal kelp communities are increasingly altered by anthropogenic impacts. Kelp forests in remote, offshore locations may provide an informative contrast due to reduced impacts from local stressors. We tested the hypothesis that shallow kelp as...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:1ca26c64a09a43b58d15839106bf390a 2023-05-15T16:19:22+02:00 Persistent differences between coastal and offshore kelp forest communities in a warming Gulf of Maine. Jon D Witman Robert W Lamb 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189388 https://doaj.org/article/1ca26c64a09a43b58d15839106bf390a EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5751975?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0189388 https://doaj.org/article/1ca26c64a09a43b58d15839106bf390a PLoS ONE, Vol 13, Iss 1, p e0189388 (2018) Medicine R Science Q article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189388 2022-12-31T05:15:57Z Kelp forests provide important ecosystem services, yet coastal kelp communities are increasingly altered by anthropogenic impacts. Kelp forests in remote, offshore locations may provide an informative contrast due to reduced impacts from local stressors. We tested the hypothesis that shallow kelp assemblages (12-15 m depth) and associated fish and benthic communities in the coastal southwest Gulf of Maine (GOM) differed significantly from sites on Cashes Ledge, 145 km offshore by sampling five coastal and three offshore sites at 43.0 +/- 0.07° N latitude. Offshore sites on Cashes Ledge supported the greatest density (47.8 plants m2) and standing crop biomass (5.5 kg m2 fresh weight) of the foundation species Saccharina latissima kelp at this depth in the Western North Atlantic. Offshore densities of S. latissima were over 150 times greater than at coastal sites, with similar but lower magnitude trends for congeneric S. digitata. Despite these differences, S. latissima underwent a significant 36.2% decrease between 1987 and 2015 on Cashes Ledge, concurrent with a rapid warming of the GOM and invasion by the kelp-encrusting bryozoan Membranipora membranacea. In contrast to kelp, the invasive red alga Dasysiphonia japonica was significantly more abundant at coastal sites, suggesting light or dispersal limitation offshore. Spatial differences in fish abundance mirrored those of kelp, as the average biomass of all fish on Cashes Ledge was 305 times greater than at the coastal sites. Remote video censuses of cod (Gadus morhua), cunner (Tautaogolabrus adspersus), and pollock (Pollachius virens) corroborated these findings. Understory benthic communities also differed between regions, with greater abundance of sessile invertebrates offshore. Populations of kelp-consuming sea urchins Stronglyocentrotus droebachiensis, were virtually absent from Cashes Ledge while small urchins were abundant onshore, suggesting recruitment limitation offshore. Despite widespread warming of the GOM since 1987, extraordinary spatial ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Gadus morhua North Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles PLOS ONE 13 1 e0189388 |
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Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q Jon D Witman Robert W Lamb Persistent differences between coastal and offshore kelp forest communities in a warming Gulf of Maine. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Kelp forests provide important ecosystem services, yet coastal kelp communities are increasingly altered by anthropogenic impacts. Kelp forests in remote, offshore locations may provide an informative contrast due to reduced impacts from local stressors. We tested the hypothesis that shallow kelp assemblages (12-15 m depth) and associated fish and benthic communities in the coastal southwest Gulf of Maine (GOM) differed significantly from sites on Cashes Ledge, 145 km offshore by sampling five coastal and three offshore sites at 43.0 +/- 0.07° N latitude. Offshore sites on Cashes Ledge supported the greatest density (47.8 plants m2) and standing crop biomass (5.5 kg m2 fresh weight) of the foundation species Saccharina latissima kelp at this depth in the Western North Atlantic. Offshore densities of S. latissima were over 150 times greater than at coastal sites, with similar but lower magnitude trends for congeneric S. digitata. Despite these differences, S. latissima underwent a significant 36.2% decrease between 1987 and 2015 on Cashes Ledge, concurrent with a rapid warming of the GOM and invasion by the kelp-encrusting bryozoan Membranipora membranacea. In contrast to kelp, the invasive red alga Dasysiphonia japonica was significantly more abundant at coastal sites, suggesting light or dispersal limitation offshore. Spatial differences in fish abundance mirrored those of kelp, as the average biomass of all fish on Cashes Ledge was 305 times greater than at the coastal sites. Remote video censuses of cod (Gadus morhua), cunner (Tautaogolabrus adspersus), and pollock (Pollachius virens) corroborated these findings. Understory benthic communities also differed between regions, with greater abundance of sessile invertebrates offshore. Populations of kelp-consuming sea urchins Stronglyocentrotus droebachiensis, were virtually absent from Cashes Ledge while small urchins were abundant onshore, suggesting recruitment limitation offshore. Despite widespread warming of the GOM since 1987, extraordinary spatial ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jon D Witman Robert W Lamb |
author_facet |
Jon D Witman Robert W Lamb |
author_sort |
Jon D Witman |
title |
Persistent differences between coastal and offshore kelp forest communities in a warming Gulf of Maine. |
title_short |
Persistent differences between coastal and offshore kelp forest communities in a warming Gulf of Maine. |
title_full |
Persistent differences between coastal and offshore kelp forest communities in a warming Gulf of Maine. |
title_fullStr |
Persistent differences between coastal and offshore kelp forest communities in a warming Gulf of Maine. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Persistent differences between coastal and offshore kelp forest communities in a warming Gulf of Maine. |
title_sort |
persistent differences between coastal and offshore kelp forest communities in a warming gulf of maine. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189388 https://doaj.org/article/1ca26c64a09a43b58d15839106bf390a |
genre |
Gadus morhua North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Gadus morhua North Atlantic |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 13, Iss 1, p e0189388 (2018) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5751975?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0189388 https://doaj.org/article/1ca26c64a09a43b58d15839106bf390a |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189388 |
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PLOS ONE |
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13 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
e0189388 |
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