Environmental and human factors drive the subtropical marine forests of Gongolaria abies-marina to extinction

• Published in: Marine Environmental Research
• Main Authors: Martín-García, L. (Laura), Rancel-Rodríguez, N.M., Sangil, C., Reyes, J., Benito, B., Orellana, S., Sansón, M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Centro Oceanográfico de Canarias 2022
• Subjects: Algae; Gongolaria abies-marina; Sargassaceae; distribution model; temporal variability; drivers of decline; Multivariate analysis; geographically weighted regression; Canary Islands; fish; forests; research; visual inspection; weather forecasting; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10508/16175; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2022.105759

Large brown macroalgae are foundational threatened species in coastal ecosystems from the subtropical northeastern Atlantic, where they have exhibited a drastic decline in recent years. This study describes the potential habitat of Gongolaria abies-marina, its current distribution and conservation status, and the major drivers of population decline. The results show a strong reduction of more than 97% of G. abies-marina populations in the last thirty years and highlight the effects of drivers vary in terms of spatial heterogeneity. A decrease in the frequency of high waves and high human footprint are the principal factors accounting for the long-term decline in G. abies-marina populations. UV radiation and sea surface temperature have an important correlation only in certain locations. Both the methodology and the large amount of data analyzed in this study provide a valuable tool for the conservation and restoration of threatened macroalgae. En prensa 1,953