Keystone predators govern the pathway and pace of climate impacts in a subarctic marine ecosystem
Predator loss and climate change are hallmarks of the Anthropocene yet their interactive effects are largely unknown. Here, we show that massive calcareous reefs, built slowly by the alga Clathromorphum nereostratum over centuries to millennia, are now declining because of the emerging interplay bet...
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2020
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ftuglasgow:oai:eprints.gla.ac.uk:224194 2023-05-15T18:28:20+02:00 Keystone predators govern the pathway and pace of climate impacts in a subarctic marine ecosystem Rasher, Douglas B. Steneck, Robert S. Halfar, Jochen Kroeker, Kristy J. Ries, Justin B. Tinker, M. Tim Chan, Phoebe T.W. Fietzke, Jan Kamenos, Nicholas A. Konar, Brenda H. Lefcheck, Jonathan S. Norley, Christopher J.D. Weitzman, Benjamin P. Westfield, Isaac T. Estes, James A. 2020-09-11 http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/224194/ unknown American Association for the Advancement of Science Rasher, D. B. et al. (2020) Keystone predators govern the pathway and pace of climate impacts in a subarctic marine ecosystem. Science <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/journal_volume/Science.html>, 369(6509), pp. 1351-1354. (doi:10.1126/science.aav7515 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aav7515>) (PMID:32913100) Articles PeerReviewed 2020 ftuglasgow https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aav7515 2020-12-03T23:09:39Z Predator loss and climate change are hallmarks of the Anthropocene yet their interactive effects are largely unknown. Here, we show that massive calcareous reefs, built slowly by the alga Clathromorphum nereostratum over centuries to millennia, are now declining because of the emerging interplay between these two processes. Such reefs, the structural base of Aleutian kelp forests, are rapidly eroding because of overgrazing by herbivores. Historical reconstructions and experiments reveal that overgrazing was initiated by the loss of sea otters, Enhydra lutris (which gave rise to herbivores capable of causing bioerosion), and then accelerated with ocean warming and acidification (which increased per capita lethal grazing by 34 to 60% compared with preindustrial times). Thus, keystone predators can mediate the ways in which climate effects emerge in nature and the pace with which they alter ecosystems. Article in Journal/Newspaper Subarctic University of Glasgow: Enlighten - Publications Science 369 6509 1351 1354 |
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University of Glasgow: Enlighten - Publications |
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Predator loss and climate change are hallmarks of the Anthropocene yet their interactive effects are largely unknown. Here, we show that massive calcareous reefs, built slowly by the alga Clathromorphum nereostratum over centuries to millennia, are now declining because of the emerging interplay between these two processes. Such reefs, the structural base of Aleutian kelp forests, are rapidly eroding because of overgrazing by herbivores. Historical reconstructions and experiments reveal that overgrazing was initiated by the loss of sea otters, Enhydra lutris (which gave rise to herbivores capable of causing bioerosion), and then accelerated with ocean warming and acidification (which increased per capita lethal grazing by 34 to 60% compared with preindustrial times). Thus, keystone predators can mediate the ways in which climate effects emerge in nature and the pace with which they alter ecosystems. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Rasher, Douglas B. Steneck, Robert S. Halfar, Jochen Kroeker, Kristy J. Ries, Justin B. Tinker, M. Tim Chan, Phoebe T.W. Fietzke, Jan Kamenos, Nicholas A. Konar, Brenda H. Lefcheck, Jonathan S. Norley, Christopher J.D. Weitzman, Benjamin P. Westfield, Isaac T. Estes, James A. |
spellingShingle |
Rasher, Douglas B. Steneck, Robert S. Halfar, Jochen Kroeker, Kristy J. Ries, Justin B. Tinker, M. Tim Chan, Phoebe T.W. Fietzke, Jan Kamenos, Nicholas A. Konar, Brenda H. Lefcheck, Jonathan S. Norley, Christopher J.D. Weitzman, Benjamin P. Westfield, Isaac T. Estes, James A. Keystone predators govern the pathway and pace of climate impacts in a subarctic marine ecosystem |
author_facet |
Rasher, Douglas B. Steneck, Robert S. Halfar, Jochen Kroeker, Kristy J. Ries, Justin B. Tinker, M. Tim Chan, Phoebe T.W. Fietzke, Jan Kamenos, Nicholas A. Konar, Brenda H. Lefcheck, Jonathan S. Norley, Christopher J.D. Weitzman, Benjamin P. Westfield, Isaac T. Estes, James A. |
author_sort |
Rasher, Douglas B. |
title |
Keystone predators govern the pathway and pace of climate impacts in a subarctic marine ecosystem |
title_short |
Keystone predators govern the pathway and pace of climate impacts in a subarctic marine ecosystem |
title_full |
Keystone predators govern the pathway and pace of climate impacts in a subarctic marine ecosystem |
title_fullStr |
Keystone predators govern the pathway and pace of climate impacts in a subarctic marine ecosystem |
title_full_unstemmed |
Keystone predators govern the pathway and pace of climate impacts in a subarctic marine ecosystem |
title_sort |
keystone predators govern the pathway and pace of climate impacts in a subarctic marine ecosystem |
publisher |
American Association for the Advancement of Science |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/224194/ |
genre |
Subarctic |
genre_facet |
Subarctic |
op_relation |
Rasher, D. B. et al. (2020) Keystone predators govern the pathway and pace of climate impacts in a subarctic marine ecosystem. Science <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/journal_volume/Science.html>, 369(6509), pp. 1351-1354. (doi:10.1126/science.aav7515 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aav7515>) (PMID:32913100) |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aav7515 |
container_title |
Science |
container_volume |
369 |
container_issue |
6509 |
container_start_page |
1351 |
op_container_end_page |
1354 |
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1766210762145005568 |