Long-term empirical evidence of ocean warming leading to tropicalization of fish communities, increased herbivory, and loss of kelp
- Journal:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Published:
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.1610725113
- Affiliations:
- 11
- Authors:
- 12
Research Highlight
Tropical herbivores are kelp invaders
© Santiago Urquijo/Moment/Getty
Tropical fish with a voracious appetite for kelp are staking claims in the warming waters of eastern Australia’s temperate coral reefs and stripping ecologically-important kelp forests.
A team, led by researchers from the University of New South Wales, studied video recordings taken at several kelp sites over a ten-year period, during which the water warmed by 0.6 degrees Celsius.
They saw increasing numbers of herbivorous species normally found in tropical and sub-tropical waters, such as rabbitfish, surgeonfish and drummer fish, with a corresponding erosion of the kelp forests. The researchers knew the influx of the tropical species was linked to the loss of kelp because they could see tell-tale bite marks on the fronds.
With kelp forests the “biological engine” that supports many marine ecosystems, the authors warned that climate-induced increases in herbivorous fish pose a significant new threat.
References
- PNAS 113, 13791–13796 (2016). doi: 10.1073/pnas.1610725113