Natural and anthropogenic climate variability shape assemblages of range‐extending coral‐reef fishes

Type Article
Date 2021-05
Language English
Author(s) Monaco CristianORCID1, 2, Booth David J3, Figuera Will F4, Gillanders Bronwyn M.1, Schoeman David S.5, 6, Bradshaw Corey J.A.7, Nagelkerken Ivan1
Affiliation(s) 1 : Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences and The Environment Institute, The University of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
2 : IFREMER, Institut Louis-Malardé, IRD, Univ Polynésie française, EIO, Taravao Tahiti, Polynésie française, France
3 : School of the Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, Australia
4 : School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia
5 : Global-Change Ecology Research Group, School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, Australia
6 : Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Department of Zoology, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, Australia
7 : Global Ecology, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia
Source Journal Of Biogeography (0305-0270) (Wiley / Blackwell), 2021-05 , Vol. 48 , N. 5 , P. 1063-1075
DOI 10.1111/jbi.14058
WOS© Times Cited 6
Keyword(s) climate change, coral reefs, ENSO, global warming, marine fishes, range shifts, species distribution, temperate ecosystems, transient community dynamics, vagrants
Abstract

Aim

Climate change is redistributing species globally, resulting in altered community structures and ecosystem functioning. The current paradigm is that species should track temperature isoclines along latitudinal and depth gradients to remain within their thermal niches. However, the many exceptions to this rule point to complex ecological and environmental processes often overlooked in statistical models predicting species redistributions. We tested the contributions of natural versus anthropogenic climate change to the long‐term spatio‐temporal dynamics of assemblages of range‐shifting tropical fishes at the leading edge of redistribution fronts.

Location

East coast of Australia.

Taxon

Tropical coral‐reef fishes.

Methods

We analysed 16 years (2003–2018) of tropical species occurrences at two temperate locations using traditional diversity metrics (richness, accumulation curves and β‐diversity). We also quantified the role of primary environmental covariates and estimated species associations using joint species distribution models.

Results

We reveal that tropical species richness has increased in this temperate ecosystem over time. Furthermore, we show that the richness of tropical vagrant species increased with the sea‐surface temperature experienced by both local vagrants and their putative source populations at the southern Great Barrier Reef, which accounted for 23.1% and 22.1% of the explained variance, respectively. We also detected a signal from El Niño‐Southern Oscillation, as species turnover and richness peaked during the strong La Niña event of 2010–2011.

Main conclusions

While the increases in ocean temperature and strength of the surface ocean current due to anthropogenic climate change are gradually favouring the poleward redistribution of tropical species, natural climatic oscillations can have a strong additive effect by rapidly modifying the pool of incoming species and potentially disrupting local communities.

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How to cite 

Monaco Cristian, Booth David J, Figuera Will F, Gillanders Bronwyn M., Schoeman David S., Bradshaw Corey J.A., Nagelkerken Ivan (2021). Natural and anthropogenic climate variability shape assemblages of range‐extending coral‐reef fishes. Journal Of Biogeography, 48(5), 1063-1075. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14058 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00680/79161/