Preview

PDF (Abstract for oral paper) Not available 48Kb

As marine ecosystems face global climate-driven ocean changes, polewards re-distributions of species - or range shifts – occur across taxa and latitudes worldwide. Research on these range shifts largely focuses on understanding and predicting changes in the distribution of individual species. The ecological effects of marine range shifts on ecosystem structure and functioning, as well as human coastal communities, can be large, yet remain difficult to anticipate and manage. Here, we use qualitative modelling of system feedback to understand the cumulative impacts of multiple species shifts in southeastern Australia, a global hotspot for ocean warming. We identify range-shifting species, or ‘range-shifters’, that can induce trophic cascades and affect ecosystem dynamics and productivity, and evaluate the potential effectiveness of alternative management interventions to mitigate these impacts. Our results show that, (i) multiple simultaneous range shifts amplify each other’s negative ecological impacts and (ii) implementing a whole-of-ecosystem management strategy and combining a suite of management interventions, is necessary to effectively prevent undesirable consequences of marine range shifts at the regional scale. Our study illustrates how modelling system feedback with only limited qualitative information about ecosystem structure and range-shifting species can predict ecological consequences of multiple co-­‐occurring range shifts, guide ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change, and help prioritise future research and monitoring.

Item Type:	Conference Extract
Keywords:	qualitative network model, loop analysis, marine ecosystem modelling, ecological impacts of range shifts, climate-driven marine range shifts, Tasmania, temperate rocky reef, kelp beds, range extension, range contraction, ecosystem-based management
Research Division:	Environmental Sciences
Research Group:	Ecological Applications
Research Field:	Ecosystem Function
Objective Division:	Environment
Objective Group:	Ecosystem Assessment and Management
Objective Field:	Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Marine Environments
UTAS Author:	Marzloff, MP (Dr Martin Marzloff)
UTAS Author:	Melbourne-Thomas, J (Dr Jessica Melbourne-Thomas)
UTAS Author:	Hoshino, E (Dr Eriko Hoshino)
UTAS Author:	Jennings, S (Dr Sarah Jennings)
UTAS Author:	van Putten, I (Dr Ingrid Van Putten)
UTAS Author:	Pecl, GT (Professor Gretta Pecl)
ID Code:	107670
Year Published:	2016
Deposited By:	IMAS Research and Education Centre
Deposited On:	2016-03-22
Last Modified:	2017-11-03
Downloads:	0