Continent-wide declines in shallow reef life over a decade of ocean warming

Graham J. Edgar (), Rick D. Stuart-Smith, Freddie J. Heather, Neville S. Barrett, Emre Turak, Hugh Sweatman, Michael J. Emslie, Danny J. Brock, Jamie Hicks, Ben French, Susan C. Baker, Steffan A. Howe, Alan Jordan, Nathan A. Knott, Peter Mooney, Antonia T. Cooper, Elizabeth S. Oh, German A. Soler, Camille Mellin, Scott D. Ling, Jillian C. Dunic, John W. Turnbull, Paul B. Day, Meryl F. Larkin, Yanir Seroussi, Jemina Stuart-Smith, Ella Clausius, Tom R. Davis, Joe Shields, Derek Shields, Olivia J. Johnson, Yann Herrera Fuchs, Lara Denis-Roy, Tyson Jones and Amanda E. Bates
Additional contact information
Graham J. Edgar: University of Tasmania
Rick D. Stuart-Smith: University of Tasmania
Freddie J. Heather: University of Tasmania
Neville S. Barrett: University of Tasmania
Emre Turak: University of Tasmania
Hugh Sweatman: Australian Institute of Marine Science
Michael J. Emslie: Australian Institute of Marine Science
Danny J. Brock: Marine Science Program, Department for Environment and Water
Jamie Hicks: Marine Science Program, Department for Environment and Water
Ben French: Conservation and Attractions
Susan C. Baker: University of Tasmania
Steffan A. Howe: Formely Parks Victoria
Alan Jordan: University of Tasmania
Nathan A. Knott: Port Stephens Fisheries Institute
Peter Mooney: Reef Life Survey Foundation
Antonia T. Cooper: University of Tasmania
Elizabeth S. Oh: University of Tasmania
German A. Soler: University of Tasmania
Camille Mellin: University of Adelaide
Scott D. Ling: University of Tasmania
Jillian C. Dunic: Simon Fraser University
John W. Turnbull: University of Sydney, SOLES
Paul B. Day: University of Tasmania
Meryl F. Larkin: Southern Cross University
Yanir Seroussi: Underwater Research Group of Queensland
Jemina Stuart-Smith: University of Tasmania
Ella Clausius: University of Tasmania
Tom R. Davis: Fisheries Research, NSW Department of Primary Industries
Joe Shields: Reef Life Survey Foundation
Derek Shields: Reef Life Survey Foundation
Olivia J. Johnson: University of Tasmania
Yann Herrera Fuchs: University of Tasmania
Lara Denis-Roy: University of Tasmania
Tyson Jones: University of Tasmania
Amanda E. Bates: University of Victoria

Nature, 2023, vol. 615, issue 7954, 858-865

Abstract: Abstract Human society is dependent on nature1,2, but whether our ecological foundations are at risk remains unknown in the absence of systematic monitoring of species’ populations3. Knowledge of species fluctuations is particularly inadequate in the marine realm4. Here we assess the population trends of 1,057 common shallow reef species from multiple phyla at 1,636 sites around Australia over the past decade. Most populations decreased over this period, including many tropical fishes, temperate invertebrates (particularly echinoderms) and southwestern Australian macroalgae, whereas coral populations remained relatively stable. Population declines typically followed heatwave years, when local water temperatures were more than 0.5 °C above temperatures in 2008. Following heatwaves5,6, species abundances generally tended to decline near warm range edges, and increase near cool range edges. More than 30% of shallow invertebrate species in cool latitudes exhibited high extinction risk, with rapidly declining populations trapped by deep ocean barriers, preventing poleward retreat as temperatures rise. Greater conservation effort is needed to safeguard temperate marine ecosystems, which are disproportionately threatened and include species with deep evolutionary roots. Fundamental among such efforts, and broader societal needs to efficiently adapt to interacting anthropogenic and natural pressures, is greatly expanded monitoring of species’ population trends7,8.

Date: 2023
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05833-y Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:615:y:2023:i:7954:d:10.1038_s41586-023-05833-y

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05833-y

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().