Temporal trends of community and climate changes in the anthropocene: 21-year dynamics of four major functional groups in a rocky intertidal habitat along the Pacific coast of Japan

The influence of climate change on marine organism abundance has rarely been assessed (1) at the functional-group level; (2) simultaneously in major functional groups within the same ecosystem; (3) for >10 years; and (4) at metapopulation/community scales. A study simultaneously addressing th...

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Main Authors: Hiroki Sato, Ken Ishida, Takashi Noda
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-01-01
Series:Frontiers in Marine Science
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1477142/full
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author Hiroki Sato
Ken Ishida
Takashi Noda
author_facet Hiroki Sato
Ken Ishida
Takashi Noda
author_sort Hiroki Sato
collection DOAJ
description The influence of climate change on marine organism abundance has rarely been assessed (1) at the functional-group level; (2) simultaneously in major functional groups within the same ecosystem; (3) for >10 years; and (4) at metapopulation/community scales. A study simultaneously addressing these gaps would greatly enhance our understanding of the influence of climate change on marine ecosystems. Here, we analyzed 21 years of abundance data at the functional-group and species levels on a regional scale for four major functional groups (benthic algae, sessile animals, herbivorous benthos, and carnivorous benthos) in a rocky intertidal habitat along the northeastern Pacific coast of Japan. We aimed to examine the 21-year trends in regional abundance at both functional-group and species levels, plus their driving mechanisms and their dependence on species properties (thermal niche, calcification status, and vertical niche). Significant temporal trends in abundance were detected at functional-group levels for benthic algae (increasing) and herbivores and carnivores (both decreasing); they followed the temporal population trends of the dominant species. At species level, the metapopulation size of 12 of 31 species were increasing and 4 of those were decreasing, depending on the thermal niche and species calcification status. At both functional-group and species levels, temporal trends in abundance are caused by the direct or indirect influence of warming and ocean acidification. Comparing these results with community responses to marine heat waves in the same study area offered two implications: (1) long-term ecosystem changes associated with global warming will be unpredictable from the community response to marine heat waves, possibly owing to a lack of knowledge of the influence of calcifying status on species’ responses to climate change; and (2) thermal niches contribute greatly to predictions of the influence of warming on population size, regardless of the time scale.
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spelling doaj-art-d522efa7b91242138826d67d24b72b5e2025-01-14T05:10:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452025-01-011110.3389/fmars.2024.14771421477142Temporal trends of community and climate changes in the anthropocene: 21-year dynamics of four major functional groups in a rocky intertidal habitat along the Pacific coast of JapanHiroki Sato0Ken Ishida1Takashi Noda2Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, JapanMarine Biodiversity and Environmental Assessment Research Center, Research Institute for Global Change, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Yokosuka, JapanFaculty of Environment Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, JapanThe influence of climate change on marine organism abundance has rarely been assessed (1) at the functional-group level; (2) simultaneously in major functional groups within the same ecosystem; (3) for >10 years; and (4) at metapopulation/community scales. A study simultaneously addressing these gaps would greatly enhance our understanding of the influence of climate change on marine ecosystems. Here, we analyzed 21 years of abundance data at the functional-group and species levels on a regional scale for four major functional groups (benthic algae, sessile animals, herbivorous benthos, and carnivorous benthos) in a rocky intertidal habitat along the northeastern Pacific coast of Japan. We aimed to examine the 21-year trends in regional abundance at both functional-group and species levels, plus their driving mechanisms and their dependence on species properties (thermal niche, calcification status, and vertical niche). Significant temporal trends in abundance were detected at functional-group levels for benthic algae (increasing) and herbivores and carnivores (both decreasing); they followed the temporal population trends of the dominant species. At species level, the metapopulation size of 12 of 31 species were increasing and 4 of those were decreasing, depending on the thermal niche and species calcification status. At both functional-group and species levels, temporal trends in abundance are caused by the direct or indirect influence of warming and ocean acidification. Comparing these results with community responses to marine heat waves in the same study area offered two implications: (1) long-term ecosystem changes associated with global warming will be unpredictable from the community response to marine heat waves, possibly owing to a lack of knowledge of the influence of calcifying status on species’ responses to climate change; and (2) thermal niches contribute greatly to predictions of the influence of warming on population size, regardless of the time scale.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1477142/fullclimate changecommunity dynamicsabundancerocky intertidal shoretemporal trendfunctional group
spellingShingle Hiroki Sato
Ken Ishida
Takashi Noda
Temporal trends of community and climate changes in the anthropocene: 21-year dynamics of four major functional groups in a rocky intertidal habitat along the Pacific coast of Japan
Frontiers in Marine Science
climate change
community dynamics
abundance
rocky intertidal shore
temporal trend
functional group
title Temporal trends of community and climate changes in the anthropocene: 21-year dynamics of four major functional groups in a rocky intertidal habitat along the Pacific coast of Japan
title_full Temporal trends of community and climate changes in the anthropocene: 21-year dynamics of four major functional groups in a rocky intertidal habitat along the Pacific coast of Japan
title_fullStr Temporal trends of community and climate changes in the anthropocene: 21-year dynamics of four major functional groups in a rocky intertidal habitat along the Pacific coast of Japan
title_full_unstemmed Temporal trends of community and climate changes in the anthropocene: 21-year dynamics of four major functional groups in a rocky intertidal habitat along the Pacific coast of Japan
title_short Temporal trends of community and climate changes in the anthropocene: 21-year dynamics of four major functional groups in a rocky intertidal habitat along the Pacific coast of Japan
title_sort temporal trends of community and climate changes in the anthropocene 21 year dynamics of four major functional groups in a rocky intertidal habitat along the pacific coast of japan
topic climate change
community dynamics
abundance
rocky intertidal shore
temporal trend
functional group
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1477142/full
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AT kenishida temporaltrendsofcommunityandclimatechangesintheanthropocene21yeardynamicsoffourmajorfunctionalgroupsinarockyintertidalhabitatalongthepacificcoastofjapan
AT takashinoda temporaltrendsofcommunityandclimatechangesintheanthropocene21yeardynamicsoffourmajorfunctionalgroupsinarockyintertidalhabitatalongthepacificcoastofjapan