Disentangling the impacts of heat wave magnitude, duration and timing on the structure and diversity of sessile marine assemblages.

ABSTRACT: Extreme climatic events, including heat waves (HWs) and severe storms, influence the structure of marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Despite growing consensus that anthropogenic climate change will increase the frequency, duration and magnitude of extreme events, current understanding of their impact on communities and ecosystems is limited. Here, we used sessile invertebrates on settlement panels as model assemblages to examine the influence of HW magnitude, duration and timing on marine biodiversity patterns. Settlement panels were deployed in a marina in southwest UK for ≥5 weeks, to allow sufficient time for colonisation and development of sessile fauna, before being subjected to simulated HWs in a mesocosm facility. Replicate panel assemblages were held at ambient sea temperature (∼17

SUBMITTER: Smale DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4380158 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature