Depth moderates loss of marine foundation species after an extreme marine heatwave: could deep temperate reefs act as a refuge?

ABSTRACT: Marine heatwaves (MHWs) have been documented around the world, causing widespread mortality of numerous benthic species on shallow reefs (less than 15 m depth). Deeper habitats are hypothesized to be a potential refuge from environmental extremes, though we have little understanding of the response of deeper benthic communities to MHWs. Here, we show how increasing depth moderates the response of seaweed- and coral-dominated benthic communities to an extreme MHW across a subtropical-temperate biogeographical transition zone. Benthic community composition and key habitat-building species were characterized across three depths (15, 25 and 40 m) before and several times after the 2011 Western Australian MHW to assess resistance during and recovery after the heatwave. We found high natural var

SUBMITTER: Giraldo-Ospina A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7341917 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature