Compound climate events threaten tropical semi-enclosed marine ecosystems
Abstract
Anthropogenic ocean warming affects ecosystem functioning but is not necessarily the primary climate driver regulating tropical seas. Tropical semi-enclosed marine ecosystems are poorly understood, geographically distinct, and influenced by compounding impacts from global warming, cyclones, monsoons, freshwater influx, and massive sea-level and circulation variability. We unify climate risk understanding of these large-scale integrated ocean-atmosphere-biological systems, showing that compound climate events expose resident species to larger, prolonged fluctuations, causing reconfigured spatial patterns and lack of sustained hydrological connectivity. We attribute changes in species’ abundance in these systems to complex and cumulative combinations of extreme temperatures, exposure, turbidity, and hydrologic connections. We describe evidence of such climate-induced physical and biological regime shifts in tropical marine ecosystems in northern Australia and identify implications for other systems.
Article Details
Journal Info
Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Authors (12)
Éva E. Plagányi
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Environment, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Laura K. Blamey
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Environment, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Rob Kenyon
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Environment, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Stephanie Brodie
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Environment, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Roy Aijun Deng
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Environment, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Denham Parker
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Environment, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Richard D. Pillans
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Environment, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Nicole E. Murphy
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Environment, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Margaret Miller
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Environment, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Amelia A. Desbiens
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Environment, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Sean Pascoe
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Environment, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
André E. Punt
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Environment, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.