PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Understanding the resilience of temperate reefs to climate change requires exploring the recovery capacity of their habitat-forming species from recurrent marine heatwaves (MHWs). Here, we show that, in a Mediterranean highly enforced marine protected area established more than 40 years ago, habitat-forming octocoral populations that were first affected by a severe MHW in 2003 have not recovered after 15 years. Contrarily, they have followed collapse trajectories that have brought them to the brink of local ecological extinction. Since 2003, impacted populations of the red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata (Risso, 1826) and the red coral Corallium rubrum (Linnaeus, 1758) have followed different trends in terms of size structure, but a similar progressive reduction in density and biomass. Concurrently, recurrent MHWs were observed in the area during the 2003-2018 study period, which may have hindered populations recovery. The studied octocorals play a unique habitat-forming role in the coralligenous assemblages (i.e. reefs endemic to the Mediterranean Sea home to approximately 10% of its species). Therefore, our results underpin the great risk that recurrent MHWs pose for the long-term integrity and functioning of these emblematic temperate reefs.
摘要：
了解温带珊瑚礁对气候变化的抵抗力，需要探索其栖息地形成物种从经常性海洋热浪（MHW）中的恢复能力。这里,我们证明，在40多年前建立的地中海高度强制的海洋保护区，2003年首次受到严重MHW影响的形成栖息地的八珊瑚种群在15年后仍未恢复。相反，他们遵循崩溃的轨迹，将他们带到了当地生态灭绝的边缘。自2003年以来，受影响的红色gorgonianParamuriceaclavata（Risso，1826年)和红珊瑚红镓(Linnaeus，1758)在尺寸结构方面遵循了不同的趋势，但密度和生物量也有类似的逐渐减少。同时,在2003-2018年研究期间，该地区观察到反复发生MHW，这可能阻碍了人口的恢复。所研究的八珊瑚在珊瑚群（即地中海特有的珊瑚礁约占其物种的10％）中起着独特的栖息地形成作用。因此,我们的结果支持了反复发生的MHW对这些象征性温和珊瑚礁的长期完整性和功能构成的巨大风险.
