Department of Life Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, SY23 3DA, UK; The Dove Marine Laboratory, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK; Institute of Marine Research, 4817 His, Norway.
The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, PL1 2PB, UK.
Mar Environ Res. 2024 Sep;200:106652. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106652. Epub 2024 Jul 20.
Kelp species function as important foundation organisms in coastal marine ecosystems where they provide biogenic habitat and ameliorate environmental conditions, often facilitating the development of diverse understorey assemblages. The structure of kelp forests is influenced by a variety of environmental factors, changes in which can result in profound shifts in ecological structure and functioning. Intense storm-induced wave action in particular, can severely impact kelp forest ecosystems. Given that storms are anticipated to increase in frequency and intensity in response to anthropogenic climate change, it is critical to understand their potential impacts on kelp forest ecosystems. During the 2021/22 northeast Atlantic storm season, the United Kingdom (UK) was subject to several intense storms, of which the first and most severe was Storm Arwen. Due to the unusual northerly wind direction, the greatest impacts of Storm Arwen were felt along the northeast coast of the UK where wind gusts exceeded 90 km/h, and inshore significant wave heights of 7.2 m and wave periods of 9.3 s were recorded. Here, we investigated temporal and spatial variation in the structure of L. hyperborea forests and associated understorey assemblages along the northeast coast of the UK over the 2021/22 storm season. We found significant changes in the cover, density, length, biomass, and age structure of L. hyperborea populations and the composition of understorey assemblages following the storm season, particularly at our most north facing site. We suggest continuous monitoring of these systems to further our understanding of temporal variation and potential recovery trajectories, alongside enhanced management to promote resilience to future perturbations.
巨藻物种是沿海海洋生态系统中的重要基础生物，它们提供生物栖息地并改善环境条件，通常促进了多种林下生物组合的发展。巨藻林的结构受到多种环境因素的影响，这些因素的变化会导致生态结构和功能发生深刻变化。特别是强烈的风暴引起的波动作用，会严重影响巨藻林生态系统。由于预计随着人为气候变化，风暴的频率和强度会增加，因此了解它们对巨藻林生态系统的潜在影响至关重要。在 2021/22 年东北大西洋风暴季节期间，英国经历了几次强烈风暴，其中第一次也是最严重的一次是风暴“Arwen”。由于异常的北风方向，英国东北海岸感受到了风暴“Arwen”的最大影响，那里的阵风超过 90 公里/小时，近岸记录到 7.2 米的显著波高和 9.3 秒的波周期。在这里，我们调查了 2021/22 年风暴季节期间英国东北海岸的 L. hyperborea 森林及其相关林下生物组合的结构的时空变化。我们发现，在风暴季节之后，L. hyperborea 种群的覆盖度、密度、长度、生物量和年龄结构以及林下生物组合的组成发生了显著变化，特别是在我们最北的地点。我们建议对这些系统进行持续监测，以进一步了解时间变化和潜在的恢复轨迹，并加强管理，以提高对未来干扰的恢复力。
