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Coulon N, Elliott S, Teichert N, Auber A, McLean M, Barreau T, Feunteun E, Carpentier A. Northeast Atlantic elasmobranch community on the move: Functional reorganization in response to climate change. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17157. [PMID: 38273525 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
While spatial distribution shifts have been documented in many marine fishes under global change, the responses of elasmobranchs have rarely been studied, which may have led to an underestimation of their potential additional threats. Given their irreplaceable role in ecosystems and their high extinction risk, we used a 24-year time series (1997-2020) of scientific bottom trawl surveys to examine the effects of climate change on the spatial distribution of nine elasmobranch species within Northeast Atlantic waters. Using a hierarchical modeling of species communities, belonging to the joint species distribution models, we found that suitable habitats for four species increased on average by a factor of 1.6 and, for six species, shifted north-eastwards and/or to deeper waters over the past two decades. By integrating species traits, we showed changes in habitat suitability led to changes in the elasmobranchs trait composition. Moreover, communities shifted to deeper waters and their mean trophic level decreased. We also note an increase in the mean community size at maturity concurrent with a decrease in fecundity. Because skates and sharks are functionally unique and dangerously vulnerable to both climate change and fishing, we advocate for urgent considerations of species traits in management measures. Their use would make it better to identify species whose loss could have irreversible impacts in face of the myriad of anthropogenic threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noémie Coulon
- Laboratoire de Biologie des Organismes et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques (BOREA), MNHN, CNRS, IRD, SU, UCN, UA, Dinard, France
| | - Sophie Elliott
- Salmon & Trout Research Centre, Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, Wareham, UK
| | - Nils Teichert
- Laboratoire de Biologie des Organismes et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques (BOREA), MNHN, CNRS, IRD, SU, UCN, UA, Dinard, France
| | - Arnaud Auber
- Unité Halieutique Manche Mer du Nord, Laboratoire Ressources Halieutiques, IFREMER, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France
| | - Matthew McLean
- Department of Biology and Marine Biology, Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina, USA
| | - Thomas Barreau
- Service des Stations Marine, Station Marine de Dinard, Dinard, France
| | - Eric Feunteun
- Laboratoire de Biologie des Organismes et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques (BOREA), MNHN, CNRS, IRD, SU, UCN, UA, Dinard, France
| | - Alexandre Carpentier
- Laboratoire de Biologie des Organismes et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques (BOREA), MNHN, CNRS, IRD, SU, UCN, UA, Campus de Beaulieu, Université de Rennes, Rennes, France
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Santangeli A, Weigel B, Antão LH, Kaarlejärvi E, Hällfors M, Lehikoinen A, Lindén A, Salemaa M, Tonteri T, Merilä P, Vuorio K, Ovaskainen O, Vanhatalo J, Roslin T, Saastamoinen M. Mixed effects of a national protected area network on terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5426. [PMID: 37704608 PMCID: PMC10499833 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41073-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Protected areas are considered fundamental to counter biodiversity loss. However, evidence for their effectiveness in averting local extinctions remains scarce and taxonomically biased. We employ a robust counterfactual multi-taxon approach to compare occupancy patterns of 638 species, including birds (150), mammals (23), plants (39) and phytoplankton (426) between protected and unprotected sites across four decades in Finland. We find mixed impacts of protected areas, with only a small proportion of species explicitly benefiting from protection-mainly through slower rates of decline inside protected areas. The benefits of protection are enhanced for larger protected areas and are traceable to when the sites were protected, but are mostly unrelated to species conservation status or traits (size, climatic niche and threat status). Our results suggest that the current protected area network can partly contribute to slow down declines in occupancy rates, but alone will not suffice to halt the biodiversity crisis. Efforts aimed at improving coverage, connectivity and management will be key to enhance the effectiveness of protected areas towards bending the curve of biodiversity loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Santangeli
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
- Animal Demography and Ecology Unit, Institute for Mediterranean Studies (IMEDEA), CSIC-UIB, 07190, Esporles, Spain.
| | - Benjamin Weigel
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- INRAE, EABX, Cestas, France
| | - Laura H Antão
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Elina Kaarlejärvi
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Maria Hällfors
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Nature Solutions Unit, Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Helsinki, Finland
| | - Aleksi Lehikoinen
- Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Maija Salemaa
- Natural Resources Institute (LUKE), Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tiina Tonteri
- Natural Resources Institute (LUKE), Helsinki, Finland
| | - Päivi Merilä
- Natural Resources Institute (LUKE), Helsinki, Finland
| | - Kristiina Vuorio
- Nature Solutions Unit, Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Helsinki, Finland
| | - Otso Ovaskainen
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35 (Survontie 9C), FI-40014, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Jarno Vanhatalo
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tomas Roslin
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Spatial Foodweb Ecology Group, Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Spatial Foodweb Ecology Group, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Marjo Saastamoinen
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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