EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON GLOBAL SEAWEED COMMUNITIES

2012/08/03 by Christopher D. G. Harley, Kathryn M. Anderson, Kyle Demes +6 · 703 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Adaptation (eye) #Biology #Climate change #Coral reef #Ecology #Ecosystem #Global change #Habitat #Herbivore #Kelp #Kelp forest #Marine Biology and Ecology Research #Marine and coastal plant biology #Marine ecosystem #Ocean Acidification Effects and Responses #Primary producers #Psychological resilience

paper · doi:10.1111/j.1529-8817.2012.01224.x

published in Journal of Phycology 48(5), 1064-1078 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2012/08/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Seaweeds are ecologically important primary producers, competitors, and ecosystem engineers that play a central role in coastal habitats ranging from kelp forests to coral reefs. Although seaweeds are known to be vulnerable to physical and chemical changes in the marine environment, the impacts of ongoing and future anthropogenic climate change in seaweed-dominated ecosystems remain poorly understood. In this review, we describe the ways in which changes in the environment directly affect seaweeds in terms of their physiology, growth, reproduction, and survival. We consider the extent to which seaweed species may be able to respond to these changes via adaptation or migration. We also examine the extensive reshuffling of communities that is occurring as the ecological balance between competing species changes, and as top-down control by herbivores becomes stronger or weaker. Finally, we delve into some of the ecosystem-level responses to these changes, including changes in primary productivity, diversity, and resilience. Although there are several key areas in which ecological insight is lacking, we suggest that reasonable climate-related hypotheses can be developed and tested based on current information. By strategically prioritizing research in the areas of complex environmental variation, multiple stressor effects, evolutionary adaptation, and population, community, and ecosystem-level responses, we can rapidly build upon our current understanding of seaweed biology and climate change ecology to more effectively conserve and manage coastal ecosystems.

Citations

• MOSAIC PATTERNS OF THERMAL STRESS IN THE ROCKY INTERTIDAL ZONE: IMPLICATIONS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

Cited by

• Prospects and challenges for industrial production of seaweed bioactives
• Temperature acclimation and heat tolerance of photosynthesis in Norwegian Saccharina latissima (Laminariales, Phaeophyceae)
• Abiotic stress destabilizes the bacterial community of sugar kelp, Saccharina latissima (Phaeophyceae)
• First mesophotic Ecklonia radiata (Laminariales) records within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park marine-protected area, east coast, South Africa
• Juvenile life stages of the brown alga Fucus serratus L. are more sensitive to combined stress from high copper concentration and temperature than adults
• Long-term surveys reveal abrupt canopy loss with immediate changes in diversity and functional traits
• What if the upwelling weakens? Effects of rising temperature and nutrient depletion on coastal assemblages
• Nutritional quality of giant kelp declines due to warming ocean temperatures
• Unexpected nutrient influence on the thermal ecophysiology of seaweeds that recently followed opposite abundance shifts
• Significant changes in seaweed community structure revealed by a nationwide long‐term monitoring survey in Japan ‘ Monitoring‐Site 1000 ’ over the past 15 years (2008–2022)
• Monthly macroalgal surveys reveal a diverse and dynamic community in an urban intertidal zone
• The rise of Laminaria ochroleuca in the Western English Channel (UK) and comparisons with its competitor and assemblage dominant Laminaria hyperborea
• It's time to broaden what we consider a ‘blue carbon ecosystem’
• An update on the seaweed resources of Japan
• Long-term decline of the canopy-forming algae Gelidium corneum, associated to extreme wave events and reduced sunlight hours, in the southeastern Bay of Biscay
• Status and Trends for the World’s Kelp Forests
• Seaweed production: overview of the global state of exploitation, farming and emerging research activity
• Can Seaweed Farming Play a Role in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation?
• Projecting the impacts of rising seawater temperatures on the distribution of seaweeds around Japan under multiple climate change scenarios
• Developments in production technology of Kappaphycus in the Philippines: more than four decades of farming
• The other ocean acidification problem: CO2 as a resource among competitors for ecosystem dominance. [europepmc]
• Contrasting effects of ocean acidification on tropical fleshy and calcareous algae. [europepmc]
• The tropicalization of temperate marine ecosystems: climate-mediated changes in herbivory and community phase shifts. [europepmc]
• Seaweeds: an opportunity for wealth and sustainable livelihood for coastal communities. [europepmc]
• Effects of ocean acidification on temperate coastal marine ecosystems and fisheries in the northeast Pacific. [europepmc]
• Effects of Ocean Acidification and Temperature Increases on the Photosynthesis of Tropical Reef Calcified Macroalgae. [europepmc]
• Ocean Acidification Accelerates the Growth of Two Bloom-Forming Macroalgae. [europepmc]
• Physiological and Biochemical Analyses Shed Light on the Response of Sargassum vulgare to Ocean Acidification at Different Time Scales. [europepmc]
• Ocean acidification as a driver of community simplification via the collapse of higher-order and rise of lower-order consumers. [europepmc]
• Elevated temperature drives kelp microbiome dysbiosis, while elevated carbon dioxide induces water microbiome disruption. [europepmc]
• Acidification increases abundances of Vibrionales and Planctomycetia associated to a seaweed-grazer system: potential consequences for disease and prey digestion efficiency. [europepmc]
• Sudden collapse of a mesopredator reveals its complementary role in mediating rocky reef regime shifts. [europepmc]
• Seaweed assemblages under a climate change scenario: Functional responses to temperature of eight intertidal seaweeds match recent abundance shifts. [europepmc]
• Copper pollution exacerbates the effects of ocean acidification and warming on kelp microscopic early life stages. [europepmc]
• Effects of Rising Temperature on the Growth, Stoichiometry, and Palatability of Aquatic Plants. [europepmc]
• Future climate change is predicted to affect the microbiome and condition of habitat-forming kelp. [europepmc]
• Ecological feedbacks stabilize a turf-dominated ecosystem at the southern extent of kelp forests in the Northwest Atlantic. [europepmc]
• Current Trends on Seaweeds: Looking at Chemical Composition, Phytopharmacology, and Cosmetic Applications. [europepmc]
• Health Functionality and Quality Control of Laver ( Porphyra , Pyropia ): Current Issues and Future Perspectives as an Edible Seaweed. [europepmc]
• Macroalgal germplasm banking for conservation, food security, and industry. [europepmc]
• Nitrogen sufficiency enhances thermal tolerance in habitat-forming kelp: implications for acclimation under thermal stress. [europepmc]
• Ecological and Industrial Implications of Dynamic Seaweed-Associated Microbiota Interactions. [europepmc]
• Seaweed-Derived Polysaccharides Attenuate Heat Stress-Induced Splenic Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Response via Regulating Nrf2 and NF-κB Signaling Pathways. [europepmc]
• Projecting kelp (Ecklonia radiata) gametophyte thermal adaptation and persistence under climate change. [europepmc]
• The sugar kelp Saccharina latissima I: recent advances in a changing climate. [europepmc]

Related

• Antagonistic Effects of Light Pollution and Warming on Habitat‐Forming Seaweeds
• Even moderate nutrient enrichment negatively adds up to global climate change effects on a habitat-forming seaweed system
• Distribution models predict large contractions of habitat‐forming seaweeds in response to ocean warming
• Large‐scale deviations between realized and fundamental thermal niches in global seaweed distributions
• Can Seaweed Farming Play a Role in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation?