Examining the ecological consequences of climate-driven shifts in the structure of NE Atlantic kelp forests

Project Rationale:
Kelps are foundation species in temperate coastal waters and have elevated importance in the maintenance of ecosystem structure and functioning1. Kelp forests provide a range of ecosystem goods and services (e.g. habitat for exploited finfish and shellfish, carbon capture and export, nutrient cycling, coastal defense), and improved understanding of the wider effects of environmental change on these habitats is vital to inform management and conservation actions. The structure of kelp forests in the NE Atlantic is changing in response to climate change and other anthropogenic stressors, with potential implications for the functioning of coastal marine ecosystems2. Specifically, the distributions of several canopy-forming kelp species have responded to ocean warming, with cold water species exhibiting poleward range contractions (e.g. Alaria esculenta, Laminaria digitata) and ‘warm’ water or opportunistic species have seemingly increased in abundance (e.g. Sacchorhiza polyschides, Laminaria ochroleuca) in some regions. This project will provide a robust assessment of the degree of recent ecological change in kelp forest habitats by resurveying historical sites and it will enhance understanding of how changes in the identity and abundance of canopy-forming species may affect the overall ecological functioning of kelp forests (e.g. productivity, energy capture and export, biodiversity maintenance and resilience).


Methodology:
The project will be largely field-based, and will focus on a series of surveys and manipulative and observational experiments in low intertidal/shallow subtidal habitats. The project will first conduct a series of surveys at historical sites (originally surveyed in the 1950s-1990s) to examine the magnitude of climate-driven change in the structure of kelp forest habitats. Subsequently, the project will establish and maintain innovative field experiments whereby the relative abundance of warm and cool water kelp species are manipulated to examine the wider effects on entire kelp beds. The influence of kelp bed composition on biodiversity and productivity will be measured over time. The project will also measure year-round in situ productivity, detritus production and photosynthetic rates of warm and cool water species, and examine epifaunal assemblages associated with different kelp species. Finally, the project will examine the fate of kelp production by measuring the relative importance of direct grazing and detritus production in both ‘warm’ and ‘cool’ populations and species. Much of the work will be conducted in the mixed kelp beds in shallow subtidal sites near Plymouth, with some experiments being replicated across broader spatial scales to examine patterns and responses along a latitudinal temperature gradient. The surveys/experiments will generate population and community level data sets, which will be analysed with a suite of univariate and multivariate techniques.

Training:
The INSPIRE DTP programme provides comprehensive personal and professional development training alongside extensive opportunities for students to expand their multi-disciplinary outlook through interactions with a wide network of academic, research and industrial/policy partners. The student will be registered at the University of Southampton and hosted at the Marine Biological Association. Specific training will include: (i) field-based experimental skills in marine ecology, (ii) an understanding of experimental design, (iii) competence with univariate and multivariate data analysis techniques, (iv) an understanding of ecological patterns and processes in temperate subtidal ecosystems’ (v) experience of participating and running field expeditions. The student will also gain important research skills such as scientific writing and oral presentation by attending appropriate University and NERC sponsored courses.