https://ogma.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Index ${session.getAttribute("locale")} 5 Mismatch between marine plankton range movements and the velocity of climate change https://ogma.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:30645 148,000 samples to reveal huge differences in range changes associated with climate change across 35 plankton taxa. While the range of dinoflagellates and copepods tended to closely track the velocity of climate change (the rate of isotherm movement), the range of the diatoms moved much more slowly. Differences in range shifts were up to 900 km in a recent warming period, with average velocities of range movement between 7 km per decade northwards for taxa exhibiting niche plasticity and 99 km per decade for taxa exhibiting niche conservatism. The differing responses of taxa to global warming will cause spatial restructuring of the plankton ecosystem with likely consequences for grazing pressures on phytoplankton and hence for biogeochemical cycling, higher trophic levels and biodiversity.]]> Wed 11 Apr 2018 11:01:43 AEST ]]> Impact of marine heatwaves for sea turtle nest temperatures https://ogma.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:39071 Wed 04 May 2022 15:09:24 AEST ]]> Reconstructing past thermal conditions in beach microclimates https://ogma.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:44316 Tue 11 Oct 2022 16:19:25 AEDT ]]> Rare long-distance dispersal of a marine angiosperm across the Pacific Ocean https://ogma.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:37466 Heterozostera nigricaulis, a common Australian species, across the Pacific Ocean to colonize South America. Location: Coastal Chile, Australia and the Pacific Ocean. Methods: Genetic analyses of H. nigricaulis collected from Chile and Australia were used to assess the relationship between the populations and levels of clonality. Ocean surface current models were used to predict the probability of propagules dispersing from south‐east Australia to central Chile and shipping data used to determine the likelihood of anthropogenic dispersal. Results: Our study infers that the seagrass H. nigricaulis dispersed from Australia across the entire width of the Pacific (c. 14,000 km) to colonize South America on two occasions. Genetic analyses reveal that these events led to two large isolated clones, one of which covers a combined area of 3.47 km2. Oceanographic models estimate the arrival probability of a dispersal propagule within 3 years to be at most 0.00264%. Early shipping provides a potential alternative dispersal vector, yet few ships sailed from SE Australia to Chile prior to the first recording of H. nigricaulis and the lack of more recent and ongoing introductions demonstrate the rarity of such dispersal. Main conclusions: These findings demonstrate LDD does occur over extreme distances despite very low probabilities. The large number of propagules (100s of millions) produced over 100s of years suggests that the arrival of propagules in Chile was inevitable and confirms the importance of LDD for species distributions and community ecology.]]> Mon 11 Jan 2021 17:26:39 AEDT ]]> Phenological shuffling of major marine phytoplankton groups over the last six decades https://ogma.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:40442 n = 10 taxa) tended to show a large seasonal advancement, the timing of peak abundance for dinoflagellates as group advancing 39 days over these six decades. By contrast diatoms (n = 35) did not show any change as a group in their timing of peak abundance over the time series. Granger causality testing suggested a major driver of these phenological changes has been ocean warming in general but more specifically the rate of spring temperature rise as the most important factor. We also found differences in the timing of peak abundance of harmful algal bloom taxa, with some showing peak abundance earlier while others have moved later. Main conclusions: There has been a fundamental transformation of the classic seasonal progression from blooms of diatoms to dinoflagellates, which lies at the heart of temperate marine food chains, as the classic bimodal diatom and dinoflagellate seasonal peaks are eroded to a more continuous, single, longer-lasting phytoplankton peak. This phenological shuffling within and between major taxonomic groups is likely to have profound implications for the transfer of energy to higher trophic levels.]]> Fri 22 Jul 2022 14:37:23 AEST ]]>