TY - JOUR
T1 - Tipping points and interactive effects of chronic human disturbance and acute heat stress on coral diversity
AU - Maucieri, Dominique G.
AU - Starko, Samuel
AU - Baum, Julia K.
PY - 2023/4/12
Y1 - 2023/4/12
N2 - Multiple anthropogenic stressors co-occur ubiquitously in natural ecosystems. However, multiple stressor studies often produce conflicting results, potentially because the nature and direction of stressor interactions depends upon the strength of the underlying stressors. Here, we first examine how coral α- and β-diversities vary across sites spanning a gradient of chronic local anthropogenic stress before and after a prolonged marine heatwave. Developing a multiple stressor framework that encompasses non-discrete stressors, we then examine interactions between the continuous and discrete stressors. We provide evidence of additive effects, antagonistic interactions (with heatwave-driven turnover in coral community composition diminishing as the continuous stressor increased), and tipping points (at which the response of coral Hill-richness to stressors changed from additive to near synergistic). We show that community-level responses to multiple stressors can vary, and even change qualitatively, with stressor intensity, underscoring the importance of examining complex, but realistic continuous stressors to understand stressor interactions and their ecological impacts.
AB - Multiple anthropogenic stressors co-occur ubiquitously in natural ecosystems. However, multiple stressor studies often produce conflicting results, potentially because the nature and direction of stressor interactions depends upon the strength of the underlying stressors. Here, we first examine how coral α- and β-diversities vary across sites spanning a gradient of chronic local anthropogenic stress before and after a prolonged marine heatwave. Developing a multiple stressor framework that encompasses non-discrete stressors, we then examine interactions between the continuous and discrete stressors. We provide evidence of additive effects, antagonistic interactions (with heatwave-driven turnover in coral community composition diminishing as the continuous stressor increased), and tipping points (at which the response of coral Hill-richness to stressors changed from additive to near synergistic). We show that community-level responses to multiple stressors can vary, and even change qualitatively, with stressor intensity, underscoring the importance of examining complex, but realistic continuous stressors to understand stressor interactions and their ecological impacts.
KW - climate change
KW - community composition
KW - Hill diversity
KW - multiple stressors
KW - α- diversity
KW - β-diversity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85152253786&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1098/rspb.2023.0209
DO - 10.1098/rspb.2023.0209
M3 - Article
C2 - 37040801
AN - SCOPUS:85152253786
SN - 0962-8452
VL - 290
JO - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
IS - 1996
M1 - 20230209
ER -