Understanding the role of deep reefs as climate refuge for a temperate marine foundation species

The 'deep reef refuge hypothesis' states that deep habitats are buffered from environmental extremes, so species living in deep habitats are more likely to survive environmental disturbances, and help reseed their shallow counterparts. This thesis explores four essential criteria which underpin the deep-refuge hypothesis and found: (1) Deep communities are less affected by climatic disturbances than their shallow counterparts, (2) deep populations of Ecklonia radiata are able to self-replenish by producing viable propagules, (3) these propagules can be dispersed to shallow reefs to assist recovery, and (4) modelling ofdeep populations of E. radiata show persistence under climate change.