Environmental and human factors drive the subtropical marine forests of Gongolaria abies-marina to extinction
Large brown macroalgae are foundational threatened species in coastal ecosystems from the subtropical northeastern Atlantic, where they have exhibited a drastic decline in recent years. This study describes the potential habitat of Gongolaria abies-marina, its current distribution and conservation s...
| Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | article |
| Status: | Versión aceptada para publicación |
| Publication Date: | 2022 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repository: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/317779 |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/317779 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2022.105759 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Centro Oceanográfico de Canarias Medio Marino Algae Gongolaria abies-marina Sargassaceae distribution model temporal variability drivers of decline Multivariate analysis geographically weighted regression Canary Islands fish forests research visual inspection weather forecasting |
| Summary: | Large brown macroalgae are foundational threatened species in coastal ecosystems from the subtropical northeastern Atlantic, where they have exhibited a drastic decline in recent years. This study describes the potential habitat of Gongolaria abies-marina, its current distribution and conservation status, and the major drivers of population decline. The results show a strong reduction of more than 97% of G. abies-marina populations in the last thirty years and highlight the effects of drivers vary in terms of spatial heterogeneity. A decrease in the frequency of high waves and high human footprint are the principal factors accounting for the long-term decline in G. abies-marina populations. UV radiation and sea surface temperature have an important correlation only in certain locations. Both the methodology and the large amount of data analyzed in this study provide a valuable tool for the conservation and restoration of threatened macroalgae. |
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