Abstracts

To develop the following abstracts, the editorial staff searches more than 100 scientific journals, professional and organizational newsletters, conference proceedings, and other resources for information relevant to ecological restoration practice and research. Please send suggested abstract sources to the editorial staff (ERjournal@sebs.rutgers.edu).

Climate Change

The Potential for Rapid Evolution under Anthropogenic Climate Change. 2019. Catullo, R.A. (Division of Ecology and Evolution, and Centre for Biodiversity Analysis, The Australian National University, Acton, AUS, renee.catullo@anu.edu.au), J. Llewelyn, B.L. Phillips and C.C. Moritz. Current Biology 29:R996–R1007. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.08.028.

Climate change has already caused observable changes to the distribution and phenotype of organisms as well as community composition of various ecosystems. While some organisms can shift their ranges, those with low dispersal potential or those existing in fragmenting habitats, rapid adaptation may be the only means of avoiding extinction. Breeder’s equation is a model for understanding how temperature and genetic variation can drive evolution within populations, but it does not account for phenotypic plasticity and variation among populations. Catullo et al. examined the interplay between genetics, plasticity and spatiality on physiological traits in Lampropholis similis (southern rainforest sunskink) and concluded that the specific traits under selection in a changing climate, plasticity types relevant to rapid evolution and whether plasticity can drive persistence are all factors that require consideration for populations experiencing climate change. Understanding population responses to climate change is a critically important challenge for practitioners aiming to complete sustainable restoration projects.

Coastal & Marine Communities

Monitoring Mosaic Biotopes in a Marine Conservation Zone by Autonomous Underwater Vehicle. 2019. Benoist, N.M.A. (Ocean Biogeochemistry and Ecosystems, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, U.K. nb5g13@soton.ac.uk), K.J. Morris, B.J. Bett, J.M. Durden, V.A.I. Huvenne, T.P. Le Bas, R.B. Wynn, S.J. Ware and H.A. Ruhl. Conservation Biology 33:1174– 1186. doi: 10.1111/cobi.13312.

Conservation and restoration of marine ecosystems can be particularly difficult given that human access to many marine habitats is reduced due to high costs, technical constraints, or high risks. In this context, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) can be a good alternative since they are currently being used to collect non-destructive data across many environments including the deep sea. Marine Protected Areas include many different types of habitats that can be hard to classify using a single method. In this study Benoist et al. used data collected by an AUV in a marine protected area in the Celtic Sea to assess if mosaic biotopes can be adequately discriminated using visual data from AUVs. The data they gathered allowed them to distinguish seven different biotopes, and their resolution was high enough to differentiate the composition and structure of their biotic community. This suggests that AUVs can be a great tool to monitor and collect ecologically relevant data in environments that are difficult to access.

Selecting the Optimal Artificial Reefs to Achieve Fish Habitat Enhancement Goals. 2019. Lemoine H.R., A.B. Paxton (National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Beaufort, NC, avery.paxton@noaa.gov), S.C. Anisfeld, R.C. Rosemond and C.H. Peterson. Biological Conservation 238:108200. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108200

Installing artificial habitats is a common method used by managers and practitioners to restore and enhance degraded natural habitats such as reefs. Due to the ample variety of structures and materials used in the past, managers and decision-makers face the daunting task of selecting the most appropriate artificial reef for their particular restoration needs, but little to no research has assessed their ecological efficacy. In this study, Lemoine and colleagues evaluated the performance of different types of artificial marine reefs and one natural rocky reef in North Carolina. Among these, fish were in highest abundance and biomass in metal ships. The three types of concrete structures studied hosted highly similar communities, and differed with metal ships and in one case with the natural reef. Their results suggest the metal ship’s structural complexity favors fish abundance and diversity, and that concrete reefs offer a good alternative for managers who want to mimic natural reefs. [End Page...