Climate-assisted persistence of tropical fish vagrants in temperate marine ecosystems
Rising temperatures and extreme climate events are propelling tropical species into temperate marine ecosystems, but not all species can persist. Here, we used the heatwave-driven expatriation of tropical Black Rabbitfish (Siganus fuscescens) to the temperate environments of Western Australia to ass...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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NATURE PORTFOLIO
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP160101508 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90914 |
| _version_ | 1848765459194707968 |
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| author | Gajdzik, Laura DeCarlo, T.M. Koziol, Adam Mousavi-Derazmahalleh, Mahsa Coghlan, Megan Power, Matthew Bunce, Michael Fairclough, D.V. Travers, M.J. Moore, G.I. Di Battista, Joseph |
| author_facet | Gajdzik, Laura DeCarlo, T.M. Koziol, Adam Mousavi-Derazmahalleh, Mahsa Coghlan, Megan Power, Matthew Bunce, Michael Fairclough, D.V. Travers, M.J. Moore, G.I. Di Battista, Joseph |
| author_sort | Gajdzik, Laura |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Rising temperatures and extreme climate events are propelling tropical species into temperate marine ecosystems, but not all species can persist. Here, we used the heatwave-driven expatriation of tropical Black Rabbitfish (Siganus fuscescens) to the temperate environments of Western Australia to assess the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that may entail their persistence. Population genomic assays for this rabbitfish indicated little genetic differentiation between tropical residents and vagrants to temperate environments due to high migration rates, which were likely enhanced by the marine heatwave. DNA metabarcoding revealed a diverse diet for this species based on phytoplankton and algae, as well as an ability to feed on regional resources, including kelp. Irrespective of future climate scenarios, these macroalgae-consuming vagrants may self-recruit in temperate environments and further expand their geographic range by the year 2100. This expansion may compromise the health of the kelp forests that form Australia’s Great Southern Reef. Overall, our study demonstrates that projected favourable climate conditions, continued large-scale genetic connectivity between populations, and diet versatility are key for tropical range-shifting fish to establish in temperate ecosystems. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:35:35Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-90914 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:35:35Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | NATURE PORTFOLIO |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-909142023-05-09T04:15:13Z Climate-assisted persistence of tropical fish vagrants in temperate marine ecosystems Gajdzik, Laura DeCarlo, T.M. Koziol, Adam Mousavi-Derazmahalleh, Mahsa Coghlan, Megan Power, Matthew Bunce, Michael Fairclough, D.V. Travers, M.J. Moore, G.I. Di Battista, Joseph Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Biology Multidisciplinary Sciences Life Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics Science & Technology - Other Topics FALSE DISCOVERY RATE GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION EVOLUTIONARY RESPONSES SIGANUS-FUSCESCENS WESTERN-AUSTRALIA R PACKAGE IMPACTS RECRUITMENT RABBITFISH Animal Distribution Animals Climate Change Herbivory Kelp Oceans and Seas Perciformes Tropical Climate Western Australia Animals Perciformes Kelp Tropical Climate Western Australia Oceans and Seas Climate Change Herbivory Animal Distribution Rising temperatures and extreme climate events are propelling tropical species into temperate marine ecosystems, but not all species can persist. Here, we used the heatwave-driven expatriation of tropical Black Rabbitfish (Siganus fuscescens) to the temperate environments of Western Australia to assess the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that may entail their persistence. Population genomic assays for this rabbitfish indicated little genetic differentiation between tropical residents and vagrants to temperate environments due to high migration rates, which were likely enhanced by the marine heatwave. DNA metabarcoding revealed a diverse diet for this species based on phytoplankton and algae, as well as an ability to feed on regional resources, including kelp. Irrespective of future climate scenarios, these macroalgae-consuming vagrants may self-recruit in temperate environments and further expand their geographic range by the year 2100. This expansion may compromise the health of the kelp forests that form Australia’s Great Southern Reef. Overall, our study demonstrates that projected favourable climate conditions, continued large-scale genetic connectivity between populations, and diet versatility are key for tropical range-shifting fish to establish in temperate ecosystems. 2021 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90914 10.1038/s42003-021-02733-7 English http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP160101508 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP160100839 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ NATURE PORTFOLIO fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Biology Multidisciplinary Sciences Life Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics Science & Technology - Other Topics FALSE DISCOVERY RATE GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION EVOLUTIONARY RESPONSES SIGANUS-FUSCESCENS WESTERN-AUSTRALIA R PACKAGE IMPACTS RECRUITMENT RABBITFISH Animal Distribution Animals Climate Change Herbivory Kelp Oceans and Seas Perciformes Tropical Climate Western Australia Animals Perciformes Kelp Tropical Climate Western Australia Oceans and Seas Climate Change Herbivory Animal Distribution Gajdzik, Laura DeCarlo, T.M. Koziol, Adam Mousavi-Derazmahalleh, Mahsa Coghlan, Megan Power, Matthew Bunce, Michael Fairclough, D.V. Travers, M.J. Moore, G.I. Di Battista, Joseph Climate-assisted persistence of tropical fish vagrants in temperate marine ecosystems |
| title | Climate-assisted persistence of tropical fish vagrants in temperate marine ecosystems |
| title_full | Climate-assisted persistence of tropical fish vagrants in temperate marine ecosystems |
| title_fullStr | Climate-assisted persistence of tropical fish vagrants in temperate marine ecosystems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Climate-assisted persistence of tropical fish vagrants in temperate marine ecosystems |
| title_short | Climate-assisted persistence of tropical fish vagrants in temperate marine ecosystems |
| title_sort | climate-assisted persistence of tropical fish vagrants in temperate marine ecosystems |
| topic | Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Biology Multidisciplinary Sciences Life Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics Science & Technology - Other Topics FALSE DISCOVERY RATE GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION EVOLUTIONARY RESPONSES SIGANUS-FUSCESCENS WESTERN-AUSTRALIA R PACKAGE IMPACTS RECRUITMENT RABBITFISH Animal Distribution Animals Climate Change Herbivory Kelp Oceans and Seas Perciformes Tropical Climate Western Australia Animals Perciformes Kelp Tropical Climate Western Australia Oceans and Seas Climate Change Herbivory Animal Distribution |
| url | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP160101508 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP160101508 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90914 |