Spatial Variation and Antecedent Sea Surface Temperature Conditions Influence Hawaiian Intertidal Community Structure

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dc.contributor.advisorKnope, Matthew
dc.contributor.authorWard, Rebecca Jane
dc.contributor.departmentTropical Conservation Biology & Environmental Science
dc.date.accessioned2022-06-24T19:37:47Z
dc.date.available2022-06-24T19:37:47Z
dc.date.issued2022-05
dc.description.degreeM.S.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10790/7095
dc.subjectEnvironmental science
dc.subjectConservation biology
dc.subjectEcology
dc.subjectAntecedent Climate
dc.subjectclimwin
dc.subjectCommunity Science
dc.subjectHawai‘i
dc.subjectIntertidal
dc.subjectSea Surface Temperature
dc.titleSpatial Variation and Antecedent Sea Surface Temperature Conditions Influence Hawaiian Intertidal Community Structure
dc.typeThesis
dcterms.abstractGlobal sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are increasing, resulting in a variety of consequences for marine ecosystems. In Hawaiʻi, rates of ocean warming are projected to double by the end of the 21st century. Therefore, it is critical to understand how SST change may affect Hawaiʻi’s intertidal ecosystems. This study represents the first investigation into the effects of changing SST on intertidal algal and invertebrate communities across the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI). By utilizing citizen-science data and high-resolution, daily SST satellite measurements from twelve intertidal sites across the MHI from 2004–2019, the response of intertidal algae and invertebrate abundance and community diversity to SST was investigated across multiple spatial scales. Results show high rates of SST warming (0.40°C Decade-1) over this study’s timeframe, similar to predicted rates of warming for Hawaiʻi by the end of the 21st century. Changes in diversity and abundance in response to SST were variable among intertidal sites, but differences in antecedent SST among intertidal sites were significantly associated with community dissimilarity. In addition, a significant positive relationship was found between SST and diversity and between SST and six dominant taxa (positive relationship: turf algae, brown crustose algae, Turbinaria ornata; inverse relationship: Padina spp., Acanthophora spicifera, Dendropoma gregarium). For five of these six dominant taxa (the exception being brown crustose algae), trends in antecedent SST conditions over the several months preceding sampling best explained changes in abundance. The increase in community diversity in response to higher SSTs was best explained by temperatures in the ten months preceding sampling, and the resultant decreased abundance of dominant turf algae. These results highlight longer-term trends in antecedent SSTs as significant drivers of change within Hawaiian intertidal communities. Future research and management should consider these lagging effects of antecedent SST on intertidal communities in Hawaiʻi.
dcterms.extent47 pages
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.publisherUniversity of Hawaii at Hilo
dcterms.rightsAll UHH dissertations and theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission from the copyright owner.
dcterms.typeText
local.identifier.alturihttp://dissertations.umi.com/hilo.hawaii:10220

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