Science (New York, N.Y.)Jul 9, 2016

Climate causes major changes in a temperate ocean ecosystem

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Apr 4, 2026

Abstract

A 100-kilometer range contraction of kelp forests in Australian temperate reefs has been observed due to climate-driven changes.

Kelp forests have been replaced by persistent seaweed turfs following extreme marine heat waves.
Temperate species have been substituted by subtropical and tropical marine life, including seaweeds, invertebrates, corals, and fishes.
The shift in community composition is associated with significant changes in ecological processes.
The recovery of kelp forests is being suppressed in the newly formed ecosystem.

Simplified

Ecosystem reconfigurations arising from climate-driven changes in species distributions are expected to have profound ecological, social, and economic implications. Here we reveal a rapid climate-driven regime shift of Australian temperate reef communities, which lost their defining kelp forests and became dominated by persistent seaweed turfs. After decades of ocean warming, extreme marine heat waves forced a 100-kilometer range contraction of extensive kelp forests and saw temperate species replaced by seaweeds, invertebrates, corals, and fishes characteristic of subtropical and tropical waters. This community-wide tropicalization fundamentally altered key ecological processes, suppressing the recovery of kelp forests.

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Climate causes major changes in a temperate ocean ecosystem

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