Temperate marine ecosystems under tropicalisation: an insight of species redistributions and ecological function changes along the Western Australia coastline (PhD)

The redistribution of species globally has emerged as one of the most significant biological responses to anthropogenic climate change. Oceans are warming at an unprecedented rate, pervasively altering ecosystem dynamics and functions. The Western Australian coastline is a sentinel for such impacts, with significant changes in ecosystems such as those recorded after an extreme 2011 marine heatwave. Among the most evident and ecologically relevant is the range contraction of the main habitat-forming seaweed, the golden kelp, Ecklonia radiata. Cool-water species receding and warm-water species expanding poleward lead to tropicalised ecosystems at the warmer edges of temperate reefs. The tropicalisation of temperate kelp forests ultimately generates novel biological assemblages being dominated by warm…