A seascape approach for guiding effective habitat enhancement

Filippo Ferrario,Thew Suskiewicz,Ladd Erik Johnson

doi:10.1525/elementa.2021.00013

Filippo Ferrario, Thew Suskiewicz + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2021.00013

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Abstract

Kelp habitats are threatened across the globe, and because of their ecological importance, active conservation and restoration solutions are needed. The use of man-made structures as artificial reefs is one way to enhance kelp habitat by providing suitable substrata, but in the past the ecology of artificial structures has been investigated mainly in contrast to natural coastal habitats, not as elements integrated into the seascape. Indeed, it is now emerging that structuring processes, including ecological interactions (e.g., herbivory), can depend on properties of the surrounding seascape. In Eastern Canada, grazing by the green sea urchin can jeopardize the success of artificial reefs for kelp enhancement. Urchin activity is, however, likely to be influenced by the bottom composition, and thus a seascape approach is needed to integrate urchin behavior and habitat heterogeneity. Adopting a spatially explicit framework, we investigated whether the seascape creates areas of differential grazing risk for kelp by affecting urchin habitat use. Specifically, we transplanted kelp onto modules of artificial substrata distributed on a heterogeneous area that we mapped for bottom type and algal cover. After following kelp survival and urchin distribution over time, we modeled kelp survival as function of urchin metrics and coupled it to urchin use of the habitat models to map grazing risk in the area. Kelp survival was a function of the frequency of the urchins presence. Urchins avoided sandy patches, while bottom composition and algal cover modulated the within-patch urchin use of the habitat, creating heterogeneity in grazing risk. Discrete seascape features (boulders) also increased the grazing risk locally. The heterogeneity of coastal seafloor can thus play a major role in determining the ecological outcomes on artificial structures. Incorporating this information when planning artificial reefs could minimize the detrimental grazing risk, thereby increasing the success of artificial reefs for kelp habitat enhancement.

Highlights

In temperate to polar coastal environments, large brown macroalgae, commonly known as “kelp”, are highly valued as important primary producers and formers of structurally complex habitats for invertebrates and fish (Steneck et al, 2002; Krumhansl and Scheibling, 2012; Bertocci et al, 2015)
We investigated whether seascape heterogeneity creates areas of lower grazing risk for kelp transplanted onto modules of artificial substrata and characterized the properties that define this risk
By examining small-scale seascape heterogeneity, we provide a novel spatially explicit framework that incorporates ecological processes and is more relevant for the scale for the design of artificial reefs relative to more commonly used species distribution models

Summary

Introduction

In temperate to polar coastal environments, large brown macroalgae, commonly known as “kelp”, are highly valued as important primary producers and formers of structurally complex habitats for invertebrates and fish (Steneck et al, 2002; Krumhansl and Scheibling, 2012; Bertocci et al, 2015). In Eastern Canadian coastal ecosystems and in particular the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (GSL), modular reefs have been used to comply with regulations requiring offsets for damage to marine habitats caused by coastal development (Fisheries Act, 2019). This approach makes the GSL an ideal situation for the use of artificial reefs to enhance kelp habitats in a region where they are typically restricted

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