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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
Benthic community structure and spatiotemporal thermal regimes in two upwelling ecosystems: Comparisons between South Africa and Chile
Limnology and Oceanography, Volume 54, No. 4, Year 2009
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Description
On the basis of 16-yr satellite time series (1987-2003) of sea surface temperature (SST) and using univariate and multivariate statistical techniques, we quantified patterns of fluctuation in oceanographic conditions, as well as their spatial structure along the coasts of South Africa and Chile between 29.0° and 34.5°S. Since variations in environmental conditions over multiple timescales are driven by oceanographic-atmospheric processes modulated by coastal morphology, all of which affect in different ways coastal organisms, we hypothesized that dynamic properties of the environment contribute to characteristic patterns on rocky intertidal biomass structure across upwelling ecosystems. Although long-term mean temperatures were similar between coasts, the relative importance of annual, semiannual, intraseasonal, and high-frequency SST fluctuations differed; South Africa is more strongly pulsed over shorter timescales. Similar spatial discontinuities in thermal regimes were observed, with changes at about 32°S. Multivariate summaries of benthic community structure derived from functional group biomasses revealed striking differences between South Africa and Chile, as well as between regions north and south of 32°S within each ecosystem. Between-continent and regional-scale differences in community structure were largely unrelated to mean SST, but correlated with the different measures of temporal variance in SST. For all functional groups, as well as aggregate measures of benthic community composition, the weekly to annual SST fluctuations explained large fractions (>35%) of biological variability. Results highlight the importance of quantifying the temporal variance of regimes of hydrographic conditions since multispecies assemblages are expected to respond in different ways to the driving oceanographic processes behind these fluctuations. © 2009, by the American. Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Inc.
Authors & Co-Authors
Wieters, Evie A.
South Africa, Cape Town
University of Cape Town
Chile, Santiago
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Broitman, Bernardo R.
Chile, Santiago
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Chile, Antofagasta
Universidad Católica Del Norte
Branch, George M.
South Africa, Cape Town
University of Cape Town
Statistics
Citations: 56
Authors: 3
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.4319/lo.2009.54.4.1060
Study Locations
South Africa