A Pleistocene legacy structures variation in modern seagrass ecosystems

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2121425119
• Publication Date: 2022-08-01T19:22:29Z
• Authors: J. Emmett Duffy; John J. Stachowicz; Pamela L. Reynolds; Kevin A. Hovel; Marlene Jahnke; Erik E. Sotka; Christoffer Boström; Katharyn E. Boyer; Mathieu Cusson; Johan Eklöf; Aschwin H. Engelen; Britas Klemens Er...; F. Joel Fodrie; John N. Griffin; Clara M. Hereu; Masakazu Hori; A. Randall Hughes; Mikhail V. Ivanov; Pablo Jorgensen; Claudia Kruschel; Kun-Seop Lee; Jonathan S. Lefcheck; Per-Olav Moksnes; Masahiro Nakaoka; Mary I. O’Connor; Nessa E. O’Connor; Robert J. Orth; Bradley J. Peterson; Henning Reiss; Katrin Reiss; J. Paul Richardson; Francesca Rossi; Jennifer L. Ruesink; Stewart T. Schultz; Jonas Thormar; Fiona Tomas; Richard Unsworth; Erin Voigt; Matthew A. Whalen; Shelby L. Ziegler; Jeanine L. Olsen
• Keywords: Zostera marina; Marine ecosystem; Biome; Foundation species; Primary producers

Distribution of Earth’s biomes is structured by the match between climate and plant traits, which in turn shape associated communities ecosystem processes services. However, that climate–trait can be disrupted historical events, with lasting impacts. As environment changes faster than at any time human history, critical questions are whether how organismal traits ecosystems adjust to altered conditions. We quantified relative importance current environmental forcing versus evolutionary history shaping growth form (stature biomass) community eelgrass ( Zostera marina ), a widespread foundation marine along Northern Hemisphere coastlines, experienced major shifts distribution genetic composition during Pleistocene. found stature biomass retain legacy Pleistocene colonization Atlantic from ancestral Pacific range more recent within-basin bottlenecks differentiation. This influences algae invertebrates fuel coastal food webs, effects comparable or stronger forcing. Such lags phenotypic acclimatization may constrain adjustments rapid anthropogenic change, thus altering predictions about future functioning ecosystems.