Recurrent Extreme Climatic Events Are Driving Gorgonian Populations to Local Extinction: Low Adaptive Potential to Marine Heatwaves

• DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17587
• Publication Date: 2024-11-28T06:59:02Z
• Authors: Sandra Ramirez‐Ca...; Daniel Gómez‐Gras; Aldo Barreiro; Nathaniel Bensoussan; Laura Figuerola‐F...; Marc Jou; Àngel López‐Sanz; Paula López‐Sendino; Alba Medrano; Ignasi Montero‐Serra; Marta Pagès‐Escolà; Cristina Linares; Jean‐Baptiste Ledoux; Joaquim Garrabou
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; Genotype-by-environment interactions; ecological memory; Ecological memory; habitat-forming octocorals; Common-garden experiment; Mass mortality events; mass mortality events; 03 medical and health sciences; Mediterranean Sea; common-garden experiment; Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development; genotype-by-environment interactions; Habitat-forming octocorals; Research Article

ABSTRACT Extreme climatic events (ECEs), such as marine heatwaves (MHWs), are a major threat to biodiversity. Understanding the variability in ecological responses recurrent ECEs within species and underlying drivers arise key issue owing their implications for conservation population recovery. Yet, our knowledge on is limited since it has been frequently gathered following “single‐event approaches” focused one particular event. These approaches provide snapshots of but fall short capturing heterogeneity patterns that may occur among ECEs, questioning current predictions regarding biodiversity trends. Here, we adopt “multiple events” perspective characterize effects Paramuricea clavata , Mediterranean temperate coral threatened by MHWs. Through common‐garden experiment repeated three consecutive years with same individuals from populations, assessed respective roles environmental (year effect), genetic (population phenotypic (population‐by‐environment interactions effect) components response heat stress. The component (year) was main driver P . colonies across experiments. To build this result, showed that: (i) were not related (genetic isolation) individual (multilocus heterozygosity) make‐up, (ii) while all characterized high sensitivity (genotype‐by‐environment interactions) likely driven situ summer thermal regime. We confront experimental results monitoring conducted 2022 two MHWs (2018, 2022). This confirms targeted populations harbor adaptive plastic capacities on‐going might face unavoidable collapses shallow waters. Overall, underscore need consider recurrence assess threats forecast its evolution.