Abstract
Since the 1990s there has been a period of rapid climate warming in Europe. Long-term broad scale datasets coupled with time series at specific locations for rocky intertidal species dating back to the 1950s have been collected in Britain and Ireland. Resurveys of the original locations in 2001–2003 have been undertaken to identify changes in the biogeographical range and abundance of these species. The results show that some ‘southern’ species including Osilinus lineatus da Costa and Gibbula umbilicalis da Costa have undergone north and north-eastern range extensions. Populations have increased in abundance and adult size has decreased since the previous surveys were conducted. These changes have been synchronous throughout Britain, strongly suggesting that climate is responsible. The use of intertidal species as indicators of climate change is proposed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barry, J. P., C. H. Baxter, R. D. Sagarin & S. E. Gilman, 1995. Climate-related, long-term faunal changes in a California rocky intertidal community. Science 267: 672–675.
Beaugrand, G., P. C. Reid, F. Ibanez, A. J. Lindley & M. Edwards, 2002. Reorganization of North Atlantic marine copepod biodiversity and climate. Science 296 (5573): 1692–1694.
Bertness, M. D., G. H. Leonard, J. M. Levine & J. F. Bruno, 1999. Climate-driven interactions among rocky intertidal organisms caught between a rock and a hot place. Oecologia 120: 446–450.
Bode, A., I. Lombas & N. Anadon, 1986. Preliminary studies on the reproduction and population dynamics of Monodonta lineata and Gibbula umbilicalis (Mollusca Gastropoda) on the central coast of Asturias (N. Spain). Hydrobiologia 142: 31–39.
Bowman, R. S., 1985. The biology of the limpet Patella vulgate L. in the British Isles: spawning time as a factor determining recruitment success. The ecology of rocky coasts: essays presented to J. R. Lewis; 178–193. Hodder & Stoughton, London.
Crisp, D. J. (ed.), 1964. The effects of the severe winter of 1962-1963 on marine life in Britain. Journal of Animal Ecology 33: 179–210.
Crisp, D. J. & A. J. Southward, 1958. The distribution of intertidal organisms along the coasts of the English Channel. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 37: 157–208.
Crisp, D. J. & E. Fisher-Piette, 1959. Repartition des principales especes interastidales de la Cote Atlantique Francaise en 1954-1955. Annales Institut Oceanographique Monaco 36: 276–381.
Crisp, D. J., A. J. Southward & E. C. Southward, 1981. On the distribution of the intertidal barnacles Chthamalus stellatus, Chthamalus montagui and Euraphia depressa. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 61: 359–380.
Cunningham, P. N., S. J. Hawkins, H. D. Jones & M. T. Burrows, 1984. The geographical distribution of Sabellaria alveolata (L.) in England, Wales and Scotland, with investigations into the community structure of, and the effects of trampling on Sabellaria alveolata colonies. Report to the Nature Conservancy Council from the Department of Zoology, Manchester University, Manchester.
Fields, P. A., J. B. Graham, R. H. Rosenblatt & G. N. Somero, 1993. Effects of expected global climate change on marine faunas. Trends in Evolution and Ecology 8: 361–367.
Fischer-Piette, E., 1936. Études sur ala biogéogrpahie intercô tidale des deux rives de la Manche. Journal of the Linnean Society, Zoology 40: 181–272.
Fischer-Piette, E. & M. Prenant, 1956. Distribution des Cirripè-des intercô tidaux d’Espagne septentrionale. Bulletin du Centrre d’Études et de Recherches Scientifiques. Biarritz 1: 7–19.
Forbes, E., 1853. The Natural History of Europe’s Seas. John van Vorst, London.
Garwood, P. R. & M. A. Kendall, 1986. The reproductive cycles of Monodonta lineata and Gibbula umbilicalis on the coast of mid-Wales. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 65: 993–1008.
Graham, R. W. & E. C. Grimm, 1990. Effects of global climate change on the patterns of terrestrial biological communities. Trends in Evolution and Ecology 5: 289–292.
Gruet, Y., 1971. The morphology, growth and associated fauna of Sabellaria alveolata (L.) reefs of Bernerie-en-Retz (Loire Atlantique). Tethys 3: 321–380.
Hawkins, S. J., A. J. Southward & M. J. Genner, 2003. Detection of environmental change in a marine ecosystem-evidence from the western English Channel. The Science of the Total Environment 310: 245–256.
Hawthorne, J. B., 1965. The eastern limit of distribution of Monodonta lineata (da Costa) in the English Channel. Journal of Conchology 25: 348–352.
Herbert, R. J., S. J. Hawkins, M. Sheader & A. J. Southward, 2003. Range extension and reproduction of the barnacle Balanus perforatus in the eastern English Channel. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 83: 1–10.
Houghton, J. T., Y. Ding, D. J. Griggs, M. Noguer, P. J. van der Linden, X. Dai, K. Maskell & C. A. Johnson, (eds) 2001. IPCC, 2001: Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA: 881 pp.
Hulme, M., G. J. Jenkins, X. Lu, J. R. Turnpenny, T. D. Mitchell, R. G. Jones, J. Lowe, J. M. Murphey, D. Hassell, P. Boorman, R. McDonald & S. Hill, (eds) 2002. Climate Change Scenarios for the United Kingdom: The UKCIP02 Scientific Report, Vol. Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia., Norwich. UK.
Hutchins, L. W., 1947. The bases for temperature zonation in geographical distribution. Ecological Monographs 17: 325–335.
Jeffree, C. E. & E. P. Jeffree, 1996. Redistribution of the potential geographical ranges of Mistletoe and Colarado Beetle in Europe in response to the temperature component of climate change. Functional Ecology 10: 562–577.
Jenkins, S. R., P. Aberg, G. Cervin, R. A. Coleman, J. Delany, P. Della Santina, S. J. Hawkins, E. LaCroix, A. A. Myers, M. Lindegarth, A. M. Power, M. F. Roberts & R. G. Hartnoll, 2000. Spatial and temporal variation in settlement and recruitment of the intertidal barnacle Semibalanus balanoides (L.) (Crustacea: Cirripedia) over a European scale. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 243: 209–225.
Joint Nature Conservation Committee, 1998. Marine Nature Conservation Review 1987–1998. http://www.jncc.gov.uk/mermaid.
Kendall, M. A., 1987. The age and size structure of some northern populations of the trochid gastropod Monodonta lineata. Journal of Molluscan Studies 53: 213–222.
Kendall, M. A. & J. R. Lewis, 1986. Temporal and spatial patterns in the recruitment of Gibbula umbilicalis. Hydrobiologia 142: 15–22.
Kendall, M. A., P. Williamson & P. R. Garwood, 1987. Annual variation in recruitment and population structure of Monodonta lineata and Gibbula umbilicalis populations at Aberaeron, mid-Wales. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 24: 499–511.
Lewis, J. R., 1952. The ecology of rocky shores around Anglesey. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 123: 482–549.
Lewis, J. R., 1964. The Ecology of Rocky Shores. English Universities Press, London.
Lewis, J. R., 1976. Long-term ecological surveillance: practical realities in the rocky littoral. Oceanography and Marine Biology Annual Review 14: 371–390.
Lewis, J. R., 1986. Latitudinal trends in reproduction, recruitment and population characteristics of some rocky littoral molluscs and cirripedes. Hydrobiologia 142: 1–13.
Lewis, J. R., R. S. Bowman, M. A. Kendall & P. Williamson, 1982. Some geographical components in population dynamics: possibilities and realities in some littoral species. Netherlands Journal of Sea Research 16: 18–28.
Murray, S. N., J. Goodson, A. Gerrard & T. Luas, 2001. Longterm changes in rocky intertidal seaweed populations in urban Southern California. Journal of Phycology 37(3): 37–38.
Parmesan, C., 1996. Climate and species range. Nature 382: 765–766.
Parmesan, C., N. Ryrholm, C. Stefanescu, J. K. Hill, C. D. Thomas, H. Descimon, B. Huntley, L. Kaila, J. Kullberg, T. Tammaru, W. J. Tennent, J. A. Thomas & M. Warren, 1999. Poleward shifts in geographical ranges of butterfly species associated with regional warming. Nature 399: 579–583.
Parmesan, C. & G. Yohe, 2003. A globally coherent fingerprint of climate change impacts across natural systems. Nature 421: 37–42.
Preece, R. C., 1993. Monodonta lineata (da Costa) from archeological sites in Dorset and the Isle of Wight. Journal of the Conchological Society of London 34: 339–341.
Root, T. L., J. T. Price, K. R. Hall, S. H. Schneider, C. Rosenzweig & A. Pounds, 2003. Fingerprints of global warming on wild animals and plants. Nature 421: 57–60.
Sagarin, R. D., J. P. Barry, S. E. Gilman & C. H. Baxter, 1999. Climate-related change in an intertidal community over short and long time scales. Ecological Monographs 69: 465–490.
Sims, D. W., M. J. Genner, A. J. Southward & S. J. Hawkins, 2001. Timing of squid migration reflects North Atlantic climate variability. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London-Series B 268: 2607–2611.
Southward, A. J. & D. J. Crisp, 1954a. The distribution of certain intertidal animals around the Irish coast. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 57: 1–29.
Southward, A. J. & D. J. Crisp, 1954b. Recent changes in the distribution of the intertidal barnacles Chthamalus stellatus Poli and Balanus balanoides L. in the British Isles. The Journal of Animal Ecology 23: 163–177.
Southward, A. J., 1967. Recent changes in abundance of intertidal barnacles in South-west England: a possible effect of climatic deterioration. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 47: 81–95.
Southward, A. J., 1976. On the taxanomic status and distribution of Chthamalus stellatus (Cirripedia) in the north-east Atlantic region: with a key to the common intertidal barnacles of Britain. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 56: 1007–1028.
Southward, A. J., 1980. The western English Channel: an inconstant ecosystem?. Nature, London 285: 361–366.
Southward, A. J., 1991. Forty years of changes in species composition and population density of barnacles on a rocky shore near Plymouth. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 71: 495–513.
Southward, A. J., S. J. Hawkins & M. T. Burrows, 1995. Seventy years’ observations of changes in distribution and abundance of zooplankton and intertidal organisms in the western English Channel in relation to rising sea temperature. Journal of Thermal Biology 20: 127–155.
Southward, A.J., O. Langmead, N. J. Hardman-Mountford, J. Aiken, G. T. Boalch, P. R. Dando, M. J. Genner, I. Joint, M. A. Kendall, N. C. Halliday, R. P. Harris, R. Leaper, N. Mieszkowska, R. D. Pingree, A. J. Richardson, D. W. Sims, T. Smith, A. W. Walne & S. J. Hawkins, in press. Long-term oceanographic and ecological research in the western English Channel. Advances in Marine Biology 47: 1–105.
Stebbing, A. R. D., S. M. T. Turk, A. Wheeler & K. R. Clarke, 2002. Immigration of southern fish species to south-west England linked to warming of the North Atlantic (1960-2001). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 82: 177–180.
Tomaneck, L. & B. Helmuth, 2002. Physiological ecology of rocky intertidal organisms: a synergy of concepts. Integrative and Comparative Biology 42: 771–775.
de Valera, M., 1962. Some aspects of the problem of the distribution of Bifurcaria bifurcata (Velley) Ross on the shores of Ireland, north of the Shannon Estuary. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy B 62: 77–99.
Wilson, D. P., 1974. Sabellaria colonies at Duckpool, north Cornwall 1971-1972 with a note from May 1973. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 54: 393–436.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2006 Springer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mieszkowska, N. et al. (2006). Changes in the range of some common rocky shore species In Britain — A Response To Climate Change?. In: Martens, K., et al. Marine Biodiversity. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 183. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4697-9_20
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4697-9_20
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-4321-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4697-1
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)