Climate change, keystone predators, and the coastal marine biodiversity of British Columbia

Speaker: Dr. Christopher Harley
Professor, IOF and Zoology
Director, IOF pro tem

The oceans are changing. Waters are warming and becoming more acidic, the distribution and abundance of species are shifting, and ecosystem function and sustainable food production are at risk.

With an emphasis on the rocky coasts of British Columbia, Dr. Christopher Harley and his students explored the balance of forces that help to hold diverse ecological communities together. In this talk, he will begin by outlining how environmental stress and interactions among species create patterns of biodiversity in the intertidal zone. For example, many species would be buried under an onslaught of mussels were it not for the presence of sea stars that eat them. Patterns of sea star predation create a mosaic of mussel beds along with other species, like seaweeds and barnacles, all of which provide habitat for dozens of associated species. However, these patterns are changing through time. Long-term warming has restricted where barnacles and mussels can live, and heatwaves can create mass mortality events. Although important harvested species like mussels and oysters are vulnerable to stressors like ocean acidification and extreme events, like the 2021 Western North American heatwave, they are also key in buffering the effects of environmental change on many other plants and animals through the provision of habitat. Even invasive species may have a role to play in buffering environmental stress, suggesting that we may need to reconsider their ecological desirability.

Dr. Harley will conclude with a few reasons to be hopeful in the face of the rising tide of bad news.

Location: AERL Theatre, 2202 Main Mall, UBC Vancouver or over ZOOM. RSVP required: https://oceans.ubc.ca/rsvp-iof-seminar-2/