Variability in primary producers' responses to environmental change may buffer higher trophic levels against shifts in basal resource composition. Then again, in instances where there is a lack of functional redundancy because consumers rely on a few species to meet their energetic requirements at specific times of the year, altered community production dynamics may significantly impact food web resilience. In high‐latitude kelp forests, a complementary annual phenology of seaweed production supports coastal marine consumers' metabolic needs across large seasonal variations in their environment. Yet, marine consumers in these systems may face significant metabolic stress under the pronounced low pH conditions expected in future winters, particularly if they lack the resources to support their increased energetic demands. In this study, we investigate how the growth and nutritional value of three dominant, coexisting macroalgal species found in subpolar kelp forests will respond to ocean acidification and warming in future winter and summer seasons. We find that the three kelps
It is well understood that differences in the cues used by consumers and their resources in fluctuating environments can give rise to trophic mismatches governing the emergent effects of global change. Trophic mismatches caused by changes in consumer energetics during periods of low resource availability have received far less attention, although this may be common for consumers during winter when primary producers are limited by light. Even less is understood about these dynamics in marine ecosystems, where consumers must cope with energetically costly changes in CO2‐driven carbonate chemistry that will be most pronounced in cold temperatures. This may be especially important for calcified marine herbivores, such as the pinto abalone (
- Award ID(s):
- 1752600
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10453677
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Global Change Biology
- Volume:
- 27
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 1354-1013
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 1042-1051
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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