AUTHOR=Arafeh-Dalmau Nur , Montaño-Moctezuma Gabriela , Martínez José A. , Beas-Luna Rodrigo , Schoeman David S. , Torres-Moye Guillermo TITLE=Extreme Marine Heatwaves Alter Kelp Forest Community Near Its Equatorward Distribution Limit JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science VOLUME=6 YEAR=2019 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00499 DOI=10.3389/fmars.2019.00499 ISSN=2296-7745 ABSTRACT=
Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of marine heatwaves. A recent extreme warming event (2014–2016) of unprecedented magnitude and duration in the California Current System allowed us to evaluate the response of the kelp forest community near its southern (warm) distribution limit. We obtained sea surface temperatures for the northern Pacific of Baja California, Mexico, and collected kelp forest community data at three islands, before and after the warming event. The warming was the most intense and persistent event observed to date, with low-pass anomalies 1°C warmer than the previous extremes during the 1982–1984 and 1997–1998 El Niños. The period between 2014 and 2017 accounted for ∼50% of marine heatwaves days in the past 37 years, with the highest maximum temperature intensities peaking at 5.9°C above average temperatures for the period. We found significant declines in the number of