Marine Ecology Progress Series
MEPS is a leading hybrid research journal on all aspects of marine, coastal and estuarine ecology. Priority is given to outstanding research that advances our ecological understanding.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13902
copiedWarming sea surface temperatures fuel summer epidemics of eelgrass wasting disease
- Maya L. Groner
- Morgan E. Eisenlord
- Reyn M. Yoshioka
- Evan A. Fiorenza
- Phoebe D. Dawkins
- Olivia J. Graham
- Miranda Winningham
- Alex Vompe
- Natalie D. Rivlin
- Bo Yang
- Colleen A. Burge
- Brendan Rappazzo
- Carla P. Gomes
- C. Drew Harvell
ABSTRACT: Seawater temperatures are increasing, with many unquantified impacts on marine diseases. While prolonged temperature stress can accelerate host-pathogen interactions, the outcomes in nature are poorly quantified. We monitored eelgrass wasting disease (EWD) from 2013-2017 and correlated mid-summer prevalence of EWD with remotely sensed seawater temperature metrics before, during, and after the 2015-2016 marine heatwave in the northeast Pacific, the longest marine heatwave in recent history. Eelgrass shoot density declined by 60% between 2013 and 2015 and did not recover. EWD prevalence ranged from 5-70% in 2013 and increased to 60-90% by 2017. EWD severity approximately doubled each year between 2015 and 2017. EWD prevalence was positively correlated with warmer temperature for the month prior to sampling while EWD severity was negatively correlated with warming prior to sampling. This complex result may be mediated by leaf growth; bigger leaves may be more likely to be diseased, but may also grow faster than lesions, resulting in lower severity. Regional stressors leading to population declines prior to or early in the heatwave may have exacerbated the effects of warming on eelgrass disease susceptibility and reduced the resilience of this critical species.
KEYWORDS
Maya L. Groner (Corresponding Author)
- US Geological Survey Western Fisheries Research Center, Seattle, WA 98115, USA
- Prince William Sound Science Center, Cordova, AK 99574, USA
Morgan E. Eisenlord (Co-author)
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Reyn M. Yoshioka (Co-author)
- Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, University of Oregon, Charleston, OR 97420, USA
Evan A. Fiorenza (Co-author)
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
Phoebe D. Dawkins (Co-author)
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
Olivia J. Graham (Co-author)
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Miranda Winningham (Co-author)
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Alex Vompe (Co-author)
- Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
Natalie D. Rivlin (Co-author)
- University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada
- Institute of Marine Environmental Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21202, USA
Bo Yang (Co-author)
- Department of Urban and Regional Planning, San José State University, San Jose, CA 95192, USA
Colleen A. Burge (Co-author)
- University of Maryland Baltimore, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
- California Department of Fish & Wildlife, University of California, Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory, Bodega Bay, CA 94923, USA
Brendan Rappazzo (Co-author)
- Department of Computer Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Carla P. Gomes (Co-author)
- Department of Computer Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
C. Drew Harvell (Co-author)
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA