Stephen J Hawkins

University of Southampton · National Oceanography Centre Southampton (NOCS)

Intertidal communities are more frequently experiencing extreme air and sea temperatures as a result of anthropogenic climate change, with heatwaves increasing in intensity and duration. Most studies exploring the thermal tolerances of intertidal species to extreme temperatures haven't directly studied early life stages. We explored whether locally...

In the marine environment, greening of grey infrastructure (GGI) is a rapidly growing field that attempts to encourage native marine life to colonize marine artificial structures to enhance biodiversity, thereby promoting ecosystem functioning and hence service provision. By designing multifunctional sea defences, breakwaters, port complexes and of...

Limpets are keystone grazers on rocky shores. We studied spatial patterns of four co-occurring patellids (Patella ulyssiponensis, Patella depressa, Patella rustica, Patella vulgata) and one siphonariid (Siphonaria pectinata) across rockpools and their surrounds. Our approach considered each rockpool as a concentric system of three micro-habitats wh...

We investigated the spatial variability of macrofaunal and meiofaunal assemblages in intertidal flats on the southern coast of Korea. Abiotic and biotic samples were collected at five stations. The species richness, density, and composition of the assemblages differed significantly among stations. Nematoda and Annelida were the most dominant meiofa...

Worldwide, natural habitats are being replaced by artificial structures due to urbanisation. Planning of such modifications should strive for environmental net gain that benefits biodiversity and ecosystems. Alpha (α) and gamma (γ) diversity are often used to assess 'impact' but are insensitive metrics. We test several diversity measures across two...

Distributional shifts in species ranges provide critical evidence of ecological responses to climate change. Assessments of climate‐driven changes typically focus on broad‐scale range shifts (e.g. poleward or upward), with ecological consequences at regional and local scales commonly overlooked. While these changes are informative for species prese...

Twenty-five years ago, Margaret Barnes reviewed the genus Pollicipes published in Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review. Our review complements and updates Barnes (1996). An endemic species of Pollicipes, P. caboverdensis, from Cape Verde Islands, has since been described, joining the three previously known extant species (P. polymerus,...

Anthropogenic climate change along with the more frequent extreme weather it prompts, are having direct and indirect effects on distributions and abundance of species with consequence for community structure-especially if habitat providers are lost. Rocky shores have long been recognized as tractable experimental arenas for ecology contributing to...

Climate change can alter ecological communities both directly, by driving shifts in species distributions and abundances, and indirectly by influencing the strength and direction of species interactions. Within benthic marine ecosystems, foundation species such as canopy‐forming macro‐algae often underpin important cascades of facilitative interact...

Estuarine and coastal waters are acknowledged centres for anthropogenic impacts. Superimposed on the complex natural interactions between land, rivers and sea are the myriad consequences of human activity – a spectrum ranging from locally polluting effluents to some of the severest consequences of global climate change. For practitioners, academics...

Increasing human population, urbanisation, and climate change have resulted in the proliferation of hard coastal infrastructure such as seawalls and breakwaters. There is increasing impetus to create multifunctional coastal defence structures with the primary function of protecting people and property in addition to providing habitat for marine org...

To enable the process of energy transition towards carbon neutrality, it is important to educate the community on the need for social, economic, environmental and institutional transformation, and to educate and inform citizens to participate proactively in this change. This study evaluated the effectiveness of participation by elementary school st...

A field-based experiment was conducted on a detritus-loaded beach on the south coast of the British Isles (Poole Harbour) to investigate the decay rates of different combinations of algal detritus and their associated nematode assemblages. Ten algal mixture treatment combinations (monocultures with all possible 2 or 3 mixed algal treatments) of thr...

Aims Rising sea-level following the Last Glacial Maximum lead to fragmentation of coastal limpet populations between islands of the Archipelago of Madeira. This fragmentation is reinforced by recent heavy exploitation reducing effective population size on Madeira Island. We use the limpet P. aspera to understand how the role of processes at differe...

In response to the environmental damage caused by urbanization, Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are being implemented to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem processes with mutual benefits for society and nature. Although the field of NbS is flourishing, experiments in different geographic locations and environmental contexts have produced variable resu...

In shell-secreting molluscs, age and growth rate of individuals and hence their performance can normally be measured using growth lines that are deposited in the shell throughout their lives. An annual periodicity of growth line formation of the warm-water limpet Patella depressa was established using marked and recaptured individuals from north Wa...

Rising sea-level following the Last Glacial Maximum lead to fragmentation of coastal limpet populations between islands of the Archipelago of Madeira. This fragmentation is reinforced by recent heavy exploitation reducing effective population size on Madeira Island. We use the limpet P. aspera to understand how the role of processes at different ti...

Annual surveys of the abundance of intertidal invertebrates and macroalgae have been made at between 70 and 100 rocky intertidal time-series sites around the United Kingdom coastline since 2002 under the MarClim project. The data provide a unique opportunity to investigate the impacts of both pervasive climate change and their punctuation by extrem...

Data that can be used to monitor biodiversity through time are essential for conservation and management. The reef-forming worm, Sabellaria alveolata (L. 1767) is currently classed as ‘Data deficient’ due to an imbalance in the spread of data on its distribution. Little is known about the distribution of this species around Ireland. Using data arch...

The transition of planktonic late-stage barnacle larvae to a benthic life requires enough energy to power settlement and metamorphosis, and may be compromised by food limitation during early ontogeny. We carried out a comparative study to better understand the larval physiology of space-monopolizing barnacles exposed to contrasting regimes of prima...

Aim: To investigate some of the environmental variables underpinning the past and present distribution of an ecosystem engineer near its poleward range edge. Location: >500 locations spanning >7,400 km around Ireland. Results: Through plotting 981 records of presence and absence, we revealed a discontinuous distribution with discretely bounded sub...

Rocky shore ecology has been studied for a long time, starting with qualitative descriptions and becoming more quantitative and experimental over time. Some of the earliest manipulative experimental ecological studies were undertaken on rocky shores. Many, over time, have made considerable contributions to ecological theory, especially highlighting...

Abstract Aim: Topographic complexity is widely accepted as a key driver of biodiversity, but at the patch-scale, complexity–biodiversity relationships may vary spatially and temporally according to the environmental stressors complexity mitigates, and the species richness and identity of potential colonists. Using a manipulative experiment, we asse...

The demography and individual performance of species at their range edges provides important insight into how climate warming is impacting species distributions. The boreal limpet Patella vulgata and the Lusitanian limpet P. depressa have overlapping geographic ranges and local distributions in Britain. We measured individual performance at the 2 l...

Construction along coasts and offshore is accelerating. A new study estimates the extent of different developments and their wider influence and forecasts their expansion.

Dokdo's high marine biodiversity has received worldwide attention recently. A total of 578 macrozoobenthos are recorded since the 1960s, but ecology of Dokdo's fauna is unknown. We monitored Dokdo's subtidal macrozoobenthos for 5 years in 2013–17, in the present study. Five stations representing three subtidal habitats were monitored; 1) oceanic pl...

For much of the 20th century, the Mersey in North West England was one of the worst polluted estuaries in Europe. Water from a range of polluting industries plus domestic sewage was discharged into the Mersey Catchment and Estuary. Recovery came through a concerted clean-up campaign and tightening environmental regulations, partly driven by Europea...

Climate change and coastal urbanization are driving the replacement of natural habitats with artificial structures and reclaimed land globally. These novel habitats are often poor surrogates for natural habitats. The application of integrated greening of grey infrastructure (IGGI) to artificial shorelines demonstrates how multifunctional structures...

Rock-pools are considered to be important habitats for early shore-life of intertidal limpets. We investigated recruitment patterns of three co-existing limpet species in the region of Sines (SW Portugal): the patellids Patella depressa and Patella ulyssiponensis, and the siphonariid Siphonaria pectinata. Juvenile limpets (shell length ≤ 10 mm for...

Habitat modification coupled with the spread of non-native species (NNS) are among the top threats to marine biodiversity globally. Species are known to be transported to new locations via international shipping and secondarily spread via regional vessels and artificial structures. Rapid Assessment Surveys (RAS) combining quantitative and semi-quan...

Coastal urbanisation, energy extraction, food production, shipping and transportation have led to the global proliferation of artificial structures within the coastal and marine environments (sensu "ocean sprawl"), with subsequent loss of natural habitats and biodiversity. To mitigate and compensate impacts of ocean sprawl, the practice of eco-engi...

Recruitment of the limpet Patella ulyssiponensis was investigated in relation to the presence of living crustose coralline algae (CCA) in rocky-shore habitats. Juvenile limpets (≤10 mm maximum shell length) were counted in CCA-present and CCA-absent habitats, on three shores in SW Portugal during summer 2007 and winter 2009. Furthermore, the settli...

Changes in rocky shore community composition as responses to climatic fluctuations and anthropogenic warming can be shown by changes in average species thermal affinities. In this study we derived thermal affinities for European Atlantic rocky intertidal species by matching their known distributions to patterns in average annual sea surface tempera...

Recruitment of the limpet Patella ulyssiponensis was investigated in relation to the presence of living crustose coralline algae (CCA) in rocky-shore habitats. Juvenile limpets (≤10 mm maximum shell length) were counted in CCA-present and CCA-absent habitats, on three shores in SW Portugal during summer 2007 and winter 2009. Furthermore, the settli...

Aim Rapid anthropogenic warming coupled with changes in land use is altering the distributions of species, with consequences for ecosystem functioning and services. It is crucial to evaluate species range shifts based on understanding of the interaction of temperature with non‐climatic factors such as habitat availability and dispersal potential. H...

Predictions concerning biological responses to climate change are based primarily on environmental tolerances of individual species. However, biological interactions and the way these may be altered by changes in climate can also be important drivers of ecological change. A combination of observational and experimental studies was conducted to test...

Limpets and barnacles are important components of intertidal assemblages worldwide. This study examines the effects of barnacles on the foraging behaviour of the limpet Patella vulgata , which is the main algal grazer in the North-west Atlantic. The behaviour of limpets on a vertical seawall on the Isle of Man (UK) was investigated using autonomous...

Interactions in the Marine Benthos - edited by Stephen J. Hawkins August 2019

Interactions in the Marine Benthos - edited by Stephen J. Hawkins August 2019

Interactions in the Marine Benthos - edited by Stephen J. Hawkins August 2019

Interactions in the Marine Benthos - edited by Stephen J. Hawkins August 2019

Interactions in the Marine Benthos - edited by Stephen J. Hawkins August 2019

Human population growth and accelerating coastal development have been the drivers for unprecedented construction of artificial structures along shorelines globally. Construction has been recently amplified by societal responses to reduce flood and erosion risks from rising sea levels and more extreme storms resulting from climate change. Such stru...

Human population growth and accelerating coastal development have been the drivers for unprecedented construction of artificial structures along shorelines globally. Construction has been recently amplified by societal responses to reduce flood and erosion risks from rising sea levels and more extreme storms resulting from climate change. Such stru...

Cosmopolitan habitat-forming taxa of algae such as the genus Corallina provide an opportunity to compare patterns of biodiversity over wide geographic scales. Nematode assemblages inhabiting Corallina turves were compared between the south coasts of the British Isles and South Korea. A fully nested design was used with three regions in each country...

Contemporary coexistence theory provides a framework for predicting invasiveness and impact of Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) by incorporating differences in niche and fitness between INNS and co-occurring native species. The widespread invasive kelp Undaria pinnatifida is considered a high-risk INNS, although a robust evidence base regarding i...

Hermaphroditism is thought to be an advantageous strategy common in marine molluscs that exhibit simultaneous, sequential or alternating hermaphroditism. Several species of patellid limpets have previously been shown to be protandrous hermaphrodites. The present study aimed to confirm whether this phenomenon occurs in Patella piperata. Transitional...

Grassland carbon capturing and storage (CCS) is thought to benefit from regulation of grazing. The impact is likely to depend on livestock density. Yet, few studies have tested this principle or evaluated the consistency of grazer-carbon relationships across multiple sites. We sampled four intertidal zones across 22 salt marshes along a 650 km stre...

Canopy-forming algae are important habitat providers in coastal ecosystems. Several canopy-forming species have spread outside their native geographic range. We investigated the role that these invasive non-native algae play in providing habitat for meiofaunal species. Sargassum muticum is a native species in East Asia and has been a successful inv...

Aim The relationship of population genetics with the ecology and biogeography of species may be explored by comparing phenotypically similar but ecologically different congeners with overlapping ranges. We compared genetic differentiation between two congeneric rocky intertidal gastropods across a major portion of their sympatric range. We hypothes...

The principles of eco-engineering and green infrastructure are embedded in planning practice for terrestrial development and wetland restoration. In marine planning, however, eco-engineering of blue-green infrastructure remains an emerging, yet popular, concept. In the UK, despite a clear ‘policy pull’ to incorporate biodiversity enhancements in ma...

Intertidal habitats in the northeastern Atlantic face stressful environmental impacts from semi-diurnal tides that result in both immersion and emersion of organisms to oceanic and atmospheric conditions respectively. As well as daily and seasonal temperature changes, the effects of global climate change are affecting intertidal habitats to changes...

Artificial structures are proliferating in the marine environment, resulting in 'ocean sprawl'. In light of the potential environmental impacts of this, such as habitat loss and alteration, it is becoming increasingly important to incorporate ecologically-sensitive design into artificial marine structures. The principles of eco-engineering and gree...

Frameworks designed to prioritise the management of invasive non-native species (INNS) must consider many factors, including their impacts on native biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human health. Management feasibility should also be foremost in any prioritisation process, but is often overlooked, particularly in the marine environment. The As...

Eco-engineering benefits both nature and the human society through combining knowledge from the fields of ecology and engineering to build infrastructures. Please say what is eco-engineering As demand for coastal urbanization increase, so does the need in eco-engineering research to find an effective and cost-friendly approach, particularly in Pena...

Eco-engineering benefits both nature and the human society through combining knowledge from the fields of ecology and engineering to build infrastructures. As demand for coastal urbanization increase, so does the need in eco-engineering research to find an effective and cost-friendly approach, particularly in Penang Island that has undergone large...

Canopy-forming fucoid algae have an important role as ecosystem engineers on rocky intertidal shores, where they increase the abundance of species otherwise limited by exposure during low tide. The facilitative relationship between Ascophyllum nodosum and associated organisms was explored using a frond breakage experiment (100%, 50%, 25%, 0% intact...

Time-lapse photography was used to study the timing and duration of foraging activity of a population of the pulmonate gastropod Onchidella celtica on an exposed rocky shore in Cornwall, UK. The pulmonates spent most of their time in their home crevice, emerging onto open rock only during some ebb tides to forage for food and find a mate. Total dur...

The genetic erosion of populations exposed to human exploitation plays a detrimental role on a species ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions. The Macaronesia (NE Atlantic) endemic limpet Patella aspera (Röding 1798) has been subject to overexploitation throughout its geographic distribution. We analysed 841 limpet specimens from ele...

The uptake of natural living resources for human consumption has triggered serious changes in the balance of ecosystems. In the archipelagos of Macaronesia (NE Atlantic), limpets have been extensively exploited probably since islands were first colonized. This has led to profound consequences in the dynamics of rocky shore communities. The Patella...

The first real-Time evidence of the rotation of the operculum of the trochid gastropod Phorcus lineatus has been obtained by marking the operculum of live individuals and recording the angular orientation of the operculum in relation to the apertural tooth using time-lapse microscopy. Short-Term monitoring of the rotation of opercula of juvenile P....