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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

This review evaluates the vulnerability of South African estuaries to Climate Change in a data-limited environment. The regional-scale assessment is based on physical characteristics and predicted/measured changes in the abiotic drivers and ecosystem responses. The major Climate Change stressors were identified in order of importance as change in climatic and hydrological processes, ocean circulation and temperature regimes, sea level rise, increase in frequency and intensity of sea storms, and ocean acidification. Flow-related ecosystem responses included changes in mouth state, salinity regimes, biochemical regimes (nutrient fluxes), and floods and related sediment deposition/erosion cycles. The regional vulnerability assessment provides a summary of the key shifts scaled as high, medium, and low in estuary state. Changes in oceanic processes and temperature regimes drive shifts in nearshore temperatures of the transitional zones, with related ecological responses (e.g., range expansion). However, most structural and functional changes are expected along cool temperate and subtropical biogeographical regions, leading to notable shifts in mouth closures and salinity regimes, which in turn will affect estuary function and estuary-associated species. Monitoring and management of resources (e.g., fresh water and fisheries allocations) need to consider this in long-term planning.

Details

Title
The Vulnerability of South African Estuaries to Climate Change: A Review and Synthesis
Author
Lara van Niekerk 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Lamberth, Stephen J 2 ; James, Nicola C 3 ; Taljaard, Susan 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Adams, Janine B 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Theron, Andre K 5 ; Krug, Marjolaine 6 

 Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa; Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Botany Department, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha 6070, South Africa 
 Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Botany Department, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha 6070, South Africa; Branch: Fisheries, Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Cape Town 8002, South Africa 
 Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Botany Department, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha 6070, South Africa; South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Makanda 6140, South Africa 
 Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Botany Department, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha 6070, South Africa 
 Department Civil Engineering, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa 
 Branch: Oceans and Coast, Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Cape Town 8002, South Africa; Department of Oceanography, Nansen-Tutu Centre for Marine Environmental Research, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7701, South Africa 
First page
697
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
14242818
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2716517127
Copyright
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.