Seabirds and native vegetation drive ecosystem processes that support atoll island resilience
Ecosystem restoration is expected to enhance ecosystem resilience to climate change, but few empirical and mechanistic demonstrations of such assertions exist. Here, we explore this topic for tropical atoll systems, combining science on nutrient subsidies and geo-ecological functions through a unifying ecological energetics lens. We show that native forest cover and seabird nutrient inputs increase primary productivity and secondary metabolism on islands and adjacent coral reefs, scaling with key ecosystem processes. We then demonstrate that seabird and native forest restoration could contribute to reducing island climate change vulnerability by (i) increasing reef accretion rates such that they keep pace with sea-level rise under a 2.0°C warming scenario, (ii) enhancing the production rate of sediment, which could contribute to island maintenance, and (iii) increasing vegetation fine root length, aiding island sediment stabilization. Collectively, our findings provide an integrated energetics and geo-ecological perspective that suggests rewilding of atolls can contribute to climate resilience.
Authors
- Marleen Stuhr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9155-9464)
- Yadvinder Singh Malhi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3503-4783)
- Nicholas A. J. Graham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0304-7467)
- Ruth E. Dunn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0927-2734)
- Hazel Reddington (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6942-1376)
- Sean Evans (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6860-7402)
- Jennifer Appoo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3980-9435)
- Ines D. Lange (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9888-2694)
- Laura-Li Jeannot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1999-7563)
- Jayna Lynn DeVore (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6697-9165)
- Cassandra E. Benkwitt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6756-7958)
- Sebastian Steibl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4819-8581)
- Simon Ducatez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2865-4674)
- Melissa Jane Schulze (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6625-6285)
- Pirta Palola (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5574-0776)
- Eleanor R. Thomson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1670-8970)
- Anna Zora (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8444-2898)
- Chris T. Perry (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9398-2418)
- Peter Carr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4400-6653)
- Lisa M. Wedding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3782-915X)
- Courtney E. Stuart (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2819-2887)
- Julia Rodriguez Fillol (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4114-4345)
- Emma Cotton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0991-9432)
- Ayla K. Hastings
- Solène Fabre Barroso
Institutions
- The Nature Conservancy (US)
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center (NL)
- University of Auckland (NZ)
- University of Exeter (GB)
- University of Reunion Island (RE)
- Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (DE)
- Ocean Conservancy (US)
- Bat Conservation Trust (GB)
- Heriot-Watt University (GB)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive (FR)
- The Nature Conservancy (CO)
- University of Seychelles (SC)
- Tetiaroa Society
- Lancaster University (GB)
- Island Conservation Society (SC)
- University of French Polynesia (PF)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Advances
- Published
- 2026-10-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aei1145
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.52
Funders
- Fondation Bertarelli
- Leverhulme Trust
- Fisheries Society of the British Isles
- Fondation Fyssen
- Frank Jackson Foundation