Jake Dytnerski
Ph.D. candidate
Research
Hong Kong has a seasonally dynamic marine environment. Summer sea surface temperatures can exceed 30°C whereas winter temperatures can drop below 15°C. This range in temperature allows for year-round coral communities, and abundant growth of macroalgae in the winter. For my PhD, I am researching the role of the long-spined sea urchin, Diadema setosum, in the ecosystem, here in Hong Kong. Much work has been done on Diadema antillarum in the Caribbean, and some work has been done on the D. setosum as a bioeroder of coral reefs in the tropics. However, little is known about which marcoalgae these urchins feed on; how they affect the seasonal patterns of macroalgae growth and distribution; if the urchins target living corals here in Hong Kong or just the turf algae that grows on the dead skeletons of the corals. Answering these questions will help understand the food sources of the urchins and how their energy stores vary with the seasonal change in food abundance. I am also interested in the connectivity of the populations of D. setosum across its range, as they can be found from the East coast of Africa to French Polynesia, from Honshu, Japan to NSW, Australia. I want to compare the physiological performance of the urchins from stable tropical environments and highly variable environments to determine if they show extensive physiological plasticity, or if populations have adapted to variable environments. This will allow me to predict how these important grazers will cope with future conditions across their range.
Education
2016: Bachelor of Science, Honours Marine Biology, University of British Columbia, Canada
2013: Arts and Science Diploma: Biology, Langara College, Canada
Awards
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2015: Dean of Science Scholarship – Biology research grant
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2013: Betty and Tony Pletcher Memorial Scholarship – For Achievement in Biology
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2012: Real Estate Foundation Biology Student Bursary – Bursary for Biology students
PUBLISHED WORK
MARINE FUTURES PUBLICATIONS
Caswell B, Klein ES, Alleway HK, Ball J, Botero J, Cardinale M, Eero M, Engelhard GH, Fortibuoni T, Giraldo AJ, Hentati-Sundberg J, Jones P, Kittinger JN, Krause G, Lajus DL, Lajus J, Lau SCY, Lescrauwaet AK, MacKenzie B, McKenzie M, Ojaveer H, Pandolfi JM, Raicevich S, Russell BD, Sundelöf A, Thorpe RB, zu Ermgassen PSE, Thurstan RH (2020) Something old, something new: historical perspectives provide lessons for blue growth agendas. Fish and Fisheries. doi: 10.1111/faf.12460
Leung JYS,Russell BD, Connell SD, (2020) Linking energy budget to physiological adaptation: How a calcifying
gastropod adjusts or succumbs to ocean acidification and warming. Science of the Total Environment, 715. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136939
Leung JYS,Russell BD, Connell SD, (2019) Adaptive responses of marine gastropods to heatwaves. One Earth 1, 374–381. doi: 10.1016/j.oneear.2019.10.025
Macreadie, P. I., A. Anton, J. A. Raven, N. Beaumont, R. M. Connolly, D. A. Friess, J. J. Kelleway, H. Kennedy, T. Kuwae, P. S. Lavery, C. E. Lovelock, D. A. Smale, E. T. Apostolaki, T. B. Atwood, J. Baldock, T. S. Bianchi, G. L. Chmura, B. D. Eyre, J. W. Fourqurean, J. M. Hall-Spencer, M. Huxham, I. E. Hendriks, D. Krause-Jensen, D. Laffoley, T. Luisetti, N. Marbà, P. Masque, K. J. McGlathery, J. P. Megonigal, D. Murdiyarso, B. D. Russell, R. Santos, O. Serrano, B. R. Silliman, K. Watanabe, C. M. Duarte (2019) The future of Blue Carbon science. Nature Communications 10(1):3998. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-11693-w
Bellino A, Mangano MC, Baldantoni D, Russell BD, Mannino AM, Vizzini S, Mazzola A, Sarà G (2019) Seasonal patterns of biodiversity in Mediterranean coastal lagoons. Diversity and Distributions, 25(10), pp.1512-1526. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12942.
Martínez B, Radford B, Thomsen MS, Connell SD, Carreño F, Bradshaw CJA, Fordham DA, Russell BD, Gurgel CFD, Wernberg T (2018) Distribution models predict large contractions in habitat-forming seaweeds in response to ocean warming, Diversity and Distributions, 24, 1350-1366.
Wang J, Russell BD, Ding MW, Dong Y (2018) Ocean acidification increases the sensitivity and variability of physiological responses of an intertidal limpet to thermal stress. Biogeosciences, 15, 2803–2817.
Connell SD, Doubleday ZA, Foster NR, Hamlyn SB, Harley CDG, Helmuth B, Kelaher BP, Nagelkerken I, Rodgers KL, Sarà G, Russell BD (2018) The duality of ocean acidification as a resource and a stressor. Ecology, 99, 1005-1010.
Leung JYS, Nagelkerken I, Russell BD, Ferreira C, Connell SD (2018) Boosted nutritional quality of food by CO2 enrichment fails to offset energy demand of herbivores under ocean warming, causing energy depletion and mortality. Science of the Total Environment, 639, 360-366.
Leung JYS, Connell SD, Russell BD (2017) Heatwaves diminish the survival of a subtidal gastropod through reduction in energy budget and depletion of energy reserves. Scientific Reports, 7, 17688
Leung JYS, Connell SD, Nagelkerken I, Russell BD* (2017) Impacts of near-future ocean acidification and warming on the shell mechanical and geochemical properties of gastropods from intertidal to subtidal zones. Environmental Science & Technology, 51, 12097-12103.
Davis KL, Coleman MA, Connell SD, Russell BD, Gillanders BM, Kelaher BP (2017) Ecological performance of construction materials subject to ocean climate change. Marine Environmental Research, 131, 177-182.
Connell SD, Fernandes M, Burnell OW, Doubleday ZA, Griffin K, Irving AD, Leung JYS, Owen S, Russell BD, Falkenberg LJ (2017) Testing for thresholds of ecosystem collapse in seagrass meadows. Conservation Biology, 31, 1196-1201.
Harley CDG, Connell SD, Doubleday ZA, Kelaher BP, Russell BD, Sarà G, Helmuth B (2017) Conceptualizing ecosystem tipping points within a physiological framework. Ecology & Evolution, 7, 6035-6045.
Leung JYS, Russell BD, Connell SD (2017) Mineralogical plasticity acts as a compensatory mechanism to the impacts of ocean acidification. Environmental Science & Technology, 51, 2652-2659.
Connell SD, Doubleday ZA, Hamlyn S, Foster NR, Harley CDG, Helmuth B, Kelaher BP, Nagelkerken I, Sarà G, Russell BD (2017) How ocean acidification can benefit consumers. Current Biology, 27, R95-R96.
Sunday JM, Fabricius KE, Kroeker KJ, Anderson KM, Brown NE, Barry JP, Connell SD, Dupont S, Gaylord B, Hall-Spencer JM, Klinger T, Milazzo M, Munday PL, Russell BD, Sanford E, Thiyagarajan V, Vaughan MLH, Widdicombe S, Harley CDG (2017) Ocean acidification can mediate biodiversity shifts by changing biogenic habitat. Nature Climate Change, 7, 81-85.
Provost EJ, Kelaher BP, Dworjanyn SA, Russell BD, Connell SD, Ghedini G, Gillanders BM, Figueira W, Coleman MA (2017) Climate-driven disparities among ecological interactions threaten kelp forest persistence. Global Change Biology, 23, 353-361.
Knights AM, Firth LB, Russell BD (2017) Ecological responses to environmental change in marine systems. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 492, 3-6.
In review
Cheung-Wong RWY, Harvey BP, Yang SY, Agostini S, Cheung K, Dytnerski JK, Hall-Spencer JM, Wada S, Russell BD* (in review) Reduced carbon sequestration in future algal forests? Increased microbial diversity and algal decomposition under ocean acidification. Environmental Science & Technology
Hemraj AD, Russell BD (in review) Zooplankton invasion: is biotic homogenisation happening under the radar? Diversity & Distribution.
Dytnerski JK, Marshall KE, Baker DM, Russell BD* (in review) The benefits of herbivory outweigh the costs of bioerosion in a eutrophic coral community. Coral Reefs.
Pre-print available: bioRxiv, doi: 10.1101/2021.06.08.447634
Guénard B, Lainé C, Cannicci S, Russell BD, Williams GA (in review) Funding biodiversity conservation research: who gets the lion’s share.
Corra CA, Minuti JJ, Helmuth BS, Russell BD* (in review) Opposing physiological performances of two coexisting gastropods to changing ocean climate.
Recent book chapters
Hemraj DA, Minuti JJ, Harvey BP, Russell BD* (in press) Marine Heatwaves: impact on physiology, populations and communities of coastal marine invertebrates. In Luczkovich J & Baird D (eds), Treatise on Estuarine and Coastal Science, 2nd Edition. Elseiver.
Recent papers
McIlroy SE, Guibert IA, Archana A, Chung HWI, Duffy JE, Gotama R, Hui JHL, Knowlton N, Leray M, Meyer C, Panagiotou G, Paulay G, Russell BD, Thompson PD, Baker DM (in press) Life goes on: spatial heterogeneity promotes biodiversity in an urbanized coastal marine ecosystem. Global Change Biology
Hemraj AD, Bishop MJ, Carstensen J, Krouse-Jensen D, Stæhr PAU, Russell BD (2024) Nature protection before restoration. Science, 383, 158.
Williams JM, Lau SCY, Thomas M, Tsao CS, Russell BD* (2024) A long history: social-ecological systems as drivers of oyster reef loss in the Pearl River Delta and the broader Asian region. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review
Gotama R, Baker DM, McIlroy SE, Guibert I, Russell BD* (2024) How a coastal megacity affects marine biodiversity and ecosystem function: impacts of reduced water quality and other anthropogenic stressors. Ecological Indicators, 160, 111683.
Zhong KL, Gao X, Russell BD, Hu ZM, Chen W, Kim JH, Yotsukura N, Hiraoka M, Endo H, Oka N, Yoshikawa S, Gaitan-Espitia JD (in press) Environmental gradients influence geographic differentiation and low genetic diversity of morphologically similar Ulva species in the Northwest Pacific. Botanica Marina
Chick PYY, Leung JSC, Bridges SM, Williams GA, Russell BD, Not C (2023) Learning in and from the field: a qualitative study of affective engagement. Environmental Education Research, https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2023.2211752.
Hemraj DA, Falkenberg LJ, Cheung K, Man L, Russell BD* (2023) Acidification and hypoxia drive physiological trade-offs in oysters and partial loss of nutrient cycling capacity in oyster holobiont. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 11, 1083315.
Hemraj AD, Bishop MJ, Hancock B, Minuti JJ, Thurstan RH, zu Ermgassen PSE, Russell BD* (2022) Oyster reef restoration fails to recoup global historic ecosystem losses despite substantial biodiversity gain. Science Advances, 8, eabp8747 (open access).
Pre-print available: bioRxiv, doi: 10.1101/2022.01.23.477429.
Cheung-Wong RWY, Kotta J, Hemraj DA, Russell BD* (2022) Persistence in a tropical transition zone? Sargassum forests alternate seasonal growth forms to maintain productivity in warming waters at the expense of annual biomass production. Science of the Total Environment, 851, 158154.
Pre-print available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4051281.
Minuti JJ, Byrne M, Campbell H, Hemraj AD, Russell BD* (2022) Live-fast-die-young: carry-over effects of heatwave exposed adult urchins on the development of the next generation. Global Change Biology. DOI:10.1111/gcb.16339
Harvey BP, Marshall KE, Harley CDG, Russell BD* (2022) Predicting responses to marine heatwaves using functional traits. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 37, 20-29.
Cheung-Wong RWY, Dytnerski JK, Gotama R, Hemraj AD, Russell BD* (2022) Seasonal patterns of macroalgal and sessile invertebrate communities in a monsoonal marine ecosystem. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 275, 107962.
Chan SSW, Wong S, Thomas M, Hancock B, Russell BD* (2022) Abandoned benthic oyster farms provide habitat for more diverse macrobenthic communities. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, 862548.
Xie Y, Huang EYY, Nong W, Law STS, Yu Y, Cheung K, Li Y, Wong CF, Yip HY, Joyce P, Chan KM, Chu KH, Russell BD*, Falkenberg LJ*, Hui JHL* (2022) Population genomics, transcriptional response to heat shock, and gut microbiota of Hong Kong oyster Magallana hongkongensis. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 10, 237.
Falkenberg LJ, King EH, Russell BD, Chen RF (2021) Maximizing the impact of science outreach training. Limnology & Oceanography Bulletin, 30, 85-91.
Hemraj DA, Gaitan-Espitia JD, Russell BD* (2021) Species’ distribution and evolutionary history influence the responses of marine copepods to climate change: a global meta-analysis. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review, 59, 559-584. Open Access, download here (scroll down the ToC)
Data available: https://doi.org/10.25442/hku.14481597.v1
Minuti JJ, Byrne M, Hemraj DA, Russell BD* (2021) Capacity of a key urchin to recover from extreme events: physiological impacts of heatwaves and the road to recovery. Science of the Total Environment. 785, 142781.
Data available: https://doi.org/10.25442/hku.14481888
Minuti JJ, Corra CA, Helmuth BS, Russell BD* (2021) Increased thermal sensitivity of a tropical marine gastropod under combined CO2 and temperature stress. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, 643377.
Data available: https://doi.org/10.25442/hku.14176961.v1
Leung JYS, Russell BD, Coleman MA, Kelaher BP, Connell SD (2021) Long-term thermal acclimation drives adaptive physiological adjustments to reduce sensitivity to climate change. Science of the Total Environment, 771, 145208.
Tanner JE, McSkimming C, Russell BD, Connell SD (2021) Rapid restoration of belowground structure and function of a seagrass habitat. Restoration Ecology, 29, e13289.
Leung JYS, Harvey BP, Russell BD (2021) Fitness of marine calcifiers in the future acidifying ocean. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, 752635.
Falkenberg LJ, Bellerby RGJ, Connell SD, Fleming LE, Maycock B, Russell BD, Sullivan FJ, Dupont S (2020) Ocean acidification and human health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17, 4563.
Russell BD* (2020) The ecology of temperate reefs in a changing world. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 656, 91-94.
Hemraj DA, Posnett NC, Minuti JJ, Firth L, Russell BD* (2020) Survived but not safe: marine heatwave hinders metabolism in two gastropod survivors. Marine Environmental Research, 167, 105117
Data available: https://doi.org/10.25442/hku.13302134.v1
Lau SCY, Thomas M, Hancock B, Russell BD* (2020) Restoration potential of an Asian oyster on heavily developed coastlines: current reef status, recruitment and water filtration rates. Restoration Ecology, 28, 1643-1653.
Minuti JJ, Russell BD* (2020) Functionally redundant herbivores? Urchin and gastropod grazers respond differently to ocean warming and acidification. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 656, 239-251.
Data availability: https://doi.org/ 10.25442/hku.14481864
Caswell B, Klein ES, Alleway HK, Ball J, Botero J, Cardinale M, Eero M, Engelhard GH, Fortibuoni T, Giraldo AJ, Hentati-Sundberg J, Jones P, Kittinger JN, Krause G, Lajus DL, Lajus J, Lau SCY, Lescrauwaet AK, MacKenzie B, McKenzie M, Ojaveer H, Pandolfi JM, Raicevich S, Russell BD, Sundelöf A, Thorpe RB, zu Ermgassen PSE, Thurstan RH (2020) Something old, something new: historical perspectives provide lessons for blue growth agendas. Fish and Fisheries, 21, 774-796.
Leung JYS,Russell BD, Connell SD, (2020) Linking energy budget to physiological adaptation: How a calcifying
gastropod adjusts or succumbs to ocean acidification and warming. Science of the Total Environment, 715, 136939.
Leung JYS,Russell BD, Connell SD, (2019) Adaptive responses of marine gastropods to heatwaves. One Earth, 1, 374–381.
Macreadie, P. I., A. Anton, J. A. Raven, N. Beaumont, R. M. Connolly, D. A. Friess, J. J. Kelleway, H. Kennedy, T. Kuwae, P. S. Lavery, C. E. Lovelock, D. A. Smale, E. T. Apostolaki, T. B. Atwood, J. Baldock, T. S. Bianchi, G. L. Chmura, B. D. Eyre, J. W. Fourqurean, J. M. Hall-Spencer, M. Huxham, I. E. Hendriks, D. Krause-Jensen, D. Laffoley, T. Luisetti, N. Marbà, P. Masque, K. J. McGlathery, J. P. Megonigal, D. Murdiyarso, B. D. Russell, R. Santos, O. Serrano, B. R. Silliman, K. Watanabe, C. M. Duarte (2019) The future of Blue Carbon science. Nature Communications, 10, 3998.
Bellino A, Mangano MC, Baldantoni D, Russell BD, Mannino AM, Vizzini S, Mazzola A, Sarà G (2019) Seasonal patterns of biodiversity in Mediterranean coastal lagoons. Diversity and Distributions, 25, 1512-1526.
Martínez B, Radford B, Thomsen MS, Connell SD, Carreño F, Bradshaw CJA, Fordham DA, Russell BD, Gurgel CFD, Wernberg T (2018) Distribution models predict large contractions in habitat-forming seaweeds in response to ocean warming, Diversity and Distributions, 24, 1350-1366.
Wang J, Russell BD, Ding MW, Dong Y (2018) Ocean acidification increases the sensitivity and variability of physiological responses of an intertidal limpet to thermal stress. Biogeosciences, 15, 2803–2817.
Connell SD, Doubleday ZA, Foster NR, Hamlyn SB, Harley CDG, Helmuth B, Kelaher BP, Nagelkerken I, Rodgers KL, Sarà G, Russell BD (2018) The duality of ocean acidification as a resource and a stressor. Ecology, 99, 1005-1010.
Leung JYS, Nagelkerken I, Russell BD, Ferreira C, Connell SD (2018) Boosted nutritional quality of food by CO2 enrichment fails to offset energy demand of herbivores under ocean warming, causing energy depletion and mortality. Science of the Total Environment, 639, 360-366.
Leung JYS, Connell SD, Russell BD (2017) Heatwaves diminish the survival of a subtidal gastropod through reduction in energy budget and depletion of energy reserves. Scientific Reports, 7, 17688
Leung JYS, Connell SD, Nagelkerken I, Russell BD* (2017) Impacts of near-future ocean acidification and warming on the shell mechanical and geochemical properties of gastropods from intertidal to subtidal zones. Environmental Science & Technology, 51, 12097-12103.
Davis KL, Coleman MA, Connell SD, Russell BD, Gillanders BM, Kelaher BP (2017) Ecological performance of construction materials subject to ocean climate change. Marine Environmental Research, 131, 177-182.
Connell SD, Fernandes M, Burnell OW, Doubleday ZA, Griffin K, Irving AD, Leung JYS, Owen S, Russell BD, Falkenberg LJ (2017) Testing for thresholds of ecosystem collapse in seagrass meadows. Conservation Biology, 31, 1196-1201.
Harley CDG, Connell SD, Doubleday ZA, Kelaher BP, Russell BD, Sarà G, Helmuth B (2017) Conceptualizing ecosystem tipping points within a physiological framework. Ecology & Evolution, 7, 6035-6045.
Leung JYS, Russell BD, Connell SD (2017) Mineralogical plasticity acts as a compensatory mechanism to the impacts of ocean acidification. Environmental Science & Technology, 51, 2652-2659.
Connell SD, Doubleday ZA, Hamlyn S, Foster NR, Harley CDG, Helmuth B, Kelaher BP, Nagelkerken I, Sarà G, Russell BD (2017) How ocean acidification can benefit consumers. Current Biology, 27, R95-R96.
Sunday JM, Fabricius KE, Kroeker KJ, Anderson KM, Brown NE, Barry JP, Connell SD, Dupont S, Gaylord B, Hall-Spencer JM, Klinger T, Milazzo M, Munday PL, Russell BD, Sanford E, Thiyagarajan V, Vaughan MLH, Widdicombe S, Harley CDG (2017) Ocean acidification can mediate biodiversity shifts by changing biogenic habitat. Nature Climate Change, 7, 81-85.
Provost EJ, Kelaher BP, Dworjanyn SA, Russell BD, Connell SD, Ghedini G, Gillanders BM, Figueira W, Coleman MA (2017) Climate-driven disparities among ecological interactions threaten kelp forest persistence. Global Change Biology, 23, 353-361.
Knights AM, Firth LB, Russell BD (2017) Ecological responses to environmental change in marine systems. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 492, 3-6.