Understanding the role of animal behaviour in linking individuals to ecosystems is central to advancing knowledge surrounding community structure, stability and transition dynamics. Using 22 years of long-term subtidal monitoring, we show that an abrupt outbreak of purple sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus), which occurred in 2014 in southern Monterey Bay, California, USA, was primarily driven by a behavioural shift, not by a demographic response (i.e. survival or recruitment). We then tracked the foraging behaviour of sea urchins for 3 years following the 2014 outbreak and found that behaviour is strongly associated with patch state (forest or barren) transition dynamics. Finally, in 2019, we observed a remarkable recovery of kelp forests at a deep rocky reef. We show that this recovery was associated with sea urchin movement from the deep reef to shallow water. These results demonstrate how changes in grazer behaviour can facilitate patch dynamics and dramatically restructure communities and ecosystems.

中文翻译：

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温带石礁生态系统中初级消费者觅食行为的变化驱动斑块过渡动态

了解动物行为在将个体与生态系统联系起来的作用对于推进有关群落结构、稳定性和过渡动态的知识至关重要。通过 22 年的长期潮下带监测，我们发现紫色海胆（Strongylocentrotus purpuratus ）的突然爆发)，2014 年发生在美国加利福尼亚州蒙特雷湾南部，主要是由行为转变驱动的，而不是人口反应（即生存或招募）。然后，我们跟踪了 2014 年爆发后海胆的觅食行为 3 年，发现该行为与斑块状态（森林或贫瘠）过渡动态密切相关。最后，在 2019 年，我们观察到深岩礁的海带森林显着恢复。我们表明，这种恢复与海胆从深礁到浅水的运动有关。这些结果证明了食草动物行为的变化如何促进斑块动态并显着重组社区和生态系统。