Temperate reefs are tractable experimental systems that have made a major contribution to general ecological and evolutionary biology. We celebrate this rich heritage firmly based in natural history. Knowledge of natural history us central to this contribution in terms of formulating appropriate questions, ensuring appropriate stratification of surveys and experiments. Natural history feeds into more modern modelling, macro-ecological and meta-analytical approaches where trait-based approaches are increasingly important. In the era of molecular bar-coding natural history is still needed to put a name to species enabling field identification. Thus going forward temperate reef ecologists most embrace new technologies and approaches whilst retaining classical skills to remain well-rounded ecologists.

Shallow temperate reefs are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth and they are threatened by numerous natural and human-induced pressures. We present four examples that demonstrate the value of a long-term broad-scale perspective in developing a predictive understanding of the complex ecology of giant kelp forests in southern California. Increasing the number of long-term ecological research programs in highly dynamic and valued ecosystems such as kelp forests is sure to pay great dividends towards improving our understanding of the causes and consequences of ecological change now and into the future.

Much of the past research on ocean acidification suffers from too simple experimental design. We present weak spots of many common approaches with a strong emphasis on the disregard of natural fluctuations. Experiments up scaled along the suggested dimensions are likely to provide more realistic results.

The theory of alternative stable states is often used to explain rapid and difficult to reverse shifts between different community states that commonly occur in ecosystems. Here this idea is re-examined in terms of catastrophe theory, a theory that has been largely overlooked by ecologists. The well-known hallmarks of catastrophes can provide new experimental tests for alternative states in nature.

There are increasing impacts of land-based activities on coastal waters, especially from nutrients and sediments, yet little effective policy specifically accommodating land-sea connections. This paper discusses holistic approaches to management using examples from New Zealand, including limit-setting and recognising time lags from groundwater and cumulative effects. Worldwide, renewed effort is needed with a very long-term perspective to ensure effective solutions.

Kelp forests are critical habitats in temperate seas, where they are often subjected to intense wave action. The winter storm season of 2013–14 in the North-east Atlantic was unusually severe, yet kelp forests in the south-west UK were high resilient to storm disturbance. However, a warm-water kelp appeared far more susceptible to storm damage than the dominant cold-water kelp, suggesting that climate-driven shifts in species abundances may erode the resilience of some kelp forests to physical disturbance.

A significant impact of ocean warming is the poleward movement of species’ distribution, including the movement of tropical herbivorous fishes into temperate algal-dominated reefs. Using aquarium feeding assays, we show that juvenile tropical surgeonfish display higher feeding rates than their warm-temperate counterparts, particularly in warmer temperatures. This may cause increased herbivory pressure on temperate reef algae as ocean temperatures rise and tropical species become more common.

Climate-driven incursion of the sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii into eastern Tasmania demands management intervention because of the urchins’ capacity to overgraze kelp beds and cause local collapse of fisheries. This work shows that divers culling urchins while fishing for abalone have no discernible effect on urchin numbers at the scale of dive sites although they may be effective in clearing urchins from small circumscribed patches, allowing recovery of seaweeds.

Trophic compensation by herbivores negated the effect of local (nitrogen) and global pollution (CO₂) on the expansion of algal turfs. This resource enrichment stimulated an increase in metabolic activity of herbivores so that the additional productivity of kelp competitors was consumed.

The invasive kelp Undaria pinnatifida is one of the world's most successful invasive species and can become highly abundant in invaded ecosystems. We tested Undaria's effects on the structure and productivity of rocky intertidal assemblages in a long-term field experiment finding that Undaria had few overall effects on community composition, but doubled local primary production when it was abundant. This study highlights the importance of considering multiple ecological aspects of species' invasions when determining their impact and has broad relevance for invasion impact studies of Undaria and other canopy-forming macroalgae.

Distribution patterns of kelp communities were examined at three regions spanning a temperature and nutrient natural gradient along the Portuguese coast. Consistently through time, kelps were mostly found in the northern region, which separated from the central and the southern ones also in terms of associated assemblages. Kelp beds in southern Europe appear to be currently restricted to northern Portugal.

Coastal defences are proliferating in response to anticipated climate change and there is increasing need for ecologically sensitive design in their construction. In this study, drill-cored artificial rock pools enhanced the ecological condition of an intertidal breakwater and supported equivalent species richness to natural rock pools. These findings reveal the potential of drill-cored rock pools as an affordable and easily replicated means of enhancing biodiversity on a variety of coastal structures, both at the design stage and retrospectively.

Coastal defences are proliferating in response to climate change, leading to the creation of more vertical substrata. Diversity and abundance was higher on north-facing than on south-facing substrata. Grazing rates were greater on south-facing than north-facing substrata. These results highlight the importance of incorporating shaded habitats in the construction of artificial habitats.

Few studies have quantified facilitation cascades across ecological transition zones or where the secondary facilitator is an obligate epiphyte. We quantified diversity of mobile invertebrates associated with the seaweed Hormosira banksii and its obligate epiphyte Notheia anomala at different elevations, seasons, diurnal cycles, and following an epiphyte-removal experiment. All tests showed positive density-dependent effects of Notheia on invertebrates, with strongest facilitation at the transition from intertidal to subtidal habitats suggesting that epiphyte-driven facilitation cascades are common in marine benthic systems.

The effects of canopy removal on macrobenthic communities from rocky shores were examined, taking into account the matrix associated to the harvested canopy-forming macroalgae. The greatest effects of harvesting were observed for the species that created a dominant monospecific canopy prior to the disturbance. The results demonstrate the importance of implementing ecosystem-based management, assessing both the habitats conditions and ecological roles of targeted commercial species.