CONCLUSION
Our experiments considered 1) realistic assemblages that allowed for
species interactions and indirect climate effects, 2) multiple future
climate scenarios, and 3) seasonality. Using realistic assemblages
revealed that climate change affected understory assemblages largely via
indirect interactions with a canopy-forming species. Including multiple
future climate scenarios highlighted gradients in the response ofSilvetia assemblages to increasing climate severity. Lastly,
repeating our mesocosm experiment and conducting field surveys during
two time periods allowed us to assess the interaction between climate
change and season. Canopy-understory interactions shape multiple
communities outside of rocky intertidal habitats and it is likely for
all three of the factors we tested in this experiment to be relevant for
those communities. Incorporating realistic assemblages, climate
scenarios, and seasonality will ultimately help better inform how
important species and communities respond to climate change.