Integrated ecosystem assessments: developing the scientific basis for ecosystem-based management of the ocean

Ecological assessment of marine systems: How to conclude? Method and application to Western Mediterranean

The ecosystem approach is generally considered as the best way to manage human activities impacting the marine environment. Nevertheless, more than 20 years after the emergence of this new paradigm, whereas ecosystem-based management is theoretically implemented through an essentially systemic approach, in practice, it appears that the application of standards and criteria and the use of indicators lead to a predominance of analytical approaches and to reporting formats that are inappropriate for defining action programmes. This paper proposes a new methodological framework to produce, in a synthetic form, integrated ecosystem assessments that go beyond the juxtaposition of sectoral analyses. Its guiding principle is to use the general knowledge of the marine environment (understanding of system dynamics and interactions within the system through a systemic approach) to put into perspective the results obtained through criteria and methodological standards (understanding the state of ecological components and the pressures affecting them through analytical approaches). The new methodological framework includes the identification of appropriate typologies for activities and pressures, as well as for ecological components. An essential point is to group the ecological components within the following compartments: pelagic habitats and food webs; benthic habitats; areas at the land-sea interface; protected species; and commercial species. On each of these compartments, the application of a selection of descriptors is possible. The result is an optimization of analyses in comparison with the indiscriminate use of descriptors on each of the ecological components considered separately. A case study is presented on the French Western Mediterranean.

How will the cumulative effects of fishing and climate change affect the health and resilience of the Celtic Sea ecosystem?

Ecosystems are subject to increasing anthropogenic pressures worldwide. Assessing cumulative effects of multiple pressures and their impacts on recovery processes is a daunting scientific and technical challenge due to systems' complexity. However, this is of paramount importance in the context of ecosystem-based management of natural systems. Our study provides major insights into the assessment of cumulative effects on Northeast Atlantic ecosystems. Using an Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) tropho-dynamic model for the Celtic Sea ecosystem including 53 functional groups, we (1) assess individual and cumulative effects of fishing and climate change and (2) explore the impact of fishing intensity and climate change on ecosystem resilience. Various levels of increasing fishing intensities are simulated over the whole 21st century, by forcing the EwE model with time series of sea temperature, primary production and secondary producer's biomass from the regional POLCOMS-ERSEM climate model, under both RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. Cumulative impacts on the ecosystem's health and its capacity to recover after the cessation of fishing activities were assessed through a set of 45 indicators (biomass-based, diversity, trait-based and habitat-based indicators), using a theoretical non-fishing and climate-constant scenario as a reference. Our results reveal climate change impacts on Boreal, pelagic species and on ecosystem stability. Fishing preferentially removes apex predators and is predicted to increase the likelihood of a regime shift by decreasing ecosystems' capacity to recover. Predicted cumulative effects are mainly additive and antagonistic but synergies are observed for high fishing effort levels, and finally climate change had minor impacts on ecosystem recovery to fishing. Fishing is shown to be the main driver of cumulative impacts and of ecosystem resilience over the next decades. Our results suggest that slight reduction in fishing effort is enough to compensate the impact of climate change. Future research should then be directed towards exploring and evaluating ecosystem-based climate-adaptive fisheries management strategies.

The Beneficial Interaction Between Human Well-Being and Natural Healthy Ecosystems: An Integrative Narrative Approach

This study highlights the lack of research on the relationship between ecosystem services, climate change, and human well-being. The experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic show the value of the natural environment for people's well-being. We propose a framework that fosters an integrative approach to enhance our connection with nature, which is vital for tackling current environmental challenges. We reviewed over 70 articles and 160 references from databases such as Elsevier, ScienceDirect, Dialnet, MDPI, and Taylor & Francis, focusing on the correlation between pro-environmental behavior and emotional bonds with nature. Increasing our awareness of nature is crucial for fostering sustainable ecosystems. To deepen our understanding of how this connection influences human well-being and ecosystem health, we advocate for the application of specific neuroscience and artificial intelligence techniques. The study presents a compendium of prospective research topics for future investigation and analysis. In particular, it underscores the significance of this research for the development of effective policy and practical applications in the realm of conservation efforts.

Incorporating stressor interactions into spatially explicit cumulative impact assessments

Human-induced stressors are impacting the oceans and reducing the biodiversity of marine ecosystems. The many stressors affecting marine environments do not act in isolation. However, their cumulative impact is difficult to predict. Most of the available methods for quantifying cumulative impacts on marine ecosystems sum the impact of individual stressors to estimate cumulative impact. We demonstrate how experimental evidence from interacting stressors can be accounted for in cumulative impact assessments. We adapted a widely used additive model to incorporate nonadditive stressor interactions into a marine spatially explicit cumulative impact assessment for seagrasses. We combined experimental data on the impact of multiple stressors with spatial data on stressor intensity to test whether stressor interactions impact seagrasses in a case study region in South Australia. We also assessed how uncertainty about cumulative impacts changes when uncertainty in stressor interactions is included in the impact mapping. The results from an additive spatial cumulative impact assessment model were compared with results from the model incorporating interactions. Cumulative effects from the interaction model were more variable than those produced by the additive model. Five of the 15 stressor interactions that we tested produced impacts that significantly deviated from those predicted by an additive model. Areas of our study region that showed the largest discrepancies between the additive and interactive outputs were also associated with higher uncertainty. Our study demonstrates that the inclusion of stressor interactions changes the pattern and intensity of modeled spatial cumulative impact. Additive models have the potential to misrepresent cumulative impact intensity and do not provide the opportunity for targeted mitigation measures when managing the interactive effects of stressors. Appropriate inclusion of interacting stressor data may have implications for the identification of key stressors and the subsequent spatial planning and management of marine ecosystems and biodiversity.

Water quality-fisheries tradeoffs in a changing climate underscore the need for adaptive ecosystem-based management

Changes driven by both unanticipated human activities and management actions are creating wicked management landscapes in freshwater and marine ecosystems that require new approaches to support decision-making. By linking a predictive model of nutrient- and temperature-driven bottom hypoxia with observed commercial fishery harvest data from Lake Erie (United States-Canada) over the past century (1928-2022) and climate projections (2030-2099), we show how simple, yet robust models and routine monitoring data can be used to identify tradeoffs associated with nutrient management and guide decision-making in even the largest of aquatic ecosystems now and in the future. Our approach enabled us to assess planned nutrient load reduction targets designed to mitigate nutrient-driven hypoxia and show why they appear overly restrictive based on current fishery needs, indicating tradeoffs between water quality and fisheries management goals. At the same time, our temperature results show that projected climate change impacts on hypoxic extent will require more stringent nutrient regulations in the future. Beyond providing a rare example of bottom hypoxia driving changes in fishery harvests at an ecosystem scale, our study illustrates the need for adaptive ecosystem-based management, which can be informed by simple predictive models that can be readily applied over long time periods, account for tradeoffs across multiple management sectors (e.g., water quality, fisheries), and address ecosystem nonstationarity (e.g., climate change impacts on management targets). Such approaches will be critical for maintaining valued ecosystem services in the many aquatic systems worldwide that are vulnerable to multiple drivers of environmental change.

Flagged observation analyses as a tool for scoping and communication in integrated ecosystem assessments

Working groups for integrated ecosystem assessments are often challenged with understanding and assessing recent change in ecosystems. As a basis for this, the groups typically have at their disposal many time series and will often need to prioritize which ones to follow up for closer analyses and assessment. In this article we provide a procedure termed Flagged Observation analysis that can be applied to all the available time series to help identifying time series that should be prioritized. The statistical procedure first applies a structural time series model including a stochastic trend model to the data to estimate the long-term trend. The model adopts a state space representation, and the trend component is estimated by a Kalman filter algorithm. The algorithm obtains one- or more-years-ahead prediction values using all past information from the data. Thus, depending on the number of years the investigator wants to consider as "the most recent", the expected trend for these years is estimated through the statistical procedure by using only information from the years prior to them. Forecast bands are estimated around the predicted trends for the recent years, and in the final step, an assessment is made on the extent to which observations from the most recent years fall outside these forecast bands. Those that do, may be identified as flagged observations. A procedure is also presented for assessing whether the combined information from all the most recent observations form a pattern that deviates from the predicted trend and thus represents an unexpected tendency that may be flagged. In addition to form the basis for identifying time series that should be prioritized in an integrated ecosystem assessment, flagged observations can provide the basis for communicating with managers and stakeholders about recent ecosystem change. Applications of the framework are illustrated with two worked examples.

Feasibility of implementing an integrated long-term database to advance ecosystem-based management in the Laurentian Great Lakes basin

The North American Great Lakes have been experiencing dramatic change during the past half-century, highlighting the need for holistic, ecosystem-based approaches to management. To assess interest in ecosystem-based management (EBM), including the value of a comprehensive public database that could serve as a repository for the numerous physical, chemical, and biological monitoring Great Lakes datasets that exist, a two-day workshop was organized, which was attended by 40+ Great Lakes researchers, managers, and stakeholders. While we learned during the workshop that EBM is not an explicit mission of many of the participating research, monitoring, and management agencies, most have been conducting research or monitoring activities that can support EBM. These contributions have ranged from single-resource (-sector) management to considering the ecosystem holistically in a decision-making framework. Workshop participants also identified impediments to implementing EBM, including: 1) high anticipated costs; 2) a lack of EBM success stories to garner agency buy-in; and 3) difficulty in establishing common objectives among groups with different mandates (e.g., water quality vs. fisheries production). We discussed as a group solutions to overcome these impediments, including construction of a comprehensive, research-ready database, a prototype of which was presented at the workshop. We collectively felt that such a database would offer a cost-effective means to support EBM approaches by facilitating research that could help identify useful ecosystem indicators and management targets and allow for management strategy evaluations that account for risk and uncertainty when contemplating future decision-making.

The global spread of jellyfish hazards mirrors the pace of human imprint in the marine environment

The rising demand of ecosystem services, due to the increasing human population in coastal areas, and the subsequent need to secure healthy and sustainable seas constitute a major challenge for marine ecosystems management. In addition, global anthropogenic changes have transformed the marine realm, thereby challenging ecosystem health and the services necessary for human welfare. These changes have opened ecological space for opportunistic organisms, such as jellyfish, resulting in ecosystem-wide and economic implications that threaten marine ecosystem services. Here, we used a comprehensive dataset of jellyfish hazards over the period 1960-2019 to track their dynamics and implications for human welfare. Our results revealed that their large-scale patterns have been mainly enhanced in human-perturbed Large Marine Ecosystems, although the contribution of jellyfish Class to hazard type changed across ocean regions. The long-term variability of these events suggests that their temporal patterns mirror the pace of ocean warming and ocean health degradation nurtured by global anthropogenic changes in recent decades. These results warn of the wide socioecological risks of jellyfish hazards, and their implications advocate for transboundary, regional cooperation to develop effective ecosystem-based management actions. Failure to integrate jellyfish into ocean surveys will compromise coastal ecosystem services governance. Classification: Social Sciences/Sustainability Science, Biological Sciences/Ecology.

Managing the effects of multiple stressors on wildlife populations in their ecosystems: developing a cumulative risk approach

Assessing cumulative effects of human activities on ecosystems is required by many jurisdictions, but current science cannot meet regulatory demands. Regulations define them as effect(s) of one human action combined with other actions. Here we argue for an approach that evaluates the cumulative risk of multiple stressors for protected wildlife populations within their ecosystems. Monitoring effects of each stressor is necessary but not sufficient to estimate how multiple stressors interact to affect wildlife populations. Examining the mechanistic pathways, from cellular to ecological, by which stressors affect individuals can help prioritize stressors and interpret how they interact. Our approach uses health indicators to accumulate the effects of stressors on individuals and to estimate changes in vital rates, driving population status. We advocate using methods well-established in human health and integrating them into ecosystem-based management to protect the health of commercially and culturally important wildlife populations and to protect against risk of extinction for threatened species. Our approach will improve abilities to conserve and manage ecosystems but will also demand significant increases in research and monitoring effort. We advocate for increased investment proportional to the economic scale of human activities in the Anthropocene and their pervasive effects on ecology and biodiversity.

Indicators are Relational: Navigating Knowledge and Power in the Development and Implementation of Coastal-Marine Indicators

In many environment and resource management contexts (e.g., integrated coastal management, ecosystem-based fisheries management), indicator selection and development are perceived as a largely technical, bureaucratic, and scientific challenge. As such, choices about indicators and their application are often treated as external from everyday politics and dynamics of social power. Our aim here is to highlight the value of a relational perspective that weaves power and knowledge together in the context of indicator development and implementation. We highlight four critical dimensions of this relational perspective that may lead to better indicator process outcomes: 1) centering identity and positionality to reflect power differentials; 2) emphasizing the importance of indicator 'fit' and the politics of scale; 3) engaging rather than erasing social-ecological complexity; and 4) reflecting on social norms and relationships to foster adaptation and learning. These four dimensions are rarely considered in most indicator initiatives, including those that are more participatory in design and implementation. The dimensions we outline here emerge from the grounded experience of managers and practitioners, including indicator processes in which we are currently engaged, as well as a scoping review of the literature on indicators for coastal and marine governance and conservation specifically. However, the four dimensions and relational focus are relevant to a wide range of resource and environmental management contexts and provide a pathway to catalyze more effective indicator processes for decision-making and governance more generally.

Understanding the combined effects of multiple stressors: A new perspective on a longstanding challenge

Wildlife populations and their habitats are exposed to an expanding diversity and intensity of stressors caused by human activities, within the broader context of natural processes and increasing pressure from climate change. Estimating how these multiple stressors affect individuals, populations, and ecosystems is thus of growing importance. However, their combined effects often cannot be predicted reliably from the individual effects of each stressor, and we lack the mechanistic understanding and analytical tools to predict their joint outcomes. We review the science of multiple stressors and present a conceptual framework that captures and reconciles the variety of existing approaches for assessing combined effects. Specifically, we show that all approaches lie along a spectrum, reflecting increasing assumptions about the mechanisms that regulate the action of single stressors and their combined effects. An emphasis on mechanisms improves analytical precision and predictive power but could introduce bias if the underlying assumptions are incorrect. A purely empirical approach has less risk of bias but requires adequate data on the effects of the full range of anticipated combinations of stressor types and magnitudes. We illustrate how this spectrum can be formalised into specific analytical methods, using an example of North Atlantic right whales feeding on limited prey resources while simultaneously being affected by entanglement in fishing gear. In practice, case-specific management needs and data availability will guide the exploration of the stressor combinations of interest and the selection of a suitable trade-off between precision and bias. We argue that the primary goal for adaptive management should be to identify the most practical and effective ways to remove or reduce specific combinations of stressors, bringing the risk of adverse impacts on populations and ecosystems below acceptable thresholds.

Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management

Increasing demand for metals used in clean energy technologies, including electric vehicles, has led to an increased demand in certain metals such as Ni, Co, and Mn. This demand has in turn led to an expanding interest in deep-seabed mining (DSM) of polymetallic nodule deposits that contain these exact metals. The main concerns about DSM relate to the incomplete information available about the environmental risks associated with seabed mineral extraction. Key uncertainties need to be systematically addressed to refine environmental impact predictions and establish effective mitigation measures. Adaptive management is an iterative process for reducing the uncertainty that can be applied by both mining companies and regulatory bodies. This Special Series paper reviews the key opportunities and challenges to operationalizing adaptive management in DSM projects and highlights the need for a framework to move from theory to practice. The discussion proposes a systems approach to adaptive management, which could help to guide the environmental management of deep-sea mineral extraction. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:674-681. © 2021 SETAC.

Temporal scope influences ecosystem driver-response relationships: A case study of Lake Erie with implications for ecosystem-based management

Understanding environmental driver-response relationships is critical to the implementation of effective ecosystem-based management. Ecosystems are often influenced by multiple drivers that operate on different timescales and may be nonstationary. In turn, contrasting views of ecosystem state and structure could arise depending on the temporal perspective of analysis. Further, assessment of multiple ecosystem components (e.g., biological indicators) may serve to identify different key drivers and connections. To explore how the timescale of analysis and data richness can influence the identification of driver-response relationships within a large, dynamic ecosystem, this study analyzed long-term (1969-2018) data from Lake Erie (USA-Canada). Data were compiled on multiple biological, physical, chemical, and socioeconomic components of the ecosystem to quantify trends and identify potential key drivers during multiple time intervals (20 to 50 years duration), using zooplankton, bird, and fish community metrics as indicators of ecosystem change. Concurrent temporal shifts of many variables occurred during the 1980s, but asynchronous dynamics were evident among indicator taxa. The strengths and rank orders of predictive drivers shifted among intervals and were sometimes taxon-specific. Drivers related to nutrient loading and lake trophic status were consistently strong predictors of temporal patterns for all indicators; however, within the longer intervals, measures of agricultural land use were the strongest predictors, whereas within shorter intervals, the stronger predictors were measures of tributary or in-lake nutrient concentrations. Physical drivers also tended to increase in predictive ability within shorter intervals. The results highlight how the time interval examined can filter influences of lower-frequency, slower drivers and higher-frequency, faster drivers. Understanding ecosystem change in support of ecosystem-based management requires consideration of both the temporal perspective of analysis and the chosen indicators, as both can influence which drivers are identified as most predictive of ecosystem trends at that timescale.

A Bibliometric Analysis on the Effects of Land Use Change on Ecosystem Services: Current Status, Progress, and Future Directions

Land use changes cause significant alterations in the land surface structure and significantly impact ecosystem services. Research on land use change (LUC) and ecosystem services has become one of the hotspots of interdisciplinary research in ecology and geography. Based on 1860 publications collected from the Web of Science Core CollectionTM (WoS), the top authors, top organizations, top journals, and subject categories were discussed in detail. For the number of published articles, Sustainability ranks first with 86 publications, providing significant contributions in domain. The keywords could be classified into six categories: land use/land cover change, conservation, biodiversity, policies and programmers, environmental change, and agriculture. Citations and reference co-citations were analyzed, and popular literature and co-cited literature in the field were identified. In the discussion, we focus on four important issues, including land use area changes, land use pattern changes, land use spatial pattern changes, and land use changes at different scales. The research framework in the field and the shortcomings of existing research are discussed as well. The main aim of the paper is to assist researchers in identifying potential gaps in the research that should be addressed in future research.

Practical implementation of cumulative‐effects management of marine ecosystems in western North America

Globally, ecosystem structure and function have been degraded by the cumulative effects (CE) of multiple stressors. To maintain ecosystem resilience, there is an urgent need to better account for CE in management decision‐making at various scales. Current laws and regulations are supported by a multitude of frameworks and strategies that vary in application and terminology use across management agencies and geopolitical boundaries. We synthesized management frameworks that accounted for CE in marine ecosystems at the regional and national levels across western North America (Canada, United States, Mexico) to identify similarities and shared challenges to successful implementation. We examined examples of solutions to the identified challenges (e.g., interagency and cross‐border partnerships to overcome challenges of managing for ecologically relevant spatial scales). Management frameworks in general consisted of 3 phases: scoping and structuring the system; characterizing relationships; and evaluating management options. Challenges in the robust implementation of these phases included lack of interagency coordination, minimal incorporation of diverse perspectives, and data deficiencies. Cases that provided solutions to these challenges encouraged coordination at ecological rather than jurisdictional scales, enhanced involvement of stakeholders and Indigenous groups, and used nontraditional data sources for decision‐making. Broader implementation of these approaches, combined with increased interagency and international coordination and collaboration, should facilitate the rapid advancement of more effective CE assessment and ecosystem management in North America and elsewhere.

Integrating diverse model results into decision support for good environmental status and blue growth

Sustainable environmental management needs to consider multiple ecological and societal objectives simultaneously while accounting for the many uncertainties arising from natural variability, insufficient knowledge about the system's behaviour leading to diverging model projections, and changing ecosystem. In this paper we demonstrate how a Bayesian network- based decision support model can be used to summarize a large body of research and model projections about potential management alternatives and climate scenarios for the Baltic Sea. We demonstrate how this type of a model can act as an emulator and ensemble, integrating disciplines such as climatology, biogeochemistry, marine and fisheries ecology as well as economics. Further, Bayesian network models include and present the uncertainty related to the predictions, allowing evaluation of the uncertainties, precautionary management, and the explicit consideration of acceptable risk levels. The Baltic Sea example also shows that the two biogeochemical models frequently used in future projections give considerably different predictions. Further, inclusion of parameter uncertainty of the food web model increased uncertainty in the outcomes and reduced the predicted manageability of the system. The model allows simultaneous evaluation of environmental and economic goals, while illustrating the uncertainty of predictions, providing a more holistic view of the management problem.

Perspectives on managing fisheries for community wellbeing in the face of climate change

Coastal communities are being impacted by climate change, affecting the livelihoods, food security, and wellbeing of residents. Human wellbeing is influenced by the heath of the environment through numerous pathways and is increasingly being included as a desired outcome in environmental management. However, the contributors to wellbeing can be subjective and the values and perspectives of decision-makers can affect the aspects of wellbeing that are included in planning. We used Q methodology to examine how a group of individuals in fisheries management prioritize components of wellbeing that may be important to coastal communities in the California Current social-ecological system (SES). The California Current SES is an integrated system of ecological and human communities with complex linkages and connections where commercial fishing is part of the culture and an important livelihood. We asked individuals that sit on advisory bodies to the Pacific Fisheries Management Council to rank 36 statements about coastal community wellbeing, ultimately revealing three discourses about how we can best support or improve wellbeing in those communities. We examine how the priorities differ between the discourses, identify areas of consensus, and discuss how these perspectives may influence decision-making when it comes to tradeoffs inherent in climate adaptation in fisheries. Lastly, we consider if and how thoughts about priorities have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assessing the first MSFD Implementation Cycle in Greece under Biodiversity and Contaminants Descriptors

The present work constitutes an assessment of the first implementation cycle of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC in Greece by focusing on biodiversity and contaminants, i.e., Descriptors 1 (biodiversity), 4 (food webs), 6 (seafloor integrity), 8 (contaminants), and 9 (contaminants in seafood), and by following the directive’s requirements regarding Articles 8—Initial Assessment, 9—Definition of Good Environmental Status, 10—Establishment of Environmental Targets, 11—Monitoring Programmes, and 13—Programmes of Measures. In this study, the analysis that was conducted investigated the integration of the Com Dec 2010/477/EU criteria and the indicators that have been applied for each descriptor and the approaches and standards that have been used in order to determine the adequacy of the directive’s implementation towards the achievement of GES, the consistency of Articles 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13, and the integration of existing EU legislation and regional/ international agreements or policies as well as the level of coherence among EU Mediterranean MSs. Overall, Greece addressed the requirements of Articles 8, 9, and 10 rather inadequately for D1, D4, D6 and partially adequately for D8, D9, integrating existing legislation to a certain extent. The implementation of Article 11 was satisfactory for all of the descriptors regarding monitoring the needs and the progress towards GES, whereas the measures that were established under Article 13 need to be improved in the forthcoming update.

Diverse integrated ecosystem approach overcomes pandemic-related fisheries monitoring challenges

The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented cancellations of fisheries and ecosystem-assessment surveys, resulting in a recession of observations needed for management and conservation globally. This unavoidable reduction of survey data poses challenges for informing biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, developing future stock assessments of harvested species, and providing strategic advice for ecosystem-based management. We present a diversified framework involving integration of monitoring data with empirical models and simulations to inform ecosystem status within the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem. We augment trawl observations collected from a limited fisheries survey with survey effort reduction simulations, use of seabird diets as indicators of fish abundance, and krill species distribution modeling trained on past observations. This diversified approach allows for evaluation of ecosystem status during data-poor situations, especially during the COVID-19 era. The challenges to ecosystem monitoring imposed by the pandemic may be overcome by preparing for unexpected effort reduction, linking disparate ecosystem indicators, and applying new species modeling techniques.

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted ecosystem and biodiversity monitoring programs, including marine fisheries surveys. Here the authors combine multiple modelling approaches and data to overcome lost observational effort off the coasts of California in a diversified integrated ecosystem approach.

Synergistic Effects of Rooted Aquatic Vegetation and Drift Wrack on Ecosystem Multifunctionality

Ecosystem multifunctionality is an increasingly popular concept used to approximate multifaceted ecosystem functioning, which in turn may help advance ecosystem-based management. However, while experimental studies have shown a positive effect of diversity on multifunctionality, observational studies from natural systems—particularly aquatic—are scarce. Here, we tested the relative importance of species richness and cover of rooted aquatic vegetation, as well as cover of the loose-lying form of the macroalgae bladderwrack (Fucus vesiculosus), for ecosystem multifunctionality in shallow bays along the western Baltic Sea coast. We estimated multifunctionality based on four indicators of functions that support ecosystem services: recruitment of large predatory fish, grazer biomass, inverted ‘nuisance’ algal biomass, and water clarity. Piecewise path analysis showed that multifunctionality was driven by high cover of rooted aquatic vegetation and bladderwrack, particularly when the two co-occurred. This synergistic effect was nearly three times as strong as a negative effect of land-derived nitrogen loading. Species richness of aquatic vegetation indirectly benefitted multifunctionality by increasing vegetation cover. Meanwhile, high bladderwrack cover tended to decrease vegetation species richness, indicating that bladderwrack has both positive and negative effects on multifunctionality. We conclude that managing for dense and diverse vegetation assemblages may mitigate effects of anthropogenic pressures (for example, eutrophication) and support healthy coastal ecosystems that provide a range of benefits. To balance the exploitation of coastal ecosystems and maintain their multiple processes and services, management therefore needs to go beyond estimation of vegetation cover and consider the diversity and functional types of aquatic vegetation.

Enabling Renewable Energy While Protecting Wildlife: An Ecological Risk-Based Approach to Wind Energy Development Using Ecosystem-Based Management Values

Acceptance of wind energy development is challenged by stakeholders’ concerns about potential effects on the environment, specifically on wildlife, such as birds, bats, and (for offshore wind) marine animals, and the habitats that support them. Communities near wind energy developments are also concerned with social and economic impacts, as well as impacts on aesthetics, historical sites, and recreation and tourism. Lack of a systematic, widely accepted, and balanced approach for measuring the potential damage to wildlife, habitats, and communities continues to leave wind developers, regulators, and other stakeholders in an uncertain position. This paper explores ecological risk-based management (RBM) in wind energy development for land-based and offshore wind installations. This paper provides a framework for the adaptation of ecosystem-based management to wind energy development and examines that framework through a series of case studies and best management practices for applying risk-based principles to wind energy. Ten case studies indicate that wind farm monitoring is often driven by regulatory requirements that may not be underpinned by scientific questions. While each case applies principles of adaptive management, there is room for improvement in applying scientific principles to the data collection and analysis. Challenges and constraints for wind farm development to meet RBM framework criteria include collecting sufficient baseline and monitoring data year-round, engaging stakeholder facilitators, and bringing together large and diverse scientific teams. The RBM framework approach may provide insights for improved siting and consenting/permitting processes for regulators and their advisors, particularly in those nations where wind energy is still in the early development stages on land or at sea.

Assessing the Complexity of Social-Ecological Systems: Taking Stock of the Cross-Scale Dependence

Human demands and activities introduce cross-scale pressures in different systems and scales, affecting the provision of ecosystem services and causing an unbalanced effect on human well-being within the territory. The existing institutions are frequently considered panaceas since they do not take into account the different spatial and jurisdictional scales of the social-ecological systems (SES). This paper aims to broaden the existing DPSIR (Drivers–Pressures–State–Impact–Response) assessment frameworks to strengthen the ecosystem approach and promote an integrated cross-scale perspective. The concept of the Cross-scale Ecosystem-Based Assessment (DIET) was developed and applied to a case study on the demand of seafood provisions. The assessment has indicated that the activities related to the specified demand occur at different scales and generate cumulative impacts and pressures on other scales, especially in the coastal zone. The existing responses to address this issue are highly fragmented, both spatially and among sectors. DIET was applied here to the land–sea interface to illustrate how coastal zone governance and management can be improved and how the impact of certain drivers or activities in the SES can be reduced. DIET may help to reduce the governance morbidity and prevent panaceas by fostering the integration of institutions in pursuing flexible, adaptive and fit-for-purpose policies to address complex issues so as to secure social-ecological justice and well-being for all humans.

Evaluation and Tradeoff Analysis of Ecosystem Service for Typical Land-Use Patterns in the Karst Region of Southwest China

Although many land-use patterns have been established to restore vegetation and eliminate poverty in the karst area in southwest China, the ecosystem services (ESs) of these patterns are still not fully understood. To compare the differences in seven typical monoculture patterns and three agroforestry patterns, their ESs and tradeoffs were analyzed within the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Framework. Compared with the local traditional corn pattern, the marigold pattern improved provisioning, regulating, and cultural services by >100%. The pomegranate pattern provided far more provisioning services than the other patterns. The apple + soybean intercropping pattern reduced regulating services, and eventually, its Total ESs (TES) and ecosystem multifunctionality index (EMF) also decreased. Cultural services will be enhanced by the introduction of fruit trees, as well as intercropping. Orange + peach had the greatest negative tradeoffs between provisioning and regulating services (P-R), provisioning and supporting services (P-S), and provisioning and cultural services (P-C), which indicates that the provisioning services urgently require improvement. Peach + pumpkin intercropping decreased the negative tradeoffs of P-R, P-S, and P-C (all > 10%), while pomegranate + grass intercropping increased the negative tradeoffs of R-S and R-C (all > 100%). Our results suggest that all six of these patterns are worthy of promotion but the pomegranate pattern should be given priority. Among the three intercropping patterns studied herein, the apple + soybean pattern should be redesigned to improve performance.

Holistic Environmental Approaches and Aichi Biodiversity Targets: accomplishments and perspectives for marine ecosystems

In order to help safeguard biodiversity from global changes, the Conference of the Parties developed a Strategic Plan for Biodiversity for the period 2011-2020 that included a list of twenty specific objectives known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. With the end of that timeframe in sight, and despite major advancements in biodiversity conservation, evidence suggests that the majority of the Targets are unlikely to be met. This article is part of a series of perspective pieces from the 4th World Conference on Marine Biodiversity (May 2018, Montréal, Canada) to identify next steps towards successful biodiversity conservation in marine environments. We specifically reviewed holistic environmental assessment studies (HEA) and their contribution to reaching the Targets. Our analysis was based on multiple environmental approaches which can be considered as holistic, and we discuss how HEA can contribute to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets in the near future. We found that only a few HEA articles considered a specific Biodiversity Target in their research, and that Target 11, which focuses on marine protected areas, was the most commonly cited. We propose five research priorities to enhance HEA for marine biodiversity conservation beyond 2020: (i) expand the use of holistic approaches in environmental assessments, (ii) standardize HEA vocabulary, (iii) enhance data collection, sharing and management, (iv) consider ecosystem spatio-temporal variability and (v) integrate ecosystem services in HEA. The consideration of these priorities will promote the value of HEA and will benefit the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity.

Habitat compression and ecosystem shifts as potential links between marine heatwave and record whale entanglements

Climate change and increased variability and intensity of climate events, in combination with recovering protected species populations and highly capitalized fisheries, are posing new challenges for fisheries management. We examine socio-ecological features of the unprecedented 2014–2016 northeast Pacific marine heatwave to understand the potential causes for record numbers of whale entanglements in the central California Current crab fishery. We observed habitat compression of coastal upwelling, changes in availability of forage species (krill and anchovy), and shoreward distribution shift of foraging whales. We propose that these ecosystem changes, combined with recovering whale populations, contributed to the exacerbation of entanglements throughout the marine heatwave. In 2016, domoic acid contamination prompted an unprecedented delay in the opening of California’s Dungeness crab fishery that inadvertently intensified the spatial overlap between whales and crab fishery gear. We present a retroactive assessment of entanglements to demonstrate that cooperation of fishers, resource managers, and scientists could mitigate future entanglement risk by developing climate-ready fisheries approaches, while supporting thriving fishing communities.

Climate-driven extreme events may have strong local impacts on marine organisms and fisheries. Here the authors report increased whale entanglements in the northeast Pacific following a marine heatwave, and propose compression of coastal upwelling habitat as the potential driver.

Incorporating stakeholders' values into environmental decision support: A Bayesian Belief Network approach

Participatory modelling increases the transparency of environmental planning and management processes and enhances the mutual understanding among different parties. We present a sequential probabilistic approach to involve stakeholders' views in the formal decision support process. A continuous Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) model is used to estimate population parameters for stakeholder groups, based on samples of individual value judgements. The approach allows quantification and visualization of the variability in views among and within stakeholder groups. Discrete BBN is populated with these parameters, to summarize and visualize the information and to link it to a larger decision analytic influence diagram (ID). As part of ID, the resulting discrete BBN element serves as a distribution-form decision criteria in probabilistic evaluation of alternative management strategies, to help find a solution that represents the optimal compromise in the presence of potentially conflicting objectives. We demonstrate our idea using example data from the field of marine spatial planning. However, this approach is applicable to many types of management cases. We suggest that by advancing the mutual understanding and concrete participation this approach can further facilitate the stakeholder involvement also during the various stages of the environmental management process.

Willingness to pay to protect cold water corals

There is increasing pressure to use currently untapped resources in the deep sea, raising questions regarding ecosystem service trade-offs in these often unknown areas. We assessed the trade-offs between protection of cold-water coral reefs and economic activities, such as fisheries and petroleum extraction, through a survey of a representative sample of the populations of Norway and Ireland. Choice-experiment surveys were conducted in workshop settings and through the internet. Both survey approaches provided some similar results, such as preferences for protection. Our cross-country comparison showed the general public in Norway and Ireland was willing, despite possible conflict with extractive and consumptive economic activities in the deep sea, to protect cold-water corals as habitat for fish. On average, people were willing to pay NKr 341 and NKr 424 for a small and large increase in protected areas respectively, and NKr 880 if the area is important habitat for fish, all else held equal. However, there was large variation across individuals and countries. Norwegian respondents valued pure existence of cold-water corals more than the Irish respondents, and the latter were less willing to trade off industrial activities than the former. Nonetheless, the findings support conservation of cold-water corals and more generally of ocean environments that provide habitat for fish, which the current deep sea governance systems are not adequately designed or sufficiently well-structured to secure.

Assessing the Ecological Sensitivity of Coastal Marine Ecosystems: A Case Study in Xiamen Bay, China

Coastal marine ecosystems are sensitive to anthropogenic stressors and environmental change. The Chinese Government proposed an ecosystem-based marine spatial planning scheme called the “Marine Ecological Red Line” (MERL), aimed at protecting ecologically sensitive areas. The assessment and mapping of ecosystem sensitivity provide important tools for regional MERL and setting conservation priorities. In this study, an integrated framework for the comprehensive sensitivity assessment of coastal marine ecosystems was proposed. This framework had two components: endogenous sensitivity and exogenous sensitivity. A weighted summation method was used along with a GIS-based spatial analysis to calculate regional sensitivity quantitatively. Taking Xiamen Bay in China as a case study, the approach integrated spatial data on the distribution of marine habitats and multiple human activities. An index system (including 26 indicators) was established for the case study. Five areas with different levels of sensitivity were delineated. In the study region of 1281 km2, areas with extremely high and high sensitivity covered 87 km2 and 235 km2, respectively, and were hypothesized to be priority areas of conservation and regulation. Areas with the highest sensitivity were located closer to Jiulongjiang Estuary and along the coastline of Xiang’an. Areas with lower sensitivity were also mapped in Tong’an Bay, representing possible areas that could accommodate future industrial or intensive human use. Comparative analyses between endogenous sensitivity and exogenous sensitivity allowed the presence of development-protection conflict zones to be identified. The results provide an important scientific basis for MERL decisions. In addition, targeted management strategies were proposed for Xiamen Bay. This study presents an operational approach to provide relevant scientific knowledge on the process of ecosystem-based marine spatial planning, facilitating policy-making decisions in sustainable coastal and marine management.

In the blind-spot of governance - Stakeholder perceptions on seagrasses to guide the management of an important ecosystem services provider

Seagrass ecosystems have been identified as important marine ecosystem service (ES) providers, they contribute to coastal protection, fisheries provision and mitigate climate change among others. Yet, they are declining globally at alarming rates. While the ecological dimensions of this social-ecological system have been well studied, its associated social aspects remain largely unexplored. Here, we show how the analysis of stakeholders' perceptions on seagrass ES, their drivers of change, links to wellbeing and governance structures can provide a path towards a more sustainable management. Stakeholders identified seagrass regulatory ES as crucial for the maintenance of social and economic wellbeing and the potential causes and consequences associated to seagrass decline. Power imbalances, an over-compartmentalized legislation and a generalized lack of awareness were highlighted as key aspects to redress in order to achieve a more just governance system. Stakeholders' empirical evidence on the importance of particular ES and on negative drivers of change can also provide an understanding of areas where financial investment would gather wider public support and therefore be more successfully implemented. We showed how the different dimensions highlighted through stakeholders' perspectives can contribute to the consecution of a more inclusive sustainable management, a crucial aspect in the maintenance of seagrass ecosystems.

Expanded consumer niche widths may signal an early response to spatial protection

Marine management interventions are increasingly being implemented with the explicit goal of rebuilding ocean ecosystems, but early responses may begin with alterations in ecological interactions preceding detectable changes in population-level characteristics. To establish a baseline from which to monitor the effects of spatial protection on reef fish trophic ecology and track future ecosystem-level changes, we quantified temperate reef fish densities, size, biomass, diets and isotopic signatures at nine sites nested within two fished and one five-year old marine protected area (MPA) on the northwest coast of Canada. We calculated rockfish (Sebastes spp.) community and species-specific niche breadth for fished and protected areas based on δ13C and δ15N values. We found that rockfish community niche width was greater inside the MPA relative to adjacent fished reefs due to an expanded nitrogen range, possibly reflecting early changes in trophic interactions following five years of spatial protection. Our data also demonstrated that the MPA had a positive effect on the δ15N signature of rockfish (i.e., trophic position), but the effect of rockfish length on its own was not well-supported. In addition, we found a positive interaction between rockfish length and δ15N signature, such that δ15N signatures of rockfish caught within the MPA increased more rapidly with body size than those caught in fished areas. Differences in rockfish size structure and biomass among fished and unfished areas were not clearly evident. Species of rockfish and lingcod varied in trophic and size responses, indicating that life-history traits play an important role in predicting MPA effects. These results may suggest early changes in trophic behavior of slow-growing rockfish due to predation risk by faster growing higher trophic level predators such as lingcod inside MPAs established on temperate reefs. Consequently, spatial protection may restore both the trophic and behavioral roles of previously fished consumers earlier and in measurable ways sooner than observable changes in abundance and size.

Linking demographic and food-web models to understand management trade-offs

Alternatives in ecosystem-based management often differ with respect to trade-offs between ecosystem values. Ecosystem or food-web models and demographic models are typically employed to evaluate alternatives, but the approaches are rarely integrated to uncover conflicts between values. We applied multistate models to a capture-recapture dataset on common guillemots Uria aalge breeding in the Baltic Sea to identify factors influencing survival. The estimated relationships were employed together with Ecopath-with-Ecosim food-web model simulations to project guillemot survival under six future scenarios incorporating climate change. The scenarios were based on management alternatives for eutrophication and cod fisheries, issues considered top priority for regional management, but without known direct effects on the guillemot population. Our demographic models identified prey quantity (abundance and biomass of sprat Sprattus sprattus) as the main factor influencing guillemot survival. Most scenarios resulted in projections of increased survival, in the near (2016-2040) and distant (2060-2085) future. However, in the scenario of reduced nutrient input and precautionary cod fishing, guillemot survival was projected to be lower in both future periods due to lower sprat stocks. Matrix population models suggested a substantial decline of the guillemot population in the near future, 24% per 10 years, and a smaller reduction, 1.1% per 10 years, in the distant future. To date, many stakeholders and Baltic Sea governments have supported reduced nutrient input and precautionary cod fishing and implementation is underway. Negative effects on nonfocal species have previously not been uncovered, but our results show that the scenario is likely to negatively impact the guillemot population. Linking model results allowed identifying trade-offs associated with management alternatives. This information is critical to thorough evaluation by decision-makers, but not easily obtained by food-web models or demographic models in isolation. Appropriate datasets are often available, making it feasible to apply a linked approach for better-informed decisions in ecosystem-based management.

Synergistic Effects of Climate Change and Marine Pollution: An Overlooked Interaction in Coastal and Estuarine Areas

Coastal areas have been increasingly affected by human activities, marine pollution and climate change are among the most important pressures affecting these environments. Human-induced pressures occur in a cumulative way and generate additive, antagonistic or synergistic effects. Knowledge on synergistic effects is crucial to coastal zone management, since they may imply a change in human uses of these systems, as well as dedicated action plans in order to reduce hazards and environmental risks. In this work, we provide an overview of the available literature on synergistic effects between climate change and chemical pollution, and discuss current knowledge, methodological approaches, and research gaps and needs. Interactions between these two pressures may be climate change dominant (climate change leads to an increase in contaminant exposure or toxicity) or contaminant-dominant (chemical exposure leads to an increase in climate change susceptibility), but the mechanistic drivers of such processes are not well known. Results from a few meta-analyses studies and reviews showed that synergistic interactions tend to be more frequent compared to additive and antagonistic ones. However, most of the studies are individual-based and assess the cumulative effects of a few contaminants individually in laboratory settings together with few climate variables, particularly temperature and pH. Nevertheless, a wide diversity of contaminants have already been individually tested, spanning from metals, persistent organic pollutants and, more recently, emergent pollutants. Population and community based approaches are less frequent but have generated very interesting and more holistic perspectives. Methodological approaches are quite diverse, from laboratory studies to mesocosm and field studies, or based on statistical or modelling tools, each with their own potential and limitations. More holistic comparisons integrating several pressures and their combinations and a multitude of habitats, taxa, life-stages, among others, are needed, as well as insights from meta-analyses and systematic reviews.

An integrated risk-based assessment of the North Sea to guide ecosystem-based management

This study provides an integrated perspective to ecosystem based management (EBM) by considering a diverse array of societal goals, i.e. sustainable food supply, clean energy and a healthy marine ecosystem, and a selection of management measures to achieve them. The primary aim of this exercise is to provide guidance for (more) integrated EBM in the North Sea based on an evaluation of the effectiveness of those management measures in contributing to the conservation of marine biodiversity. A secondary aim is to identify the requirements of the knowledge base to guide such future EBM initiatives. Starting from the societal goals we performed a scoping exercise to identify a "focal social-ecological system" which is a subset of the full social-ecological system but considered adequate to guide EBM towards the achievement of those societal goals. A semi-quantitative risk assessment including all the relevant human activities, their pressures and the impacted ecosystem components was then applied to identify the main threats to the North Sea biodiversity and evaluate the effectiveness of the management measures to mitigate those threats. This exercise revealed the need for such risk-based approaches in providing a more integrated perspective but also the trade-off between being comprehensive but qualitative versus quantitative but limited in terms of the "focal" part of the SES that can be covered. The findings in this paper provide direction to the (further) development of EBM and its knowledge base that should ultimately allow an integrated perspective while maintaining its capacity to deliver the accuracy and detail needed for decision-making.

Multi-Frequency, Multi-Sonar Mapping of Shallow Habitats—Efficacy and Management Implications in the National Marine Park of Zakynthos, Greece

In this work, multibeam echosounder (MBES) and dual frequency sidescan sonar (SSS) data are combined to map the shallow (5–100 m) benthic habitats of the National Marine Park of Zakynthos (NMPZ), Greece, a Marine Protected Area (MPA). NMPZ hosts extensive prairies of the protected Mediterranean phanerogams Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa, as well as reefs and sandbanks. Seafloor characterization is achieved using the multi-frequency acoustic backscatter of: (a) the two simultaneous frequencies of the SSS (100 and 400 kHz) and (b) the MBES (180 kHz), as well as the MBES bathymetry. Overall, these high-resolution datasets cover an area of 84 km2 with ground coverage varying from 50% to 100%. Image texture, terrain and backscatter angular response analyses are applied to the above, to extract a range of statistical features. Those have different spatial densities and so they are combined through an object-based approach based on the full-coverage 100-kHz SSS mosaic. Supervised classification is applied to data models composed of operationally meaningful combinations between the above features, reflecting single-sonar or multi-sonar mapping scenarios. Classification results are validated against a detailed expert interpretation habitat map making use of extensive ground-truth data. The relative gain of one system or one feature extraction method or another are thoroughly examined. The frequency-dependent separation of benthic habitats showcases the potentials of multi-frequency backscatter and bathymetry from different sonars, improving evidence-based interpretations of shallow benthic habitats.

The impact of fishing on a highly vulnerable ecosystem, the case of Juan Fernández Ridge ecosystem

The Juan Fernández Ridge (JFRE) is a vulnerable marine ecosystem (VME) located off the coast of central Chile formed by the Juan Fernández Archipelago and a group of seamounts. This ecosystem has unique biological and oceanographic features, characterized by: small geographical units, high degree of endemism with a high degree of connectivity within the system. Two fleets have historically operated in this system: a long term coastal artisanal fishery associated with the Islands, focused mainly on lobster, and a mainland based industrial demersal finfish fishery operating on the seamounts which is currently considered overexploited. The management of these fisheries has been based on a classical single-species approach to determine output controls (industrial fleet) and a mixed management system with formal and informal components (artisanal fleet). There has been growing interest in increasing the exploitation of fisheries, and modernization of the fishing fleet already operating in the JFRE. Under this scenario of increased levels of fishing exploitation and the high level of interrelation of species it might be necessary to understand the impact of these fisheries from a holistic perspective based on a ecosystem-based modeling approach. To address these challenges we developed an Atlantis end-to-end model was configured for this ecosystem. The implemented model has a high degree of skill in representing the observed trends and fluctuations of the JFRE. The model shows that the industrial fishing has a localized impact and the artisanal fisheries have a relatively low impact on the ecosystem, mainly via the lobster fishery. The model indicates that the depletion of large sized lobster has leads to an increase in the population of sea urchins. Although this increase is not sufficient, as yet, to cause substantial flow-on effects to other groups, caution is advised in case extra pressure leads the ecosystem towards a regime shift.

The revolution of crossdating in marine palaeoecology and palaeoclimatology

Over the past century, the dendrochronology technique of crossdating has been widely used to generate a global network of tree-ring chronologies that serves as a leading indicator of environmental variability and change. Only recently, however, has this same approach been applied to growth increments in calcified structures of bivalves, fish and corals in the world's oceans. As in trees, these crossdated marine chronologies are well replicated, annually resolved and absolutely dated, providing uninterrupted multi-decadal to millennial histories of ocean palaeoclimatic and palaeoecological processes. Moreover, they span an extensive geographical range, multiple trophic levels, habitats and functional types, and can be readily integrated with observational physical or biological records. Increment width is the most commonly measured parameter and reflects growth or productivity, though isotopic and elemental composition capture complementary aspects of environmental variability. As such, crossdated marine chronologies constitute powerful observational templates to establish climate-biology relationships, test hypotheses of ecosystem functioning, conduct multi-proxy reconstructions, provide constraints for numerical climate models, and evaluate the precise timing and nature of ocean-atmosphere interactions. These 'present-past-future' perspectives provide new insights into the mechanisms and feedbacks between the atmosphere and marine systems while providing indicators relevant to ecosystem-based approaches of fisheries management.

Model uncertainty and simulated multispecies fisheries management advice in the Baltic Sea

Different ecosystem models often provide contrasting predictions (model uncertainty), which is perceived to be a major challenge impeding their use to support ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM). The focus of this manuscript is to examine the extent of model disagreements which could impact management advice for EBFM in the central Baltic Sea. We compare how much three models (EwE, Gadget and a multispecies stock production model) differ in 1) their estimates of fishing mortality rates (Fs) satisfying alternative hypothetical management scenario objectives and 2) the outcomes of those scenarios in terms of performance indicators (spawning stock biomasses, catches, profits). Uncertainty in future environmental conditions affecting fish was taken into account by considering two seal population growth scenarios and two nutrient load scenarios. Differences in the development of the stocks, yields and profits exist among the models but the general patterns are also sufficiently similar to appear promising in the context of strategic fishery advice. Thus, we suggest that disagreements among the ecosystem models will not impede their use for providing strategic advice on how to reach management objectives that go beyond the traditional maximum yield targets and for informing on the potential consequences of pursuing such objectives. This is especially true for scenarios aiming at exploiting forage fish sprat and herring, for which the agreement was the largest among our models. However, the quantitative response to altering fishing pressure differed among models. This was due to the diverse environmental covariates and the different number of trophic relationships and their functional forms considered in the models. This suggests that ecosystem models can be used to provide quantitative advice only after more targeted research is conducted to gain a deeper understanding into the relationship between trophic links and fish population dynamics in the Baltic Sea.

Partnering with Fishing Fleets to Monitor Ocean Conditions

Engaging ocean users, including fishing fleets, in oceanographic and ecological research is a valuable method for collecting high-quality data, improving cost efficiency, and increasing societal appreciation for scientific research. As research partners, fishing fleets provide broad access to and knowledge of the ocean, and fishers are highly motivated to use the data collected to better understand the ecosystems in which they harvest. Here, we discuss recent trends in collaborative research that have increased the capacity of and access to scientific data collection. We also describe common elements of successful collaborative research programs, including definition of a scientific problem and goals, choice of technology, data collection and sampling design, data management and dissemination, and data analysis and communication. Finally, we review four case studies that demonstrate the general principles of effective collaborative research as well as the utility of citizen-collected data for academic research and fisheries management. We also discuss the challenge of funding, particularly as it relates to maintaining collaborative research programs in the long term. We conclude with a discussion of likely future trends. Ultimately, we predict that collaborative research will continue to grow in importance as climate change increasingly impacts ocean ecosystems, commercial fisheries, and the global food supply.

Indicators of marine ecosystem integrity for Canada's Pacific: An expert-based hierarchical approach

There is great interest and rapid progress around the world in developing sets of indicators of marine ecosystem integrity for assessment and management. However, the complexity of coastal marine ecosystems can challenge such efforts. To address this challenge, an expert-based, hierarchical, and adaptive approach was developed with the objectives of healthy marine ecosystems and community partnerships in monitoring and management. Small sets of the top-ranked indicators of ecosystem integrity and associated human pressures were derived from expert-rankings of lists of identified candidate indicators of the status of, and pressures on, each of 17 ecosystem features, organized within 8 elements in turn within 3 overlapping aspects of ecosystem health. Over 200 experts played a role in rating the relative value of 1035 candidate indicators. A panel of topic experts was assigned to each of the 17 ecosystem features to apply 21 weighted indicator selection criteria. Selection criteria and candidate indicators were identified through literature reviews, expert panels, and surveys, and they were evaluated in terms of the experts' judgements of importance to the health of Canada's Pacific marine ecosystems. This produced a flexible, robust, and adaptable approach to identifying representative sets of indicators for any scale and for any management unit within Canada's Pacific. At the broadest scale, it produced a top 20 list of ecosystem state and pressure indicators. These top indicators, or other sets selected for smaller regions, can then guide the development of both regional and nested local monitoring programs in a way that maximizes continuity while including locally unique values. This hierarchical expert-based approach was designed to address challenges of complexity and scale and to enable efficient selection of useful and representative sets of indicators of ecosystem integrity while also enabling the participation of broad government and stakeholder communities.

Challenges in coupling LTER with environmental assessments: An insight from potential and reality of the Chinese Ecological Research Network in servicing environment assessments

Environmental assessments estimate, evaluate and predict the consequences of natural processes and human activities on the environment. Long-term ecosystem observation and research networks (LTERs) are potentially valuable infrastructure to support environmental assessments. However, very few environmental assessments have successfully incorporated them. In this study, we try to reveal the current status of coupling LTERs with environmental assessments and look at the challenges involved in improving this coupling through exploring the role that Chinese Ecological Research Network (CERN), the LTER of China, currently plays in regional environment assessments. A review of official protocols and standards, regional assessments and CERN researches related to ecosystems and environment shows that there is great potential for coupling CERN with environment assessments. However in practice, CERN does not currently play the expected role. Remote sensing and irregular inventory data are still the main data sources currently used in regional assessments. Several causes led to the present situation: (1) insufficient cross-site research and failure to scale up site-level variables to the regional scale; (2) data barriers resulting from incompatible protocols and low data usability due to lack of data assimilation and scaling; and (3) absence of indicators relevant to human activities in existing monitoring protocols. For these reasons, enhancing cross-site monitoring and research, data assimilation and scaling up are critical steps required to improve coupling of LTER with environmental assessments. Site-focused long-term monitoring should be combined with wide-scale ground surveys and remote sensing to establish an effective connection between different environmental monitoring platforms for regional assessments. It is also necessary to revise the current monitoring protocols to include human activities and their impacts on the ecosystem, or change the LTERs into Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER) networks.