scholarly journals Towards transboundary networks of climate-smart marine reserves in the Southern California Bight

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Arafeh-Dalmau ◽  
Adrian Munguia-Vega ◽  
Fiorenza Micheli ◽  
Ainoa Vilalta-Navas ◽  
Juan Carlos Villasenor-Derbez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Marine Reserves ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Average Density ◽  
Southern California Bight ◽  
Kelp Forests ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Larval Connectivity ◽  
Associated Species ◽  
Comprehensive Framework

Climate-smart conservation addresses the vulnerability of biodiversity to climate change impacts but may require transboundary considerations. Here, we adapt and refine 16 biophysical guidelines for climate-smart marine reserves for the transboundary California Bight ecoregion. We link several climate-adaptation strategies (e.g., maintaining connectivity, representing climate refugia, and forecasting effectiveness of protection) by focusing on kelp forests and associated species. We quantify transboundary larval connectivity along ~800 km of coast and find that the number of connections and the average density of larvae dispersing through the network under future climate scenarios could decrease by ~50%, highlighting the need to protect critical steppingstone nodes. We also find that although focal species will generally recover with 30% protection, marine heatwaves could hinder subsequent recovery in the following 50 years, suggesting that protecting climate refugia and expanding the coverage of marine reserves is a priority. Together, these findings provide a first comprehensive framework for integrating climate resilience for networks of marine reserves and highlight the need for a coordinated approach in the California Bight ecoregion.

scholarly journals Urban change as an untapped opportunity for climate adaptation

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Egerer ◽  
Dagmar Haase ◽  
Timon McPhearson ◽  
Niki Frantzeskaki ◽  
Erik Andersson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Urban Climate ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Active Sets ◽  
Windows Of Opportunity ◽  
Social Ecological

AbstractUrban social–ecological–technological systems (SETS) are dynamic and respond to climate pressures. Change involves alterations to land and resource management, social organization, infrastructure, and design. Research often focuses on how climate change impacts urban SETS or on the characteristics of urban SETS that promote climate resilience. Yet passive approaches to urban climate change adaptation may disregard active SETS change by urban residents, planners, and policymakers that could be opportunities for adaptation. Here, we use evidence of urban social, ecological, and technological change to address how SETS change opens windows of opportunity to improve climate change adaptation.

Effects of marine reserves on predator-prey interactions in central California kelp forests

2020 ◽  
Vol 655 ◽  
pp. 139-155
Author(s):  
DC Yates ◽  
SI Lonhart ◽  
SL Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
Marine Reserves ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Kelp Forests ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Central California ◽  
Invertebrate Predators ◽  
Predatory Fishes ◽  
Density And Biomass

Marine reserves are often designed to increase density, biomass, size structure, and biodiversity by prohibiting extractive activities. However, the recovery of predators following the establishment of marine reserves and the consequent cessation of fishing may have indirect negative effects on prey populations by increasing prey mortality. We coupled field surveys with empirical predation assays (i.e. tethering experiments) inside and outside of 3 no-take marine reserves in kelp forests along the central California coast to quantify the strength of interactions between predatory fishes and their crustacean prey. Results indicated elevated densities and biomass of invertebrate predators inside marine reserves compared to nearby fished sites, but no significant differences in prey densities. The increased abundance of predators inside marine reserves translated to a significant increase in mortality of 2 species of decapod crustaceans, the dock shrimp Pandalus danae and the cryptic kelp crab Pugettia richii, in tethering experiments. Shrimp mortality rates were 4.6 times greater, while crab mortality rates were 7 times greater inside reserves. For both prey species, the time to 50% mortality was negatively associated with the density and biomass of invertebrate predators (i.e. higher mortality rates where predators were more abundant). Video analyses indicated that macro-invertivore fishes arrived 2 times faster to tethering arrays at sites inside marine reserves and began attacking tethered prey more rapidly. The results indicate that marine reserves can have direct and indirect effects on predators and their prey, respectively, and highlight the importance of considering species interactions in making management decisions.

scholarly journals Understanding institutional barriers in the climate change adaptation planning process of the city of Beirut: vicious cycles and opportunities

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Zea-Reyes ◽  
Veronica Olivotto ◽  
Sylvia I. Bergh
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Data Bank ◽  
Institutional Barriers ◽  
Political Interference ◽  
Poor Individual ◽  
Competing Priorities

AbstractCities around the world are confronted with the need to put in place climate adaptation policies to protect citizens and properties from climate change impacts. This article applies components of the framework developed by Moser and Ekström (2010) onto empirical qualitative data to diagnose institutional barriers to climate change adaptation in the Municipality of Beirut, Lebanon. Our approach reveals the presence of two vicious cycles influencing each other. In the first cycle, the root cause barrier is major political interference generating competing priorities and poor individual interest in climate change. A second vicious cycle is derived from feedbacks caused by the first and leading to the absence of a dedicated department where sector specific climate risk information is gathered and shared with other departments, limited knowledge and scientific understanding, as well as a distorted framing or vision, where climate change is considered unrelated to other issues and is to be dealt with at higher levels of government. The article also highlights the need to analyze interlinkages between barriers in order to suggest how to overcome them. The most common way to overcome barriers according to interviewees is through national and international support followed by the creation of a data bank. These opportunities could be explored by national and international policy-makers to break the deadlock in Beirut.

scholarly journals Southward decrease in the protection of persistent giant kelp forests in the northeast Pacific

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Arafeh-Dalmau ◽  
Kyle C. Cavanaugh ◽  
Hugh P. Possingham ◽  
Adrian Munguia-Vega ◽  
Gabriela Montaño-Moctezuma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Baja California ◽  
Marine Reserves ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Kelp Forests ◽  
Giant Kelp ◽  
Central California ◽  
Northeast Pacific ◽  
The Face ◽  
High Resolution Satellite Imagery ◽  
Northeast Pacific Ocean

AbstractKelp forests are globally important and highly productive ecosystems, yet their persistence and protection in the face of climate change and human activity are poorly known. Here, we present a 35-year time series of high-resolution satellite imagery that maps the distribution and persistence of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) forests along ten degrees of latitude in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. We find that although 7.7% of giant kelp is protected by marine reserves, when accounting for persistence only 4% of kelp is present and protected. Protection of giant kelp decreases southerly from 20.9% in Central California, USA, to less than 1% in Baja California, Mexico, which likely exacerbates kelp vulnerability to marine heatwaves in Baja California. We suggest that a two-fold increase in the area of kelp protected by marine reserves is needed to fully protect persistent kelp forests and that conservation of climate-refugia in Baja California should be a priority.

Droughts, floods and freshwater ecosystems: evaluating climate change impacts and developing adaptation strategies

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Aldous ◽  
James Fitzsimons ◽  
Brian Richter ◽  
Leslie Bach
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Adaptation Strategies ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia

Climate change is expected to have significant impacts on hydrologic regimes and freshwater ecosystems, and yet few basins have adequate numerical models to guide the development of freshwater climate adaptation strategies. Such strategies can build on existing freshwater conservation activities, and incorporate predicted climate change impacts. We illustrate this concept with three case studies. In the Upper Klamath Basin of the western USA, a shift in land management practices would buffer this landscape from a declining snowpack. In the Murray–Darling Basin of south-eastern Australia, identifying the requirements of flood-dependent natural values would better inform the delivery of environmental water in response to reduced runoff and less water. In the Savannah Basin of the south-eastern USA, dam managers are considering technological and engineering upgrades in response to more severe floods and droughts, which would also improve the implementation of recommended environmental flows. Even though the three case studies are in different landscapes, they all contain significant freshwater biodiversity values. These values are threatened by water allocation problems that will be exacerbated by climate change, and yet all provide opportunities for the development of effective climate adaptation strategies.

Study of the Impacts of Climate Change on the Women and Men in the Caribbean: Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience Countries

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
National Programme ◽  
Pilot Programme ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Country Office

This report aims to provide an overview of the gender and climate resilience nexus in the Caribbean and provide gender-inclusive recommendations for climate resilience programmes in the region. This report has been developed within the context of the Caribbean Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR) to support gender mainstreaming into the regional and national programme activities. Specifically, the report seeks to: Understand how men and women participate in climate resilience programmes and how gender inequalities are exacerbated by climate change impacts in the sectors covered by the PPCR. Identify institutional arrangements and good practices for integrating gender equality concerns in Caribbean climate resilience programmes. The audience for this report is PPCR stakeholders (e.g. executing agencies, implementing partners, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) country office teams) and project teams in the Caribbean seeking to mainstream gender into climate resilience projects in the future.

Economic cost benefit analysis of climate change adaptation for infrastructure

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 687
Author(s):  
Michael Nolan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Economic Cost ◽  
Economic Modelling ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Lessons Learnt

This paper explores the lessons learnt from the Optimising Adaptation Investment projects for the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency–it includes coastal settlements, water supply and rail infrastructure case studies. These projects are the first of their kind in Australia and are considered internationally as a leading example of economic cost benefit analysis. They have been used effectively to inform decision making on specific adaptation responses to climate change risks to existing and new infrastructure. The lessons learnt will be explored for offshore platforms, ports, rail, road, drainage, tailings dams, mine facilities, water, and power supply, which includes the following elements: What decision makers require to make informed decisions under the uncertainty of climate change impacts. Reducing the uncertainty through economic modelling and cost benefit analysis. Optimising the right timing and scale of various adaptation options. Benefiting from oil and gas infrastructure adaptation opportunities. To further support the elements above, the applied process for integrating climate adaptation into infrastructure planning, design and operation will be illustrated by AECOM project experiences. AECOM has completed more than 60 significant climate change risk and adaptation projects for mines, ports, water supply and treatment, energy generation, transmission and distribution, rail, road, and coastal settlements in Australia, including the report: Climate Change Impacts to Infrastructure in Australia for the Garnaut Climate Change Review.

scholarly journals Climate Change Adaptation Measures for Buildings—A Scoping Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Eknes Stagrum ◽  
Erlend Andenæs ◽  
Tore Kvande ◽  
Jardar Lohne
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Climate Scenarios ◽  
Successful Operation ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
General Studies

As the climate changes globally and locally, the built environment will be subject to different climatic exposure than in the past. Adaptation measures are required to ensure the long-term integrity and successful operation of the built environment. This study examines literature on climate adaptation measures for buildings through a scoping literature review. It is centered around the main journals in the field of climate adaptation of the built environment, then expanded to map the extent of scientific publications about climate adaptation in general. Studies that regard future climate scenarios have been of particular interest. The majority of the identified literature concerns climate change impacts on buildings in warm climates, with overheating being seen as the greatest challenge. Additionally, few empirical studies are found; most identified research is based on computer simulations or literature reviews. The volume of research on the consequences of climate change on buildings in cold regions is surprisingly small, considering the pecuniary stakes involved. The predictions of climate scenarios suggest regulatory/policy measures on climate adaptation should be taken as quickly as possible to avoid greater costs in the future. However, further research into future scenarios is also essential.

scholarly journals Exploitation and recovery of a sea urchin predator has implications for the resilience of southern California kelp forests

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1799) ◽  
pp. 20141817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott L. Hamilton ◽  
Jennifer E. Caselle
Keyword(s):  
Sea Urchin ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
Marine Reserves ◽  
Minimum Size ◽  
Kelp Forests ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
History Of

Size-structured predator–prey interactions can be altered by the history of exploitation, if that exploitation is itself size-selective. For example, selective harvesting of larger sized predators can release prey populations in cases where only large individuals are capable of consuming a particular prey species. In this study, we examined how the history of exploitation and recovery (inside marine reserves and due to fisheries management) of California sheephead ( Semicossyphus pulcher ) has affected size-structured interactions with sea urchin prey in southern California. We show that fishing changes size structure by reducing sizes and alters life histories of sheephead, while management measures that lessen or remove fishing impacts (e.g. marine reserves, effort restrictions) reverse these effects and result in increases in density, size and biomass. We show that predation on sea urchins is size-dependent, such that the diet of larger sheephead is composed of more and larger sized urchins than the diet of smaller fish. These results have implications for kelp forest resilience, because urchins can overgraze kelp in the absence of top-down control. From surveys in a network of marine reserves, we report negative relationships between the abundance of sheephead and urchins and the abundance of urchins and fleshy macroalgae (including giant kelp), indicating the potential for cascading indirect positive effects of top predators on the abundance of primary producers. Management measures such as increased minimum size limits and marine reserves may serve to restore historical trophic roles of key predators and thereby enhance the resilience of marine ecosystems.

scholarly journals Orders of Social Science: Understanding Social-Scientific Controversies and Confluence on What “High-Quality” Knowledge and “Good” Adaptation Is

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurice Skelton
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Methodological Choices ◽  
Scientific Controversies ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Climate Knowledge ◽  
Social Scientific

Various scholars have noted—and experienced—tribal tendencies between social-scientific “schools of thought” or “paradigms.” The intensity and fervor of such controversies has led some scientists to compare them with frictions between religious orders. In the research domain focused on the use of climate science for climate adaptation, such disputes revolve around the what “high-quality” climate knowledge and “good” adaptation is or should be. Emphasizing this diversity of orders of social science and the humanities, this article describes five distinct ways social scientists and humanities scholars have thought and written about climate adaptation: descriptivists aim to empirically portray climate adaptation as objectively as possible from an assumed subject-independent perspective; pragmatists' research wants to increase climate resilience through usable climate information; argumentivists strive for assessing the justification of climate scientific findings, as well as adaptation decision-making that is based on these findings; interpretivists seek to empirically redescribe how the use of climate science for adaptation is shaped by, and shapes, various other social processes and political actors; and critical scholars work toward revealing how pervasive powerful interests and marginalizing discourses shape adaptation projects negatively. By comparing these five orders' respective scientific, environmental and social aims and concerns, this article pinpoints to how epistemological, ontological and methodological priorities not only drive scientific controversies on issues such as what “high-quality knowledge” is, but also how interdependent orders' methodological choices are with their epistemological and ontological positions. However, this analysis also reveals that while some scholars implicitly stick to their order, others are comfortable to collaborate across such borders. Overall, the diverging aims, priorities, and methods are unlikely to be ever fully reconciled. A better understanding of why academics from different orders differ in the approaches they take and the issues they care about will likely lead to a larger appreciation of the differences of other orders' research and broaden our understanding of key dynamics in studying “good” climate adaptation and “high-quality” climate knowledge.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document