Advancing an Ecosystem Approach in the Gulf of Maine

2012 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Ecosystem Health ◽  
Gulf Of Maine ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Ecosystem Models ◽  
Management Scenarios ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
And Function

<i>Abstract</i>.—A growing variety and intensity of human activities threaten the health of marine ecosystems and the sustained delivery of services provided by oceans and coasts. The Gulf of Maine (GoM) is no exception to this trend, and as such, an ecosystem- based approach to managing the region has gained traction in recent years. The ultimate aim of marine ecosystem-based management (EBM) is to maintain ecosystem health (i.e., structure and function) and to sustain the full suite of ecosystem services on which people rely. Maintaining ecosystem health and sustaining services are related goals, both from a scientific and management perspective, yet in some cases, the interplay between the two is not well understood. Here, we examine relationships between attributes of ecosystem health and ecosystem services. In particular, we explore how outputs from ecosystem models, originally developed for ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM), can be used to quantify and value services of particular relevance to the GoM environments and human populations. We highlight services, such as the provisioning of food from fisheries, that ecosystem models are well equipped to inform and reveal where more work is needed to value other services, such as the protection from erosion and inundation afforded by coastal habitats. EBM also requires knowledge about the costs and benefits of management decisions for humans and ecosystems. We demonstrate how ecosystem models can be used to explicitly illustrate trade-offs between attributes of ecosystem health and ecosystem services that result from alternative management scenarios. By bridging the gap between models developed for EBFM and ecosystem service models, we identify existing science and future needs for informing an ecosystem approach to managing the GoM.

Advancing an Ecosystem Approach in the Gulf of Maine

2012 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Gulf Of Maine ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Fish Stock ◽  
Stock Management ◽  
Bilateral Agreements ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Clear Vision

<i>Abstract</i>.—The primary goal of ecosystem-based management (EBM) is to sustain the long-term capacity of the natural world to provide ecosystem services. A technical workshop was held on October 5, 2009 at the 2009 Gulf of Maine Symposium, with the objective of moving toward identifying, mapping, quantifying, and valuing ecosystem services in the Gulf of Maine. Ecosystem services are the benefits humans derive from ecosystems—the things we need and care about that we get from nature. Making the benefits of biodiversity and ecosystem services more apparent to environmental managers and society at large is necessary to pave the way for more efficient policy and management. Ecosystem services can provide a framework for assessing and resolving trade-offs among potentially conflicting human activities. Many of the scientific and technical elements necessary to move forward with ecosystem services approaches and EBM in the Gulf of Maine are already in place and have been applied in other areas. Currently, what is lacking is a policy and regulatory framework. Outstanding research questions include a more complete understanding of <i>all </i>ecosystem services, how they can be valued, and how the links within and among social-ecological systems influence their delivery. To implement ecosystem services and EBM in the Gulf of Maine, we need a clear vision, institutions with clear mandates, EBM science infrastructure, and integrative and interdisciplinary partnerships. Infrastructure for United States–Canada science coordination is in place through the Gulf of Maine Council and RARGOM (the Regional Association for Research on the Gulf of Maine). However, management issues are more difficult because we have bilateral agreements only on fish stock management, and we need formal agreements to work together on broader ecosystem elements.

scholarly journals Ecosystem approaches to human health

2001 ◽  
Vol 17 (suppl) ◽  
pp. S69-S75 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Ole Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Ecosystem Health ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Extreme Case ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
Irreducible Uncertainty ◽  
And Function ◽  
Ecosystem State

The promotion of human health must be embedded in the wider pursuit of ecosystem health. Interventions will be impaired if ecosystem-linked determinants of health are not taken into account. In the extreme case, if ecosystems lose their capacity for renewal, society will lose life support services. Essential features of ecosystem health are the capacity to maintain integrity and to achieve reasonable and sustainable human goals. An ecosystem approach to research and management must be transdisciplinary and assure participation of stakeholders. These requisites provide a means for science to better deal with the complexity of ecosystems, and for policy-makers and managers to establish and achieve reasonable societal goals. The ecosystem approach can determine links between human health and activities or events which disturb ecosystem state and function. Examples are: landscape disturbance in agriculture, mining, forestry, urbanization, and natural disasters. An understanding of these links can provide guidance for management interventions and policy options that promote human health. An ecosystem approach to management must be adaptive because of irreducible uncertainty in ecosystem function.

Advancing an Ecosystem Approach in the Gulf of Maine

2012 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Trophic Ecology ◽  
Gulf Of Maine ◽  
Sensor Arrays ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Ecosystem Dynamics ◽  
Dynamical Structure ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
The Future ◽  
And Function

<i>Abstract</i> .—Here we summarize presentations given at the theme session “Structure and Function of the Gulf of Maine System” of the 2009 Gulf of Maine Symposium— Advancing Ecosystem Research for the Future of the Gulf, covering a broad spectrum of multidisciplinary research underway in one of the world’s most intensively studied marine systems. Our objective was to attempt a synthesis of the current ecological and oceanographic understanding of the Gulf of Maine and, in particular, to document progress in these areas since the 1996 Gulf of Maine Ecosystem Dynamics Symposium more than a decade earlier. Presentations at the session covered issues ranging from habitat structure and function, biodiversity, population structure, trophic ecology, the intersection of the biological, chemical and physical oceanography of the region, and the dynamics of economically important species. Important strides in characterizing the broader dimensions of biodiversity in the region, the establishment of new sampling programs and the availability of new sensor arrays, and the renewed emphasis synthesis and integration to meet the emerging needs for ecosystem-based management in the gulf have all contributed to a deepened appreciation of its dynamical structure. The critical importance of the ecosystem goods and services provided by the gulf, and the factors affecting the sustainable delivery of these services, was clearly demonstrated in the course of the session. The papers presented at the session made it clear how far we have come and how far we need to go to ensure the sustainable delivery of these services into the future.

scholarly journals Trade-offs between timber production, carbon stocking and habitat quality when managing woodlots for multiple ecosystem services

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
SOPHIE CARPENTIER ◽  
ELISE FILOTAS ◽  
I. TANYA HANDA ◽  
CHRISTIAN MESSIER
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Habitat Quality ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Simulation Modelling ◽  
Timber Production ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Management Scenarios ◽  
Management Objectives ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Structural Indicators

SUMMARYManaging for multiple ecosystem services is a growing issue for forest managers. As trade-offs arise between conflicting management objectives, stakeholders must be informed of the possible outcomes of alternative choices in order to facilitate decision-making. We modelled stand dynamics under single-management and functional zoning multiple-management (TRIAD; i.e. three-zone) scenarios in different forest types typical of eastern North America with the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS). Timber production, carbon stocking and habitat quality ecosystem services were calculated with simulation outputs. Habitat quality was measured using a habitat suitability index that integrated stand structural indicators. A multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) was performed in order to rank scenarios. We show that the most intensive management yielded greater timber volumes but resulted in the weakest carbon and habitat quality scores. The TRIAD scenarios in sugar maple–beech stands offered the best compromise in services compared to single management. In shade-intolerant deciduous stands, there was a loss of timber production with TRIAD scenarios, but greater carbon stock and habitat quality were observed. Our study contrasts alternative management scenarios for ecosystem services in woodlots of different forest types. It confirms that multiple harvest systems better achieve multiple services. The coupling of simulation modelling with MCDA offers a simple and flexible method to help stakeholders and managers make sound decisions.

scholarly journals Assessing Changes in Ecosystem Services Provision in Coastal Waters

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Inácio ◽  
Gerald Schernewski ◽  
Dimitra Alkisti Pliatsika ◽  
Juliane Benz ◽  
René Friedland
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Salinity Gradient ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Spatial Extent ◽  
Trade Offs

Coastal ecosystems are important ecosystem services (ES) suppliers. The degradation of these ecosystems jeopardizes the quality of ES provision. The Biodiversity 2020 Strategy aims at maintaining and restoring ES, although clear guidelines are missing on how to define the state to which ES should be restored. In this respect, synergies between ES assessments and the Water Framework Directive (WFD) exist, but methodological approaches to connect both are lacking. The Marine Ecosystem Services Assessment Tool (MESAT) can overcome this problem. In this study, the tool is applied to semi-open and open coastal water bodies in the Southern Baltic Sea, the Greifswald Bay and Pomeranian Bay. The resulting changes in ES provision confirm the ability of MESAT to be applied in all WFD water body types and a multitude of environmental and anthropogenic gradients. Nevertheless, problems such as data scarcity, spatial extent and historical background of the case studies require adaptations in the assessment process. The spatial extent of all case studies allowed to cover a connected system with a strong environmental (salinity) gradient. Analyzing changes in ES provision in connected systems can help to better understand linkages between ES provision and environmental and anthropogenic stressors as well as trade-offs between ES across water bodies. This information can be further used to support the design of management plans. From the analysis of all MESAT case studies, major factors were identified for the tool to be transfered into a European context, as well as potential problems and solutions. Following the WFD is a strong advantage, which ensures the tool’s transferability to other areas.

scholarly journals An ecosystem approach for the assessment of fisheries impacts on marine top predators: the Bay of Biscay case study

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 925-938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Géraldine Lassalle ◽  
Didier Gascuel ◽  
François Le Loc'h ◽  
Jérémy Lobry ◽  
Graham John Pierce ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Bay Of Biscay ◽  
Biological Interactions ◽  
Ecosystem Models ◽  
Top Predators ◽  
And Function ◽  
Common Dolphins

Abstract Lassalle, G., Gascuel, D., Le Loc'h, F., Lobry, J., Pierce, G. J., Ridoux, V., Santos, M. B., Spitz, J., and Niquil, N. 2012. An ecosystem approach for the assessment of fisheries impacts on marine top predators: the Bay of Biscay case study. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: 925–938. A number of marine mammal populations is currently threatened by their interactions with fisheries. The present study aimed to provide insights into the severity of potential impacts of operational and biological interactions between top predators and fisheries, in the Bay of Biscay region. Our approach was to modify an Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) model describing the overall structure and function of the ecosystem by including landings and discards of exploited stocks and estimations of the bycatch of non-target compartments. Second, a set of ecological indices and a trophic level (TL)-based model (EcoTroph, ET) were derived from the EwE model. ET was used to simulate the effects of increasing fishing pressure on the ecosystem and, more particularly, on top predators. The Bay of Biscay was demonstrated to be not far from overexploitation at the current fishing rate, this phenomenon being particularly noticeable for the highest TLs. Within the toothed cetacean community, bottlenose dolphins appeared the most sensitive to resource depletion, whereas common dolphins and harbour porpoises were most impacted by their incidental captures in fishing gears. This study provides a methodological framework to assess the impacts of fisheries on ecosystems for which EwE, or other ecosystem models, already exist.

scholarly journals Marine research and management topics addressed by process-based ecosystem models

2021 ◽  
Vol 680 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
SS Hjøllo ◽  
SM van Leeuwen ◽  
M Maar
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Models ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Dynamic Modelling ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Biological Organization ◽  
Ecosystem Models ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Marine Research ◽  
The Face

The earth’s oceans and ecosystems face climatic changes and multiple anthropogenic stressors. In the face of this, managers of the marine environment are increasingly adopting the ecosystem approach to underpin their decision making. Process-based ecosystem models (frequently referred to as dynamic models) synthesize existing observational and experimental knowledge into a numerical framework, but an obstacle to the incorporation of these models in management is the lack of credibility due to limited control of uncertainty in the results. The 13 papers in this Theme Section highlight how ecosystem models are, or can be, applied as management tools, and the various ways in which they quantify uncertainty and evaluate the skill. The papers span all levels of biological organization from individuals to populations and ecosystems, and cover a wide selection of anthropogenic pressures. Bearing in mind that the interpretation of observations is in fact also a model with representativeness error, we advocate a closer combination of observations and models to bring both methods forward. With the current challenges to the marine ecosystem and our uses of it, the more tools marine managers have in their ‘toolbox’, the better; dynamic modelling is one such very important tool, and its inclusion in ecosystem management should be continuously assessed.

Trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services under different forest management scenarios – The LEcA tool

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 67-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Pang ◽  
Eva-Maria Nordström ◽  
Hannes Böttcher ◽  
Renats Trubins ◽  
Ulla Mörtberg
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Management Scenarios ◽  
Trade Offs
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