Solutions for ecosystem-level protection of ocean systems under climate change
| Type | Article | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 2016-12 | ||||||||||||||||
| Language | English | ||||||||||||||||
| Author(s) | Queiros Ana M.1, Huebert Klaus B.2, 3, Keyl Friedemann4, Fernandes Jose A.1, Stolte Willem5, Maar Marie5, 6, Kay Susan1, Jones Miranda C.7, Hamon Katell8, Hendriksen Gerrit5, Vermard Youen 9, Marchal Paul9, Teal Lorna R.10, Somerfield Paul J.1, Austen Melanie C.1, Barange Manuel1, 11, Sell Anne F.3, Allen Icarus1, Peck Myron A.2 |
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| Affiliation(s) | 1 : Plymouth Marine Lab, Prospect Pl, Plymouth PL1 3DH, Devon, England. 2 : Univ Hamburg, Olbersweg 24, D-22767 Hamburg, Germany. 3 : Univ Maryland, Horn Point Lab, Ctr Environm Sci, POB 775, Cambridge, MD 21613 USA. 4 : Thunen Inst Sea Fisheries, Palmaille 9, D-22767 Hamburg, Germany. 5 : Deltares, Boussinesqweg 1, NL-2629 HV Delft, Netherlands. 6 : Aarhus Univ, Dept Biosci, Frederiksborgvej 399,POB 358, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark. 7 : Univ Cambridge, Dept Zool, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, England. 8 : LEI Wageningen UR, Alexanderveld 5, NL-2585 DB The Hague, Netherlands. 9 : Inst Francais Rech Exploitat Mer, Dept Ressources Biol & Environm, Quai Gambetta BP 699, F-62321 Boulogne Sur Mer, France. 10 : IMARES, Haringkade 1, NL-1976 CP Ijmuiden, Netherlands. 11 : Food & Agr Org, Fisheries & Aquaculture Policy & Resources Div, Viale Terme Caracalla, I-00153 Rome, Italy. |
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| Source | Global Change Biology (1354-1013) (Wiley-blackwell), 2016-12 , Vol. 22 , N. 12 , P. 3927-3936 | ||||||||||||||||
| DOI | 10.1111/gcb.13423 | ||||||||||||||||
| WOS© Times Cited | 47 | ||||||||||||||||
| Keyword(s) | climate change, conservation, COP21, ecosystem model, habitat, marine spatial planning, ocean, ocean acidification, species distribution, warming | ||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | The Paris Conference of Parties (COP21) agreement renewed momentum for action against climate change, creating the space for solutions for conservation of the ocean addressing two of its largest threats: climate change and ocean acidification (CCOA). Recent arguments that ocean policies disregard a mature conservation research field and that protected areas cannot address climate change may be oversimplistic at this time when dynamic solutions for the management of changing oceans are needed. We propose a novel approach, based on spatial meta-analysis of climate impact models, to improve the positioning of marine protected areas to limit CCOA impacts. We do this by estimating the vulnerability of ocean ecosystems to CCOA in a spatially explicit manner and then co-mapping human activities such as the placement of renewable energy developments and the distribution of marine protected areas. We test this approach in the NE Atlantic considering also how CCOA impacts the base of the food web which supports protected species, an aspect often neglected in conservation studies. We found that, in this case, current regional conservation plans protect areas with low ecosystem-level vulnerability to CCOA, but disregard how species may redistribute to new, suitable and productive habitats. Under current plans, these areas remain open to commercial extraction and other uses. Here, and worldwide, ocean conservation strategies under CCOA must recognize the long-term importance of these habitat refuges, and studies such as this one are needed to identify them. Protecting these areas creates adaptive, climate-ready and ecosystem-level policy options for conservation, suitable for changing oceans. | ||||||||||||||||
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