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O’Hara CC, Frazier M, Halpern BS. At-risk marine biodiversity faces extensive, expanding, and intensifying human impacts. Science 2021; 372:84-87. [DOI: 10.1126/science.abe6731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Human activities and climate change threaten marine biodiversity worldwide, though sensitivity to these stressors varies considerably by species and taxonomic group. Mapping the spatial distribution of 14 anthropogenic stressors from 2003 to 2013 onto the ranges of 1271 at-risk marine species sensitive to them, we found that, on average, species faced potential impacts across 57% of their ranges, that this footprint expanded over time, and that the impacts intensified across 37% of their ranges. Although fishing activity dominated the footprint of impacts in national waters, climate stressors drove the expansion and intensification of impacts. Mitigating impacts on at-risk biodiversity is critical to supporting resilient marine ecosystems, and identifying the co-occurrence of impacts across multiple taxonomic groups highlights opportunities to amplify the benefits of conservation management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Casey C. O’Hara
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Melanie Frazier
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Benjamin S. Halpern
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
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O’Hara CC, Scarborough C, Hunter KL, Afflerbach JC, Bodtker K, Frazier M, Stewart Lowndes JS, Perry RI, Halpern BS. Changes in ocean health in British Columbia from 2001 to 2016. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0227502. [PMID: 31999705 PMCID: PMC6992189 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Effective management of marine systems requires quantitative tools that can assess the state of the marine social-ecological system and are responsive to management actions and pressures. We applied the Ocean Health Index (OHI) framework to retrospectively assess ocean health in British Columbia annually from 2001 to 2016 for eight goals that represent the values of British Columbia's coastal communities. We found overall ocean health improved over the study period, from 75 (out of 100) in 2001 to 83 in 2016, with scores for inhabited regions ranging from 68 (North Coast, 2002) to 87 (West Vancouver Island, 2011). Highest-scoring goals were Tourism & Recreation (average 94 over the period) and Habitat Services (100); lowest-scoring goals were Sense of Place (61) and Food Provision (64). Significant increases in scores over the time period occurred for Food Provision (+1.7 per year), Sense of Place (+1.4 per year), and Coastal Livelihoods (+0.6 per year), while Habitat Services (-0.01 per year) and Biodiversity (-0.09 per year) showed modest but statistically significant declines. From the results of our time-series analysis, we used the OHI framework to evaluate impacts of a range of management actions. Despite challenges in data availability, we found evidence for the ability of management to reduce pressures on several goals, suggesting the potential of OHI as a tool for assessing the effectiveness of marine resource management to improve ocean health. Our OHI assessment provides an important comprehensive evaluation of ocean health in British Columbia, and our open and transparent process highlights opportunities for improving accessibility of social and ecological data to inform future assessment and management of ocean health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Casey C. O’Hara
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Courtney Scarborough
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
| | - Karen L. Hunter
- Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Jamie C. Afflerbach
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
| | - Karin Bodtker
- MapSea Consulting, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Melanie Frazier
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
| | - Julia S. Stewart Lowndes
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
| | - R. Ian Perry
- Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Benjamin S. Halpern
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
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Friedman WR, Halpern BS, McLeod E, Beck MW, Duarte CM, Kappel CV, Levine A, Sluka RD, Adler S, O’Hara CC, Sterling EJ, Tapia-Lewin S, Losada IJ, McClanahan TR, Pendleton L, Spring M, Toomey JP, Weiss KR, Possingham HP, Montambault JR. Research Priorities for Achieving Healthy Marine Ecosystems and Human Communities in a Changing Climate. Front Mar Sci 2020; 7. [PMID: 0 DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2020.00005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
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