Abstract
Valuing, managing and conserving marine biodiversity and a full range of ecosystem services is at the forefront of research and policy agendas. However, biodiversity is being lost at up to a thousand times the average background rate. Traditional disciplinary and siloed conservation approaches are not able to tackle this massive loss of biodiversity because they generally ignore or overlook the interactive and dynamic nature of ecosystems processes, limiting their predictability. To conserve marine biodiversity, we must assess the interactions and impacts among biodiversity and ecosystem services (BD-ES). The scaling up in complexity from single species to entire communities is necessary, albeit challenging, for a deeper understanding of how ecosystem services relate to biodiversity and the roles species have in ecosystem service provision. These interactions are challenging to map, let alone fully assess, but network and system-based approaches provide a powerful way to progress beyond those limitations. Here, we introduce a conceptual multi-layered network approach to understanding how ecosystem services supported by biodiversity drive the total service provision, how different stressors impact BD-ES and where conservation efforts should be placed to optimize the delivery of ecosystem services and protection of biodiversity.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Integrative research perspectives on marine conservation’.
Highlights
We introduce a conceptual multi-layered network approach to understanding how ecosystem services supported by biodiversity drive the total service provision, how different stressors impact biodiversity and ecosystem services (BD-ES) and where conservation efforts should be placed to optimize the delivery of ecosystem services and protection of biodiversity
Theory predicts that direct and indirect interactions between species can constrain or enhance ecosystem structure, function and service provision in natural ecosystems [11]. Ignoring such interdependencies is risky because they define our ability to forecast how species/biodiversity loss will impact current and future ecosystem service provisioning, how these interdependencies impact human wellbeing, how these interdependencies are constrained by threats and how threats can be mitigated by conservation actions and strategies [12,13,14]
As species decline, the resilience of marine ecosystems is reduced, which can in turn lead to an accelerating reduction in biodiversity, ecosystem function and service provision
Summary
Theory predicts that direct and indirect interactions between species can constrain or enhance ecosystem structure, function and service provision in natural ecosystems [11] Ignoring such interdependencies is risky because they define our ability to forecast how species/biodiversity loss will impact current and future ecosystem service provisioning, how these interdependencies impact human wellbeing, how these interdependencies are constrained by threats and how threats can be mitigated by conservation actions and strategies [12,13,14]. We propose a multi-layered network approach that will advance the identification of the mechanisms that link interactions between biodiversity, ecosystem services, threats, conservation actions and human wellbeing Together, this proposed approach can advance the state-of-the-art understanding of how ecosystem services emerge from, depend on, and are sustained by biodiversity and, once put into practice, help threat mitigation and conservation planning
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