Abstract
Climate impacts on marine ecosystems may be exacerbated by other, more local stressors interacting synergistically, such as pollution and overexploitation of marine resources. The reduction of these human stressors has been proposed as an achievable way of retaining ecosystems within a “safe operating space” (SOS), where they remain resilient to ongoing climate change. However, the operability of an SOS requires a thorough understanding of the spatial distribution of these climate and human impacts. Using the Mediterranean Sea as a case study, we illustrate the spatial congruence between climate and human stressors impacting this iconic “miniature ocean” synergistically. We use long-term, spatially-explicit information on the distribution of multiple stressors to identify those highly impacted marine areas where human stressors should be prioritized for management if the resilience to climate impacts is to be maintained. Based on our spatial analysis, we exemplify how the management of an essential supporting service (seafood provision) and the conservation of a highly impacted Mediterranean sub-region (the Adriatic Sea) may benefit from the SOS framework.
Highlights
There is overwhelming evidence for human-induced climate change on a scale that may result in increasing extinction rates or ecosystem collapses[1,2]
Among the suite of human stressors impacting marine ecosystems, the most alarming threats are ocean pollution and overfishing[11,12,13,14], and their effects appear to increase the sensitivity of ecosystems to climate impacts such as ocean warming and acidification[15,16]
Spatially-explicit assessments on the distribution of climate and human impacts are vital for identifying marine areas of particular concern that are simultaneously impacted by different stressors[5,15,17,18]
Summary
There is overwhelming evidence for human-induced climate change on a scale that may result in increasing extinction rates or ecosystem collapses[1,2]. By combining information on the spatial distribution of these multiple stressors, we aimed to identify highly impacted marine areas for the Mediterranean Sea (Fig. 1), where the relatively “easy-to-handle” local and medium-scale stressors require management within a SOS framework to enhance resilience to climate change. Available time series (2012–2017) of data on the spatial distribution of fishing pressure[19] were used as a proxy for local impacts of human fisheries on marine ecosystems We follow up this spatial analysis by exemplifying the potential value of our spatially-explicit assessments in the management of a thermophobic (i.e. heat intolerant) fish with high commercial value that is showing signs of collapse in the Mediterranean (European sardine, Sardina pilchardus)[20]; and the conservation of the Adriatic Sea, a well-known highly impacted sub-region where pollution and overexploitation have been intense[21]
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