The usefulness of food web models in the ecosystem services framework: Quantifying, mapping, and linking services supply

Abstract

Coastal ecosystems provide a wide range of valuable ecosystem services (ES) for human wellbeing. Such services depend on the functioning and structure of ecosystems. Unfortunately, these ecosystems are threatened by humans, directly impairing their ability to provide these services. In order to predict such changes, we used a food web model to forecast potential spatial changes in ES supply in the Seine Bay (English Channel), due to climate change effects (CC) and the setup of an offshore wind farm (OWF). Three ES were studied, food production from fishing, top predator production for cultural purposes and the potential resistance of the ecosystem inferred from its organization. The ability of the Seine Bay ecosystem to produce food appears to be negatively impacted by the effect of climate change. Because of the important economic role of fishing in Normandy, such changes could percolate on the entire social and economic system of the bay. The Courseulles-sur-Mer offshore wind farm appears to increase the supply of services and limit the impact of climate change at the local spatial scale, which could give stakeholders insights into mitigating the effects of climate change. Such ecosystem approach enables for a more integrative view of ES supply, through the characterization of the entire system functioning.