Marine Ecosystem Restoration Research Articles

Marine ecosystem restoration and aquaculture-based stock enhancement for fishery resource conservation in Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates

There is a necessity to protect and manage the marine ecosystem towards the conservation of the ecological equilibrium and in turn the sustainability of the fishery resources in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Marine stock enhancement (MSE) proved that releasing hatchery fingerlings of marine animals can improve the abundance of harvest beyond the level supported by natural recruitment. For such programme to be beneficial and economical, considerable investment and scientific efforts are required. Among the concerned entities in the United Arab Emirates, the Aquaculture and Marine Studies (AMSC) in Abu Al Abyad Island successfully released 59 million of juveniles of different finfish species and 96 million juveniles of prawn species in Abu Dhabi waters. In the context of conserving the ecological equilibrium, the AMSC was able to plant an area of 5,026 ha in various areas of Abu Dhabi Emirate with grey mangrove, Avicennia marina; culturing over 21,290 corals of Acropora sp., Porites sp., Cyphastrea sp and Psammocora sp. in an area of 0.5 ha nurseries in Abu Al Abyad and Yasat Islands which will later be transplanted in the degraded reef sites in both islands; and a well-established seagrass coverage of 2500 m2 was achieved in affected areas in Abu Al Abyad Island.

THE BLUE RESTORATION CONTRIBUTION TO FACE THE CHALLENGING SCALING-UP ISSUE OF MARINE CONSERVATION STRATEGIES IN THE NEXT DECADE

The continuing degradation of marine ecosystems is widely highlighted as having a significant impact on services they provide for human well-being. To this end, especially during the last decade, numerous national, regional and international aspirations, targets and commitments have been made in order to reverse the detrimental trend affecting the ocean health, which is expected to accelerate in the immediate future. Restoration actions are becoming a common strategy to speed-up the recovery pathway of degraded ecosystems. This recognition also depends on the fact that, in some cases, in addition to traditional conservation strategies (e.g. Marine Protected Areas and Maritime Spatial Planning), “active” restoration may be the only politically feasible approach able to increase the flow of marine ecosystem services to stakeholders, ensuring, at the same time, the mitigation of threats to coastal environments in a reasonable time lag. Given the time-bound target aimed to effectively protect/restore on third of global ecosystems in the upcoming decade, concrete considerations about the potential for scaling-up the restoration interventions across coastal ecosystems are required to prioritise and improve the strategies aimed to cope the urgent conservation issues faced by marine ecosystems at global scale. Here, capitalizing on the most upgraded information on restoration efforts worldwide carried out over nearly five decades, a synthetic (but not exhaustive) analysis of progresses is showed, which could helps to better address the upscaling issue of marine conservation strategies in the immediate future.
 Keywords: marine ecosystem restoration, sustainable development, coastal habitats.

Fish community surveys in eelgrass beds using both eDNA metabarcoding and seining: implications for biodiversity monitoring in the coastal zone

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been adopted globally as a tool to combat biodiversity loss and restore marine ecosystems. Successful application of MPAs will be predicated on the ability to monitor biodiversity in a synoptic and noninvasive manner. Environmental DNA (eDNA) methods have important advantages over traditional biodiversity survey methods for monitoring conservation areas. To evaluate the efficacy of eDNA metabarcoding for fish biodiversity monitoring, we sampled 19 coastal eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds in Canada, as eelgrass beds are known for high biodiversity and significant conservation value. At each site, beach seines were used to survey fish and water samples were collected contemporaneously for eDNA metabarcoding. In total, beach seining caught 32 672 individuals across 59 fish taxa, and eDNA detected 129 fish taxa. eDNA captured site-level variation and detected higher species richness at both site and regional levels compared to seining. eDNA abundance had a positive association with capture abundance. Collectively these results highlight how eDNA metabarcoding offers an efficient approach for monitoring fish biodiversity in coastal eelgrass beds, thus providing a valuable and noninvasive tool for MPA planning and coastal monitoring.

Spatial variation in the biotic and abiotic filters of oyster recruitment: Implications for restoration

Abstract Attempts to restore marine ecosystems are increasing, but the success of projects remains variable. For marine invertebrates, the establishment of self‐sustaining populations requires a larval supply as well as conditions that permit recruitment. Abiotic and biotic conditions that determine recruitment can vary across environmental gradients and have opposing or reinforcing effects. We assessed how predation and tidal inundation influence recruitment of the reef‐forming oyster, Saccostrea glomerata, at 15 sites, 5 estuaries and 8 degrees of latitude in eastern Australia. Oysters recruited to all 15 sites, but their density displayed spatially variable effects of tidal inundation and caging. Effects of tidal inundation and caging were weakest at the two lower‐latitude estuaries where recruitment was low overall, average temperature and turbidity were high and dissolved oxygen low. At higher‐latitude estuaries, where abiotic conditions were more favourable for recruitment, recruit density displayed tidal elevation gradients that were dependent on caging and time. Initially, recruit density decreased with tidal inundation (and exposure to finfish predators), in the uncaged but not the caged treatment. However, over time the elevation gradient disappeared, and recruitment and survival of oysters was greater in caged than uncaged treatments irrespective of elevation. Synthesis and applications. Our results suggest that both abiotic (i.e. temperature, turbidity and dissolved oxygen) and biotic (i.e. predation) factors can negatively influence oyster recruitment and, hence, restoration success. Consequently, oyster reef restoration projects should be planned to prioritise sites with low turbidity, high dissolved oxygen and low predation unless these stressors can be mitigated. Restoration projects that are designed with knowledge of local stressors are more likely to be successful.

Salt marsh restoration: an overview of techniques and success indicators.

Coastal wetlands including salt marshes are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth. They are known for improving the quality of coastal water and provisioning coastal fisheries. However, this ecosystem is under potential threat due to urban coastal land reclamation, limited sediment supply, increased nutrient/eutrophication, and sea level rise. Therefore, restoration efforts to protect the degraded salt marsh habitat are considerably increasing worldwide. In this paper, we present an overview of salt marsh restoration techniques and success indicators. Published scientific literature in English language was collected by searching the most relevant keywords from popular search engines, namely, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Mendeley to get the information about salt marsh restoration techniques and success indicators. This study comprehensively reviewed data from 78 peer-reviewed papers. Results indicated that much of the salt marsh was restored through assisted abiotic strategies (e.g., recovery of tidal exchange, managed realignment, and sediment level amendment). A total of 214 indicators were found, spanning over six major ecological attributes such as structural diversity, ecosystem functions, physical conditions, species composition, external exchange, and absence of threat. Author keywords analysis revealed several hotspots for recent research (e.g., 16s rRNA, fungi, microbial communities, carbon accumulation, and blue carbon). This paper proposes a model for restoring degraded salt marsh, as well as tracking their success.The information presented here will assist the marine ecosystem restoration practitioners in getting a comprehensive understanding of salt marsh restoration success evaluation.

海洋生态修复:概念、类型与实施路径选择

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 海洋生态修复:概念、类型与实施路径选择 DOI: 10.5846/stxb202101290313 作者: 作者单位: 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家社会科学基金重大项目（16ZDA049） Marine ecological rehabilitation: concept, type and implementation path selection Author: Affiliation: Fund Project: The Major Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:生态修复是我国生态文明建设的重要内容。在对生态修复相关概念梳理的基础上，从公共物品治理视角对海洋生态修复主体、修复标准、修复路径及修复措施保障等关键环节进行论述，研究表明：污染和破坏者作为赔偿型海洋生态修复的主体，可通过自行修复和委托修复等方式，将受损海洋生态修复到破坏前的基线水平；国家作为补偿型海洋生态修复的主体，依据边际成本收益分析法确定最优修复规模，通过政府市场采购和创建市场等经济激励型路径实施生态修复以增加公众福利。未来我国海洋生态修复应重点关注修复的资金保障、监督制度以及生态修复的技术研发和修复完成后的成本收益评估等。 Abstract:Ecological rehabilitation plays an important role in ecological civilization construction of China. On the basis of related concepts of ecological rehabilitation, the public goods attributes owned by ocean and the externalities in the utilization of marine resources, the paper divides marine ecological rehabilitation into indemnificatory marine ecological rehabilitation and compensatory marine ecological rehabilitation from the perspective of the internalization of the externalities of public goods governance. Then, the study explores four main aspects according to the above classification of marine ecological rehabilitation:the subject of marine ecological rehabilitation, rehabilitation standards, rehabilitation approaches, and rehabilitation measures. According to our analysis, four main findings are listed as follows. In terms of the subject, there is a specific subject with mandatory and clearly defined responsibility in indemnificatory ecological rehabilitation, which makes it easy to trace the responsible subject in case of some issues occurring. By contrast, it is hardly possible to identify the clear responsibility subject for rehabilitation in compensatory ecological rehabilitation. Under this circumstance, the government should undertake the ecological rehabilitation project aiming to compensate for the public interests and increase social welfare. In aspects of rehabilitation standards, as the subject of indemnificatory marine ecological rehabilitation, marine resources users, who pollute and destroy marine environment, should calculate the rehabilitation scale and rehabilitation costs based on the Habit Equivalency Analysis or the Resources Equivalency Analysis. Compared with the above, the government, as the subject of compensation-based marine ecological rehabilitation, could incorporate ecological rehabilitation into the marginal analysis framework of traditional economics and determine the optimal rehabilitation scale in accordance with marginal cost-benefit analysis. As far as rehabilitation approaches, following the principle of "who damages, who rehabilitates", marine resources users shall adopt the command-controlled rehabilitation method or appoint a third party to repair the damaged marine ecosystem (economic incentive repair mode), so as to restore the damaged marine ecology to the baseline level before the destruction. The government should adopt economic incentives such as government procurement and creating market potential for marine ecosystem restoration in order to increase social welfare. In the last part of the study, due to the fact that marine ecological rehabilitation in China is a relatively new field for environmental protection, there are still some urgent problems to be solved and improved in the construction of the marine ecological rehabilitation system. Great importance should be attached to the financial guarantee and supervision systems of ecological rehabilitation, R&D of ecological rehabilitation, and cost-benefit evaluation after ecological rehabilitation. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Testing the applicability of random forest modeling to examine benthic foraminiferal responses to multiple environmental parameters

The main environmental variables controlling benthic foraminiferal distributions were identified and used to assess their influence on ecological indices developed as predictors of Ecological Quality Status (EcoQS) in marine ecosystems. Gradient forest and random forest models were applied to assess the predictive value of a selection of abiotic (environmental) and biotic (foraminifera) variables in a costal marine area in the central Adriatic Sea (Italy). This approach yields evidence that the predictor variables sand, silt, Pollution Load Index, and TN have the greatest influence on the distribution of benthic foraminifera in this area. In addition, we identify thresholds for the most important environmental variables that influence ecological indices. These findings contribute to efforts to determine how to best improve sediment quality and environmental stability for marine conservation. Further application of these approaches represents a useful tool for policymakers to survey the diversity of marine organisms and to improve the ability to protect and restore marine ecosystems by identifying predictors of diversity and identifying key thresholds in these predictors.

Policy solutions to facilitate restoration in coastal marine environments

Restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems is essential to meet both national and global conservation targets and to counteract declines in coastal marine ecosystems. However, despite its status as a world leader in marine protection, Australia is lagging behind other countries in the implementation of coastal and marine restoration. Effective legislative frameworks that support the implementation of coastal and marine restoration as a management tool remains a key barrier to large-scale implementation of coastal and marine restoration in Australia and many other regions. We analyzed restoration projects and their policy frameworks in Australia, North America and Europe to identify the range of policy approaches for marine and coastal restoration. We then evaluated the legislative frameworks for coastal and marine restoration in two states in Australia (Queensland and New South Wales), to assess the current restoration permitting process and identify how different legislative and policy approaches could facilitate coastal and marine restoration projects. We identified two specific areas where improvements could be made to facilitate marine coastal restoration in Australia: increased transparency and better integration into coastal policy. Coastal and marine restoration in Australia is undertaken without appropriate and effective policy at the local, regional and national levels, which likely impedes its broader use as a management strategy. The policy and legislative changes and amendments outlined in this article can streamline the coastal and marine restoration process and thereby improve uptake of marine and coastal restoration in Australia.

Global decline in capacity of coral reefs to provide ecosystem services

Global decline in capacity of coral reefs to provide ecosystem services

Incorporating Blue Bonds as a funding alternative for a sustainable development project

This study aims to examine Blue Bonds as a guarantee issued by the issuer (government and companies) as alternative financing. Compared to ordinary bonds that are issued only to meet the issuer's funding needs, the transaction results in Blue Bonds will be used to support marine protection, fisheries governance, waste and water pollution management, and the restoration of marine ecosystems. In this study, the author uses the method literature review sourced from journals, books, reports from related ministries, international financial institutions such as the World Bank, and news from national and international media. The results of this study indicate that by issuing Blue Bonds, the government and companies will get more funds from bond investors. Investors will receive a return in the form of a coupon (fixed interest rate) from the issuer and pay according to schedule and the initial principal investment. Not only that, the government and companies will get a good reputation among investors and actively contribute to Indonesia's maritime development.

Port Sediments: Problem or Resource? A Review Concerning the Treatment and Decontamination of Port Sediments by Fungi and Bacteria.

Contamination of marine sediments by organic and/or inorganic compounds represents one of the most critical problems in marine environments. This issue affects not only biodiversity but also ecosystems, with negative impacts on sea water quality. The scientific community and the European Commission have recently discussed marine environment and ecosystem protection and restoration by sustainable green technologies among the main objectives of their scientific programmes. One of the primary goals of sustainable restoration and remediation of contaminated marine sediments is research regarding new biotechnologies employable in the decontamination of marine sediments, to consider sediments as a resource in many fields such as industry. In this context, microorganisms—in particular, fungi and bacteria—play a central and crucial role as the best tools of sustainable and green remediation processes. This review, carried out in the framework of the Interreg IT-FR Maritime GEREMIA Project, collects and shows the bioremediation and mycoremediation studies carried out on marine sediments contaminated with ecotoxic metals and organic pollutants. This work evidences the potentialities and limiting factors of these biotechnologies and outlines the possible future scenarios of the bioremediation of marine sediments, and also highlights the opportunities of an integrated approach that involves fungi and bacteria together.

Marine ecosystem restoration in a changing ocean

Multiple human impacts on natural ecosystems cause ongoing widespread habitat loss, with consequent decline of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Seas and oceans, the largest biomes of the biosphere, show increasing numbers of degraded habitats. Ecological restoration offers a major tool to reverse this trend and recover biodiversity, along with human health and well‐being. The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration promotes global‐scale restoration of degraded habitats and we can exploit lessons learned from terrestrial restoration projects to improve and accelerate marine ecosystem restoration science, practice, and policy. Nonetheless, major differences in land and sea limit direct transfer of terrestrial approaches. Limited ecosystem baselines, greater stochasticity and connectivity, longer timescales needed for effective restoration, associated high costs and advanced technologies required to access and intervene in marine environments (especially in the deep sea), and difficulty in scaling up restoration efforts all hinder the effectiveness and expansion of marine ecosystem restoration. Pilot actions in European waters over ca 5 years in the EU‐funded MERCES consortium (Marine Ecosystem Restoration in Changing European Seas) have identified and developed new, promising tools and strategies to catalyze restoration actions, including engagement of funding organizations, governmental bodies, scientists, and citizens. We are now better positioned to implement restoration actions on a wide range of protected, vulnerable, and critical marine habitats, including seagrass meadows, algal forests, shallow rocky shore, and even some deep‐sea habitats. Outcomes from the MERCES project support future restoration initiatives by demonstrating restoration potential in the marine environment.

Towards sustainability of ecosystem services in North-East Nigeria

Ecosystem services are the very essence of the inhabitants of the North-East Region of Nigeria; hence the sustainability of these services is very important. The concept of sustainability is imprecise and reveals two main underlying issues which are intergenerational fairness and the moral responsibility of the current generation to its descendants on the one hand, and the role of assets provided by nature including forest and marine ecosystems in satisfying both current interests and the obligations we assume to the future on the other. Many benefits from ecosystem services accrue to the six states of Adamawa, Gombe, Taraba, Yobe, Bauchi and Borno in the North-East Region of Nigeria. The economic value of Hadejia-Nguru wetlands which forms part of the Kamadougou-Yobe River Basin of the Lake Chad Basin was estimated at over US$16 million per year. The estimated value of ecosystem services that can be attributed to inland watersheds and wetlands range between US$5000 and US$100,000 per hectare while coastal watersheds and wetlands were between US$500 and US$1,000,000 per hectare in 2007. The product of the national average of 0.284 tonnes/person/year of fuel wood consumption and number of inhabitants of 24,051,418 (2006 census projected to 2014) gave an estimated consumption of 6,830,603 tonnes/person/year for the six North-Eastern States. However, there are threats to the sustenance of ecosystem services, some of which include urbanization, progressive industrialization, overgrazing, exploitation of natural resources, depletion of wetlands, watersheds and insurgencies which have drastically reduced production of and accessibility to ecosystem services. These threats can be mitigated through development of framework for assessing demand and supply of these services, restoration of terrestrial and marine ecosystems through biodiversity approach, capacity building and forestry extension services to create awareness among the populace on the importance and value of ecosystem services.

The Monstrous Anthropocene: Imaginary ‘Sea Serpents’ from the ‘Dark Continent’ Reveal an Earlier Baseline for Real Environmental Impacts to African Marine Life

For conservation biologists, determining the onset of deleterious change through recognising baseline conditions is regarded as being critical for implementing the effective management and restoration of anthropogenically-altered marine ecosystems. In particular, mining information contained within historical anecdotes from non-traditional sources can provide valuable insights about past environmental conditions. The present study demonstrates that careful parsing of eyewitness descriptions of unidentified marine objects (UMOs), considered at the time to have been sea serpents, reveals that the onset of African marine fauna becoming entangled in fishing gear or maritime debris predates, by more than a century, the advent and widespread use of plastic. This work joins other environmental histories in challenging the misconception of a destructive modernity that can be easily differentiated from an exalted past. Such a reinterpretation of what were imagined to be sea serpents joins a new re-evaluation of Mary Shelley’s Creature, both serving as metaphors of monstrosity – one, concerning the walking, the other, the swimming, undead – for social-ecological upheaval during the Anthropocene.

Evaluating the social and ecological effectiveness of partially protected marine areas.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a primary tool for the stewardship, conservation, and restoration of marine ecosystems, yet 69% of global MPAs are only partially protected (i.e., are open to some form of fishing). Although fully protected areas have well‐documented outcomes, including increased fish diversity and biomass, the effectiveness of partially protected areas is contested. Partially protected areas may provide benefits in some contexts and may be warranted for social reasons, yet social outcomes often depend on MPAs achieving their ecological goals to distinguish them from open areas and justify the cost of protection. We assessed the social perceptions and ecological effectiveness of 18 partially protected areas and 19 fully protected areas compared with 19 open areas along 7000 km of coast of southern Australia. We used mixed methods, gathering data via semistructured interviews, site surveys, and Reef Life (underwater visual census) surveys. We analyzed qualitative data in accordance with grounded theory and quantitative data with multivariate and univariate linear mixed‐effects models. We found no social or ecological benefits for partially protected areas relative to open areas in our study. Partially protected areas had no more fish, invertebrates, or algae than open areas; were poorly understood by coastal users; were not more attractive than open areas; and were not perceived to have better marine life than open areas. These findings provide an important counterpoint to some large‐scale meta‐analyses that conclude partially protected areas can be ecologically effective but that draw this conclusion based on narrower measures. We argue that partially protected areas act as red herrings in marine conservation because they create an illusion of protection and consume scarce conservation resources yet provide little or no social or ecological gain over open areas. Fully protected areas, by contrast, have more fish species and biomass and are well understood, supported, and valued by the public. They are perceived to have better marine life and be improving over time in keeping with actual ecological results. Conservation outcomes can be improved by upgrading partially protected areas to higher levels of protection including conversion to fully protected areas.

Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions: Opportunities for Ocean-Based Climate Action

Developed by World Resources Institute and seven other leading environmental organizations, “Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions: Opportunities for Ocean-Based Climate Action” outlines the best ways countries can use ocean-based action to curb greenhouse gas emissions and better adapt to the impacts of climate change. The paper focuses on four ocean-based subsectors that have the greatest potential to curb emissions and deliver significant other benefits: marine conservation (coastal and marine ecosystem restoration and protection), oceanic and coastal fisheries, marine transport, and ocean-based renewable energy.

Beyond Borders and States: Modelling Ocean Connectivity According to Indigenous Cosmovisions

The article describes some common features of Indigenous sea cosmovisions (through examples from Oceania and the Arctic region), from which an understanding of ocean governance rooted in the interconnectedness of all life and the importance of protecting water and people emerges. Hence, the model of ocean (or water) connectivity is characterized by the understanding of ocean-human relationships as a continuum of connections between human and non-human elements. In line with the normative recognition of the sacredness of water, the interconnectedness of all life, and the importance of protecting the sea, Indigenous peoples’ law provides insights and implementation solutions for the restoration of marine ecosystems. This study aims to identify blind spots of the current law-of-the-sea regime, where marine ecological connectivity is not fully recognized as a foundational pillar of effective ocean protection. It also suggests approaches towards knowledge integration mechanisms that could minimize critical issues in ocean governance by enabling the enshrinement of Indigenous nature-oriented approaches within the law of the sea regulatory framework (especially focusing on the high seas’ regime). The work is structured into three main parts: a comprehensive overview of connectivity conceptualizations drawn from Indigenous cosmovisions; reflections on the model’s capability to address law-of-the-sea’s systemic challenges; and concluding reflections on possible future trajectories in law-of-the-sea that could encompass elements of the analyzed model.

The demersal fish assemblages of the infra and circalittoral coastal rocky bottoms of the Aeolian Archipelago (Central Mediterranean Sea) studied by Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)

Demersal fish assemblages on the rocky bottoms of the Aeolian Archipelago were investigated using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) within the framework of research activities aimed at drawing up the zoning proposal of a new Italian national marine protected area. Visual assessments were conducted around the seven main islands by means of a total of 36 ROV transects. Video material was divided into 3 parts belonging to 3 Archipelago sectors (Western, Central and Eastern) and into 3 depth ranges (20-50, 51-120, 121-190). Thirty taxa of teleosts (29 species and 1 genus) belonging to 16 families were recorded. The assemblages were numerically dominated by some schooling fishes, such as Anthias anthias, Callanthias ruber and Chromis chromis, which exhibited a depth related partitioning of space, and three non-gregarious species, i.e. Serranus cabrilla, Coris julis and Lappanella fasciata. In terms of species composition, the assemblages observed in the sectors of the Archipelago largely overlapped. No significant sector-related differences were detected in fish species richness, diversity and total density. Species composition and the investigated assemblage parameters were significantly affected by depth. The pattern of variation in species richness among depth ranges changed depending on the archipelago sectors. No significant interaction between the factors depth range and sector was observed for species diversity and total density. Diversity values at 20-50 and 121-190 m depth were similar and significantly higher than that at 51-120 m depth. Fish total density showed a clear decreasing trend with increasing depth, though significant differences were detected between the 20-50 and 51-120 depth layers and the deepest one. Overall, the demersal fish assemblage of the Aeolian Archipelago was poorly diversified and depleted, most likely due to overfishing. This information highlighted the importance of the adoption of specific measures aimed at the recovery of overexploited resources and the restoration of the whole marine ecosystems.

Challenges for Restoration of Coastal Marine Ecosystems in the Anthropocene

Coastal marine ecosystems provide critical goods and services to humanity but many are experiencing rapid degradation. The need for effective restoration tools capable of promoting recovery of coastal ecosystems and remediating their valued services has never been greater. We identify four major challenges for the future development and implementation of coastal marine ecosystem restoration (MER): (1) Development of more effective, scalable restoration tools, (2) adaptation of restoration tools to cope with climate change and global stressors, (3) integration of social and ecological restoration priorities, and (4) promotion of the perception and use of coastal MER as a scientifically-credible management approach. Tackling these challenges should improve restoration success rates, heighten their recognition, and accelerate investment in and promotion of coastal MER. Here, to reverse the currently accelerating decline of marine ecosystems, we discuss potential directions for meeting these challenges by applying coastal MER tools that are science-based and actionable. For coastal restoration to have a global impact, it must incorporate social science, technological and conceptual advances, and plan for future climates.

Investigating societal attitudes toward marine ecosystem restoration

Globally, direct and indirect human impacts have led to the widespread degradation of marine ecosystems. The resulting loss of habitat and marine biodiversity has led to the increased impetus for marine ecosystem restoration at a policy level. The success of such programs relies on an understanding of the nature of public support for marine restoration. This article examines such support through a survey of the attitudes of the general public in Norway and Italy. The results show that among both populations, there is broad support for restoration despite a lack of awareness of marine restoration activity. Differences in responses to the attitudinal questions across countries were tested using standard statistical independence tests and multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. Results show significant differences between samples in attitudes toward the completion of restoration and attitudes toward how restoration should be funded. Examining within‐group variation, for both samples, regression analysis indicates that a mixture of socioeconomic and context‐specific variables are significant predictors of awareness and attitudes toward restoration, while environmental awareness is a positive and significant indicator of attitude toward restoration.