From marine snails to marine spatial planning : the science of human impacts and relationships with marine ecosystems ...

• Main Author: Beaty, Fiona
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2023
• Subjects: Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0430331; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0430331

Extractive human systems are driving unprecedented biodiversity loss and exacerbating social inequity. The magnitude of the intertwined climate, biodiversity, and social inequity crises has prompted the development of interdisciplinary research approaches to address these complex problems. One such approach, social-ecological systems (SES), aims to understand the relationships between coupled human and ecological systems. This thesis applies an SES lens to understand the science of human impacts on and relationships with marine ecosystems and inform characterizations of system vulnerability. First, I examined the sensitivity of marine ectothermic animals to climate change by conducting a meta-analysis of the effects of ocean acidification and warming. My synthesis of nearly five hundred factorial studies demonstrates the negative effects of these two drivers, identifies specific taxonomic groups (molluscs), life- history traits (adults, sessile), and latitudes (tropical and temperate) that are more ...