The policy relevance of Southern Ocean food web structure: implications of food web change for fisheries, conservation and carbon sequestration
Southern Ocean food webs provide ecosystem services with significant global value including carbon sequestration, fisheries and the existence of iconic wildlife. These services are underpinned by different energetic pathways including those dominated by Antarctic krill, fishes and squids, or gelatin...
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2020
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2020.103832 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/137529 |
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ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:137529 2023-05-15T13:59:46+02:00 The policy relevance of Southern Ocean food web structure: implications of food web change for fisheries, conservation and carbon sequestration Trebilco, R Melbourne-Thomas, J Constable, AJ 2020 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2020.103832 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/137529 en eng Elsevier Sci Ltd http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2020.103832 Trebilco, R and Melbourne-Thomas, J and Constable, AJ, The policy relevance of Southern Ocean food web structure: implications of food web change for fisheries, conservation and carbon sequestration, Marine Policy, 115 Article 103832. ISSN 0308-597X (2020) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/137529 Environmental Sciences Climate change impacts and adaptation Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2020 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2020.103832 2020-12-07T23:16:15Z Southern Ocean food webs provide ecosystem services with significant global value including carbon sequestration, fisheries and the existence of iconic wildlife. These services are underpinned by different energetic pathways including those dominated by Antarctic krill, fishes and squids, or gelatinous zooplankton (salps). Climate change is likely to impact Southern Ocean food webs by affecting their foundations both primary producer communities and ice habitats. However, the implications of these changes for ecosystem services including wildlife populations, fisheries and carbon sequestration are unclear, as are the implications for policy and management. Here, we use a generalised representation of Southern Ocean food webs and qualitative network modelling to investigate the consequences of five simple but plausible scenarios of future change for ecosystem services and the conservation of important taxa: (i) a shift in primary producer communities with decreasing large diatoms and increasing small flagellates; (ii) increasing salps; (iii) increase (recovery) of the Great whales; and unregulated and unsustainable fisheries for (iv) krill or (v) toothfish. Strikingly, our results suggest that increases in salps might not have negative consequences for ecosystem services and could enhance carbon export potential. Simulated increases in unregulated krill and toothfish fisheries affect predatory wildlife and could also reduce carbon export potential. Our results emphasise the important policy implications of understanding the structure and change of whole food webs, and highlight that improved quantitative understanding and modelling of the relative importance of different energy pathways will be important for developing robust management responses to climate change impacts. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Southern Ocean eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Antarctic Southern Ocean Marine Policy 115 103832 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtasecite |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental Sciences Climate change impacts and adaptation Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation |
spellingShingle |
Environmental Sciences Climate change impacts and adaptation Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation Trebilco, R Melbourne-Thomas, J Constable, AJ The policy relevance of Southern Ocean food web structure: implications of food web change for fisheries, conservation and carbon sequestration |
topic_facet |
Environmental Sciences Climate change impacts and adaptation Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation |
description |
Southern Ocean food webs provide ecosystem services with significant global value including carbon sequestration, fisheries and the existence of iconic wildlife. These services are underpinned by different energetic pathways including those dominated by Antarctic krill, fishes and squids, or gelatinous zooplankton (salps). Climate change is likely to impact Southern Ocean food webs by affecting their foundations both primary producer communities and ice habitats. However, the implications of these changes for ecosystem services including wildlife populations, fisheries and carbon sequestration are unclear, as are the implications for policy and management. Here, we use a generalised representation of Southern Ocean food webs and qualitative network modelling to investigate the consequences of five simple but plausible scenarios of future change for ecosystem services and the conservation of important taxa: (i) a shift in primary producer communities with decreasing large diatoms and increasing small flagellates; (ii) increasing salps; (iii) increase (recovery) of the Great whales; and unregulated and unsustainable fisheries for (iv) krill or (v) toothfish. Strikingly, our results suggest that increases in salps might not have negative consequences for ecosystem services and could enhance carbon export potential. Simulated increases in unregulated krill and toothfish fisheries affect predatory wildlife and could also reduce carbon export potential. Our results emphasise the important policy implications of understanding the structure and change of whole food webs, and highlight that improved quantitative understanding and modelling of the relative importance of different energy pathways will be important for developing robust management responses to climate change impacts. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Trebilco, R Melbourne-Thomas, J Constable, AJ |
author_facet |
Trebilco, R Melbourne-Thomas, J Constable, AJ |
author_sort |
Trebilco, R |
title |
The policy relevance of Southern Ocean food web structure: implications of food web change for fisheries, conservation and carbon sequestration |
title_short |
The policy relevance of Southern Ocean food web structure: implications of food web change for fisheries, conservation and carbon sequestration |
title_full |
The policy relevance of Southern Ocean food web structure: implications of food web change for fisheries, conservation and carbon sequestration |
title_fullStr |
The policy relevance of Southern Ocean food web structure: implications of food web change for fisheries, conservation and carbon sequestration |
title_full_unstemmed |
The policy relevance of Southern Ocean food web structure: implications of food web change for fisheries, conservation and carbon sequestration |
title_sort |
policy relevance of southern ocean food web structure: implications of food web change for fisheries, conservation and carbon sequestration |
publisher |
Elsevier Sci Ltd |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2020.103832 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/137529 |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2020.103832 Trebilco, R and Melbourne-Thomas, J and Constable, AJ, The policy relevance of Southern Ocean food web structure: implications of food web change for fisheries, conservation and carbon sequestration, Marine Policy, 115 Article 103832. ISSN 0308-597X (2020) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/137529 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2020.103832 |
container_title |
Marine Policy |
container_volume |
115 |
container_start_page |
103832 |
_version_ |
1766268541054484480 |