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Ecosystems

, Volume 15, Issue 5, pp 695–710 | Cite as

Confronting Feedbacks of Degraded Marine Ecosystems

  • Magnus Nyström
  • Albert V. Norström
  • Thorsten Blenckner
  • Maricela de la Torre-Castro
  • Johan S. Eklöf
  • Carl Folke
  • Henrik Österblom
  • Robert S. Steneck
  • Matilda Thyresson
  • Max Troell
Article
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

In many coastal areas, marine ecosystems have shifted into contrasting states having reduced ecosystem services (hereafter called degraded). Such degraded ecosystems may be slow to revert to their original state due to new ecological feedbacks that reinforce the degraded state. A better understanding of the way human actions influence the strength and direction of feedbacks, how different feedbacks could interact, and at what scales they operate, may be necessary in some cases for successful management of marine ecosystems. Here we synthesize interactions of critical feedbacks of the degraded states from six globally distinct biomes: coral reefs, kelp forests, seagrass beds, shallow soft sediments, oyster reefs, and coastal pelagic food webs. We explore to what extent current management captures these feedbacks and propose strategies for how and when (that is, windows of opportunity) to influence feedbacks in ways to break the resilience of the degraded ecosystem states. We conclude by proposing some challenges for future research that could improve our understanding of these issues and emphasize that management of degraded marine states will require a broad social–ecological approach to succeed.

Keywords

alternative states degradation feedbacks management marine ecosystems regime shift resilience restoration 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

T.B. and H.Ö. are supported by an EC FP7 project (Grant No. 226675), the strategic FORMAS projects (grant no 2009-252) and “Baltic Ecosystem Approach to Management.” J.S.E. was funded by FORMAS (Grant Nos. 2008-839 and 2009-1086). M. de la T.C. is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). R.S.S. was funded from the National Fish and Wildlife Service, Smithsonian Institution and U. Maine Sea Grant program. We are very grateful for constructive comments provided by three reviewers. Mistra supported this research through a core grant to the Stockholm Resilience Centre.

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© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012

Authors and Affiliations

  • Magnus Nyström
    • 1
  • Albert V. Norström
    • 1
  • Thorsten Blenckner
    • 1
    • 2
  • Maricela de la Torre-Castro
    • 1
    • 3
  • Johan S. Eklöf
    • 3
    • 4
  • Carl Folke
    • 1
    • 5
  • Henrik Österblom
    • 1
    • 2
  • Robert S. Steneck
    • 6
  • Matilda Thyresson
    • 1
    • 3
  • Max Troell
    • 1
    • 5
  1. 1.Stockholm Resilience CentreStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
  2. 2.Baltic Nest Institute, Stockholm Resilience CentreStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
  3. 3.Department of Systems EcologyStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
  4. 4.Department of Biology and Environmental SciencesGöteborg UniversityGöteborgSweden
  5. 5.The Beijer InstituteThe Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesStockholmSweden
  6. 6.School of Marine SciencesUniversity of Maine, Darling Marine CenterWalpoleUSA

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