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climate change

Impacts World 2017: Counting the true costs of climate change

“The intersectoral and interdisciplinary nature of the ISIMIP approach meant that topics were very broad and spanned both land and sea, natural science, social science, economics, human health, and policy,” said Tyler Eddy. “This perspective was very interesting to consider big ideas and issues at broad scales, however as a result of this broad approach, detailed ocean processes weren’t covered as much.”

Going diving in the tropics? Don’t eat the reef fish!

Reducing tourist consumption of reef fish is critical for Palau’s ocean sustainability, finds a new Nippon Foundation-UBC Nereus Program study published today in Marine Policy.

While climate change is expected to lead to sharp declines in Palau’s reefs, the best tourism management strategy includes a more than 70 per cent reduction in reef fish consumption by visitors. These findings are highly relevant for sustainable development in small island developing states under climate change.

Who is eating who? How climate change is modifying predator prey interactions

Climate change is expected to have many impacts on the oceans; one of them is where fish are located in the ocean. Ocean warming is expected to cause fish to shift to different locations that are cooler — generally toward the poles and into deeper waters. But not all fish are moving in the same directions and at the same speeds. This is changing what fish are eating and who are eating them.

Global change in the trophic functioning of marine food webs

The rapid development of fisheries in the 1950’s facilitated declines in predator biomass, overexploitation, collapse of fish stocks, and degradation of marine habitats. A new PLOS ONE paper investigates past changes in trophic functioning of marine ecosystems cause by human-induced changes in species assemblages by applying an ecosystem approach to fisheries.

Changes in jellyfish population sizes – Natasha Henschke finishes fellowship

Compared to historical times, there has been an increase in the frequency of reportings of jellyfish sightings in coastal waters. Based on a few regional case studies, many have gathered that jellyfish population sizes are exploding due to warming waters. However, there are not a lot of datasets to support this. Natasha Henschke addressed this topic in her research completed during her fellowship with the Nereus Program.

Adaptive capacity: from assessment to action in coastal social-ecological systems

Coastal ecosystems are undergoing complex changes caused by both social and ecological drivers occurring at varying scales and speeds, which ultimately act as either risks or opportunities to coastal social-ecological systems. The assessment of adaptive capacity of coastal ecosystems is crucial in understanding the extent to which they will be able to accept and adapt to these social and biophysical drivers.