7 keys for managing fragile ocean ecosystems

Human impacts can lead to significant, sometimes rapid, changes in how marine ecosystems function — changes that can affect which species and habitats are dominant in an area, how ecosystems work and how productive they are, and what benefits they provide to people. 

For example, when people hunt otters to near extinction, the sea urchins they eat can multiply out of control. The urchins, in turn, overgraze the kelp, destroying the shelter and biodiversity that kelp forests provide. While the abundance of sea urchins might benefit the sea urchin industry, the natural ecosystem, fisheries and other human uses like recreation and tourism suffer. 

So how can we predict when such tipping points might occur, and how can we manage habitats to prevent unwanted ecological changes?

Foundation grantees with the Ocean Tipping Points project and UC Santa Barbara’s National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) published a paper in Ecosystem Health and Sustainability that outlines seven principles for managing marine ecosystems in order to anticipate and avoid tipping points.