National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis

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2021-2030 of 6285
  1. Publication

    Conservation aquaculture as a tool for imperiled marine species: Evaluation of opportunities and risks for Olympia oysters, Ostrea lurida

    Conservation aquaculture is becoming an important tool to support the recovery of declining marine species and meet human needs. However, this tool comes with risks as well as rewards, which must be assessed to guide aquaculture activities and recovery efforts. Olympia oysters (Ostrea lurida) provide key ecosystem functions and services along the west coast of North America, but populations have declined to the point of local extinction in some estuaries.

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  2. Publication

    Ocean health in the Northeast United States from 2005 to 2017

    People in the Northeast United States have a long history of benefitting from the ocean in many ways, exemplified by the region's important cod and lobster fisheries, coastal tourism and recent expansion of offshore energy. Over the past few decades, the region has become one of the fastest warming spots on the planet, has seen significant growth in coastal populations, and expansion of new sectors into the marine environment, resulting in ecosystem shifts and changes to the supply and distribution of these benefits.

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  3. Publication

    Biodiversity–productivity relationships are key to nature-based climate solutions

    The global impacts of biodiversity loss and climate change are interlinked, but the feedbacks between them are rarely assessed. Areas with greater tree diversity tend to be more productive, providing a greater carbon sink, and biodiversity loss could reduce these natural carbon sinks. Here, we quantify how tree and shrub species richness could affect biomass production on biome, national and regional scales.

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  4. Publication

    Micro-scale geography of synchrony in a serpentine plant community

    Fluctuations in population abundances are often correlated through time across multiple locations, a phenomenon known as spatial synchrony. Spatial synchrony can exhibit complex spatial structures, termed ‘geographies of synchrony’, that can reveal mechanisms underlying population fluctuations.

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  5. Publication

    The search for blue transitions in aquaculture-dominant countries

    The capacity for aquaculture to provide an alternative source of fish and seafood to capture fisheries was once promoted as a tool to reduce demand for wild fish and thus tackle overfishing. To date, there is little evidence to suggest that aquaculture growth has successfully reduced fishing effort on wild populations. Recent theory on "blue transitions" suggests that displacement may only occur as aquaculture production surpasses that of capture operations.

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  6. Publication

    Disturbance type and species life history predict mammal responses to humans

    Human activity and land use change impact every landscape on Earth, driving declines in many animal species while benefiting others. Species ecological and life history traits may predict success in human-dominated landscapes such that only species with "winning" combinations of traits will persist in disturbed environments. However, this link between species traits and successful coexistence with humans remains obscured by the complexity of anthropogenic disturbances and variability among study systems.

  7. Publication

    Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: Have our experiments and indices been underestimating the role of facilitation?

    1. After 25 years of biodiversity experiments, it is clear that higher biodiversity (B) plant communities are usually more productive and often have greater ecosystem functioning (EF) than lower diversity communities. However, the mechanisms underlying this positive biodiversity– ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationship are still poorly understood. 2. The vast majority of past work in BEF research has focused on the roles of math-ematically partitioned complementarity and selection effects.

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  8. Publication

    Global status of groundfish stocks

    We review the status of groundfish stocks using published scientific assessments for 349 individual stocks constituting 90% of global groundfish catch. Overall, average stock abundance is increasing and is currently above the level that would produce maximum sustainable yield (MSY). Fishing pressure for cod-like fishes (Gadiformes) and flatfishes (Pleuronectiformes) was, for several decades, on average well above levels associated with MSY, but is now at or below the level expected to produce MSY.

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  9. Publication

    Sustainable fisheries are essential but not enough to ensure well-being for the world's fishers

    Effective fisheries management is necessary for the long-term sustainability of fisheries and the economic benefits that they provide, but focusing only on ecological sustainability risks disregarding ultimate goals related to well-being that must be achieved through broader social policy. An analysis of global landings data shows that average fishing wages in 36%-67% of countries, home to 69%-95% of fishers worldwide, are likely below their nationally determined minimum living wage (which accounts for costs of food, shelter, clothing, health and education).

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  10. Publication

    An informed thought experiment exploring the potential for a paradigm shift in aquatic food production

    The Neolithic Revolution began approximately 10,000 years ago and is characterized by the ultimate, nearly complete transition from hunting and gathering to agricultural food production on land. The Neolithic Revolution is thought to have been catalyzed by a combination of local population pressure, cultural diffusion, property rights and climate change.

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