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Impacts of biodiversity loss on ocean ecosystem services
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 17:05 authored by Worm, B, Barbier, EB, Beaumont, N, Duffy, JE, Folke, C, Halpern, BS, Jackson, JBC, Lotze, HK, Micheli, F, Palumbi, SR, Sala, E, Selkoe, KA, Stachowicz, JJ, Reginald WatsonReginald WatsonHuman-dominated marine ecosystems are experiencing accelerating loss of populations and species, with largely unknown consequences. We analyzed local experiments, long-term regional time series, and global fisheries data to test how biodiversity loss affects marine ecosystem services across temporal and spatial scales. Overall, rates of resource collapse increased and recovery potential, stability, and water quality decreased exponentially with declining diversity. Restoration of biodiversity, in contrast, increased productivity fourfold and decreased variability by 21%, on average. We conclude that marine biodiversity loss is increasingly impairing the ocean's capacity to provide food, maintain water quality, and recover from perturbations. Yet available data suggest that at this point, these trends are still reversible.
History
Publication title
ScienceVolume
314Issue
5800Pagination
787-790ISSN
0036-8075Department/School
Institute for Marine and Antarctic StudiesPublisher
American Association for Advancement of SciencePlace of publication
United StatesRepository Status
- Restricted