The Importance of Brokers in Collaborative Marine Ecosystem-Based Management of Social Ecological Systems

Abstract

Practitioners play a critical yet largely unexamined role in translating collaborative, ecosystem-based management (EBM) for social-ecological systems from theory to practice. We paired mental models and social network analytical methods and applied them to two cases of marine EBM in Rhode Island and New York, focusing on practitioners themselves, to understand the relationship between practitioners’ mental models of marine ecosystems and the extent and nature of collaboration within each network. Mental models analysis was used to assess the comprehensiveness and balance of practitioners’ mental models, and social network analysis was used to assess the role and influence of practitioners within each network. A comparative statistical analysis was then performed to understand the relationship between mental models and network measures. Research revealed a statistically significant correlation between practitioners’ mental model comprehensiveness and practitioners’ influence within the network. In other words, practitioners with comprehensive mental models of the ecosystem for which they were planning were found to act as “brokers,” connecting those who were not otherwise connected, bridging jurisdictions, sectors, and disciplines. Results underscore the importance of brokers in achieving the collaborative and integrated goals of EBM and suggest the need for greater attention to practitioners’ role in EBM implementation.     

A numerical study of stochastic larval settlement in the California Current system

Key to the predictive understanding of many nearshore marine ecosystems is the transport of larvae by ocean circulation processes. Many species release thousands to billions of larvae to develop in pelagic waters, but only a few lucky ones successfully settle to suitable habitat and recruit to adult life stages. Methodologies for predicting the larval dispersal are still primitive, and simple diffusive analyses are still used for many important applications. In this study, we investigate mechanisms of larval dispersal using idealized simulations of time-evolving coastal circulations in the California Current system with Lagrangian particles as models for planktonic larvae. Connectivity matrices, which describe the source-to-destination relationships for larval dispersal for a given larval development time course, are used to diagnose the time–space dynamics of larval settlement. The resulting connectivity matrices are shown to be a function of several important time scales, such as the planktonic larval duration, the frequency and duration of larval release events and inherent time scales for the coastal circulations. Many important fishery management applications require knowledge of fish stocks on a year-to-year or generation-to-generation basis. For these short time scales (typically less than 1 year), larval dispersal is generally far from a simple diffusive process and the consideration of the stochastic and episodic nature of larval dispersal is required. This work provides new insights into the spatial–temporal dynamics of nearshore fish stocks.     

The Necessity of Establishing a Regional Marine Research Program for the U.S. West Coast

The welfare of the marine environment of the U.S. West Coast of California, Oregon, and Washington is hindered by insufficient understanding of ecosystem dynamics and human pressures. Greater coordination, integration, and support of mutually identified research priorities across research organizations on the West Coast are necessary. This level of collaboration is essential to responding to regional ecosystem threats, such as the impacts of human occupation of coastal areas, over-harvesting of marine resources, and climate change. To address this need for collaboration and build on the accomplishments of existing research organizations, this article advocates the establishment of a West Coast regional marine research program (RMRP).     

A Practice-Based Coupling of the Precautionary Principle to the Large Marine Ecosystem Fisheries Management Concept with a Policy Orientation: The Northeast United States Continental Shelf as a Case Example

This article addresses interdisciplinary sustainable aspects of fisheries as part of ocean management. Human-caused impacts and their role as modifiers of living marine resources is discussed. The research note also theorizes about contemporary global change and its prospective biological consequences, especially when coupled with human-induced factors in coastal marine waters. Also addressed is the management and ecological aspects of fish stock populations as part of a large marine ecosystem (LME) in the Northeast United States continental shelf of the Atlantic Ocean with suggestions for an interdisciplinary policy orientation paradigm to foster the sustainability of marine life in the sea.     

An Overview of Spatial Management and Marine Protected Areas in the East China Sea

Marine ecosystems of the East China Sea are rich in biodiversity, with 12,933 species of which approximately 47.7% are endemic. As anthropogenic impacts are intensifying, fishery resources and biodiversity in the East China Sea are under threat from overfishing, habitat loss, pollution, and biological invasions. Marine protected areas (MPAs) and other spatial management measures are believed useful tools to protect and restore biological resources. Seventeen nature reserves, seven special marine reserves, and three fishery resource conservation zones covering a combined area of 102,156 km² have so far been established in the Chinese East China Sea in order to protect fishery resources, biodiversity, and marine landscapes. This article provides a review and inventory of MPAs in the Chinese East China Sea as implemented by the People's Republic of China.