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Benjamin S. Halpern,1Shaun Walbridge,1*Kimberly A. Selkoe,1,2*Carrie V. Kappel,1Fiorenza Micheli,3Caterina D'Agrosa,4John F. Bruno,5Kenneth S. Casey,6Colin Ebert,1Helen E. Fox,7Rod Fujita,8Dennis Heinemann,9Hunter S. Lenihan,10Elizabeth M. P. Madin,11Matthew T. Perry,1Elizabeth R. Selig,6,12Mark Spalding,13Robert Steneck,14Reg Watson15
The management and conservation of the world's oceans requiresynthesis of spatial data on the distribution and intensityof human activities and the overlap of their impacts on marineecosystems. We developed an ecosystem-specific, multiscale spatialmodel to synthesize 17 global data sets of anthropogenic driversof ecological change for 20 marine ecosystems. Our analysisindicates that no area is unaffected by human influence andthat a large fraction (41%) is strongly affected by multipledrivers. However, large areas of relatively little human impactremain, particularly near the poles. The analytical processand resulting maps provide flexible tools for regional and globalefforts to allocate conservation resources; to implement ecosystem-basedmanagement; and to inform marine spatial planning, education,and basic research.
1 National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, 735 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, USA. 2 Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, Post Office Box 1346, Kane`ohe, HI 96744, USA. 3 Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Oceanview Boulevard, Pacific Grove, CA 93950–3094, USA. 4 Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460, USA. 5 Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599–3300, USA. 6 National Oceanographic Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA. 7 Conservation Science Program, World Wildlife Fund—United States, 1250 24th Street NW, Washington, DC 20037, USA. 8 Environmental Defense, 5655 College Avenue, Suite 304, Oakland, CA, 94618, USA. 9 Ocean Conservancy, 1300 19th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006, USA. 10 Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA. 11 Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA. 12 Curriculum in Ecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599–3275, USA. 13 Conservation Strategies Division, the Nature Conservancy, 93 Centre Drive, Newmarket, CB8 8AW, UK. 14 School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Darling Marine Center, Walpole, ME 04353, USA. 15 Fisheries Center, 2202 Main Mall, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
* These authors contributed equally to this work.
Present address: School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University,Tempe, AZ 85287–4501, USA.
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: halpern{at}nceas.ucsb.edu, selkoe{at}nceas.ucsb.edu
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In Science Magazine
LETTERS
Louise K. Blight and David G. Ainley (12 September 2008) Science321 (5895), 1443b.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.321.5895.1443b] |Full Text »|PDF »
LETTERS
G. Carleton Ray, Gary L. Hufford, Igor I. Krupnik, James E. Overland;, Benjamin S. Halpern, Carrie V. Kappel, Fiorenza Micheli, Kimberly A. Selkoe, Caterina d'Agrosa, John Bruno, Kenneth S. Casey, Colin M. Ebert, Helen E. Fox, Rod Fujita, Dennis Heinemann, Hunter S. Lenihan, Elizabeth M. P. Madin, Matt Perry, Elizabeth R. Selig, Mark Spalding, Robert Steneck, Shaun Walbridge, and Reg Watson (12 September 2008) Science321 (5895), 1443c.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.321.5895.1443c] |Full Text »|PDF »
TECHNICAL COMMENTS
Michael R. Heath (12 September 2008) Science321 (5895), 1446b.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.1157390] |Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
TECHNICAL COMMENTS
Kimberly A. Selkoe, Carrie V. Kappel, Benjamin S. Halpern, Fiorenza Micheli, Caterina D'Agrosa, John Bruno, Kenneth S. Casey, Colin Ebert, Helen E. Fox, Rod Fujita, Dennis Heinemann, Hunter S. Lenihan, Elizabeth M. P. Madin, Matt Perry, Elizabeth R. Selig, Mark Spalding, Robert Steneck, Shaun Walbridge, and Reg Watson (12 September 2008) Science321 (5895), 1446c.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.1158007] |Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
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Present address: School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287–4501, USA. 
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: 
