Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 23 June 2006:
Vol. 312. no. 5781, pp. 1806 - 1809
DOI: 10.1126/science.1128035
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Depletion, Degradation, and Recovery Potential of Estuaries and Coastal Seas

Heike K. Lotze,1* Hunter S. Lenihan,2 Bruce J. Bourque,3 Roger H. Bradbury,4 Richard G. Cooke,5 Matthew C. Kay,2 Susan M. Kidwell,6 Michael X. Kirby,7 Charles H. Peterson,8 Jeremy B. C. Jackson5,9

Estuarine and coastal transformation is as old as civilization yet has dramatically accelerated over the past 150 to 300 years. Reconstructed time lines, causes, and consequences of change in 12 once diverse and productive estuaries and coastal seas worldwide show similar patterns: Human impacts have depleted >90% of formerly important species, destroyed >65% of seagrass and wetland habitat, degraded water quality, and accelerated species invasions. Twentieth-century conservation efforts achieved partial recovery of upper trophic levels but have so far failed to restore former ecosystem structure and function. Our results provide detailed historical baselines and quantitative targets for ecosystem-based management and marine conservation.

1 Biology Department, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax, NS, Canada B3H 4J1.
2 Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, Bren Hall 3428, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106–5131, USA.
3 Department of Anthropology, 155 Pettengill Hall, Bates College, Lewiston, ME 04240, USA.
4 Resource Management in Asia-Pacific Program, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.
5 Center for Tropical Paleoecology and Archeology, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 0948, APO AA 34002–0948, Republic of Panama.
6 Department of Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, 5734 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
7 Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Museum Road, P.O. Box 117800, Gainesville, FL 32611–7800, USA.
8 Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Morehead City, NC 28557, USA.
9 Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093–0244, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: hlotze{at}dal.ca

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Forecasting the limits of resilience: integrating empirical research with theory.
S. F. Thrush, J. E. Hewitt, P. K. Dayton, G. Coco, A. M. Lohrer, A. Norkko, J. Norkko, and M. Chiantore (2009)
Proc R Soc B 276, 3209-3217
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Unprecedented Restoration of a Native Oyster Metapopulation.
D. M. Schulte, R. P. Burke, and R. N. Lipcius (2009)
Science 325, 1124-1128
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Rebuilding Global Fisheries.
B. Worm, R. Hilborn, J. K. Baum, T. A. Branch, J. S. Collie, C. Costello, M. J. Fogarty, E. A. Fulton, J. A. Hutchings, S. Jennings, et al. (2009)
Science 325, 578-585
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Accelerating loss of seagrasses across the globe threatens coastal ecosystems.
M. Waycott, C. M. Duarte, T. J. B. Carruthers, R. J. Orth, W. C. Dennison, S. Olyarnik, A. Calladine, J. W. Fourqurean, K. L. Heck Jr., A. R. Hughes, et al. (2009)
PNAS 106, 12377-12381
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
EPIFAUNA-DOMINATED BENTHIC SHELF ASSEMBLAGES: LESSONS FROM THE MODERN ADRIATIC SEA.
M. ZUSCHIN and M. STACHOWITSCH (2009)
Palaios 24, 211-221
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
An intertidal snail shows a dramatic size increase over the past century.
J. A. D. Fisher, E. C. Rhile, H. Liu, and P. S. Petraitis (2009)
PNAS 106, 5209-5212
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Sea levels: science and society.
R. Edwards (2008)
Progress in Physical Geography 32, 557-574
   PDF »
Colloquium Paper: Extinction and the spatial dynamics of biodiversity.
D. Jablonski (2008)
PNAS 105, 11528-11535
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Colloquium Paper: Ecological extinction and evolution in the brave new ocean.
J. B. C. Jackson (2008)
PNAS 105, 11458-11465
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems.
B. S. Halpern, S. Walbridge, K. A. Selkoe, C. V. Kappel, F. Micheli, C. D'Agrosa, J. F. Bruno, K. S. Casey, C. Ebert, H. E. Fox, et al. (2008)
Science 319, 948-952
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
A cold phase of the East Pacific triggers new phytoplankton blooms in San Francisco Bay.
J. E. Cloern, A. D. Jassby, J. K. Thompson, and K. A. Hieb (2007)
PNAS 104, 18561-18565
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Consumer versus resource control of producer diversity depends on ecosystem type and producer community structure.
H. Hillebrand, D. S. Gruner, E. T. Borer, M. E. S. Bracken, E. E. Cleland, J. J. Elser, W. S. Harpole, J. T. Ngai, E. W. Seabloom, J. B. Shurin, et al. (2007)
PNAS 104, 10904-10909
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services.
B. Worm, E. B. Barbier, N. Beaumont, J. E. Duffy, C. Folke, B. S. Halpern, J. B. C. Jackson, H. K. Lotze, F. Micheli, S. R. Palumbi, et al. (2006)
Science 314, 787-790
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)