Baltic Sea biodiversity status vs. cumulative human pressures
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Andersen, JH
Halpern, BS
Korpinen, S
Murray, C
Reker, J
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Many studies have tried to explain spatial and temporal variations in biodiversity status of marine areas from a single-issue perspective, such as fishing pressure or coastal pollution, yet most continental seas experience a wide range of human pressures. Cumulative impact assessments have been developed to capture the consequences of multiple stressors for biodiversity, but the ability of these assessments to accurately predict biodiversity status has never been tested or ground-truthed. This relationship has similarly been assumed for the Baltic Sea, especially in areas with impaired status, but has also never been documented. Here we provide a first tentative indication that cumulative human impacts relate to ecosystem condition, i.e. biodiversity status, in the Baltic Sea. Thus, cumulative impact assessments offer a promising tool for informed marine spatial planning, designation of marine protected areas and ecosystem-based management, and may prove useful for setting limits on allowable levels of human impact on ecosystems.
Date Issued
2015-05-08
Date Acceptance
2015-05-02
Citation
Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science, 2015, 161, pp.88-92
ISSN
0272-7714
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
88
End Page
92
Journal / Book Title
Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science
Volume
161
Copyright Statement
© 2015, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Physical Sciences
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Oceanography
marine biodiversity
multiple stressors
cumulative effects
pressures
impacts
Baltic Sea
MARINE ECOSYSTEMS
IMPACT
Publication Status
Published