Tropical marginal seas: priority regions for managing marine biodiversity and ecosystem function
McKinnon, A.D.; Williams, A.; Young, J.; Dunstan, P.; Brewin, R.J.W.; Watson, R.; Brinkman, R.; Cappo, M.; Duggan, S.; Kelley, R.; Ridgway, K.; Lindsay, D.; Gledhill, D.; Hutton, T.; Richardson, A.J. (2014). Tropical marginal seas: priority regions for managing marine biodiversity and ecosystem function, in: Carlson, C.A. et al. Ann. Rev. Mar. Sci. 6. Annual Review of Marine Science, 6: pp. 415-437. https://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-marine-010213-135042 In: Carlson, C.A.; Giovannoni, S.J. (Ed.) (2014). Ann. Rev. Mar. Sci. 6. Annual Review of Marine Science, 6. Annual Reviews: Palo Alto. ISBN 978-0-8243-4506-8. 487 pp., more In: Annual Review of Marine Science. Annual Reviews: Palo Alto, Calif. ISSN 1941-1405; e-ISSN 1941-0611, more |  |
| Keyword | | | Author keywords | coral reef, fisheries, pelagic, deep sea, transboundary, management |
| Authors | | Top | - McKinnon, A.D.
- Williams, A.
- Young, J.
- Dunstan, P.
- Brewin, R.J.W.
| - Watson, R.
- Brinkman, R.
- Cappo, M.
- Duggan, S.
- Kelley, R.
| - Ridgway, K.
- Lindsay, D.
- Gledhill, D.
- Hutton, T.
- Richardson, A.J., more
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| Abstract | Tropical marginal seas (TMSs) are natural subregions of tropical oceans containing biodiverse ecosystems with conspicuous, valued, and vulnerable biodiversity assets. They are focal points for global marine conservation because they occur in regions where human populations are rapidly expanding. Our review of 11 TMSs focuses on three key ecosystems—coral reefs and emergent atolls, deep benthic systems, and pelagic biomes—and synthesizes, illustrates, and contrasts knowledge of biodiversity, ecosystem function, interaction between adjacent habitats, and anthropogenic pressures. TMSs vary in the extent that they have been subject to human influence—from the nearly pristine Coral Sea to the heavily exploited South China and Caribbean Seas—but we predict that they will all be similarly complex to manage because most span multiple national jurisdictions. We conclude that developing a structured process to identify ecologically and biologically significant areas that uses a set of globally agreed criteria is a tractable first step toward effective multinational and transboundary ecosystem management of TMSs. |
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