Distinguishing globally-driven changes from regional- and local-scale impacts: The case for long-term and broad-scale studies of recovery from pollution

• Published in: Marine pollution bulletin Vol. 124; no. 2; pp. 573 - 586
• Main Authors: Hawkins, S.J., Evans, A.J., Mieszkowska, N., Adams, L.C., Bray, S., Burrows, M.T., Firth, L.B., Genner, M.J., Leung, K.M.Y., Moore, P.J., Pack, K., Schuster, H., Sims, D.W., Whittington, M., Southward, E.C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 30.11.2017; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Adaptive management; Animals; anthropogenic activities; Anthropogenic changes; Anthropogenic factors; Canyons; Case studies; Catch per unit effort; Climate; Climate Change; Ecosystem; Ecosystem recovery; Ecosystems; Ecotoxicology - methods; England; English Channel; Environment; Fish; Fisheries; Fishes; Fishing; Fishing effort; Fishing pressure; Human influences; Long-term monitoring; Marine Biology - methods; Marine ecology; Marine ecosystems; Marine pollution; Oil spills; Overfishing; Petroleum Pollution; Pollution; Recovery; Regional analysis; Rocky shores; Scales; Torrey Canyon oil spill; Trialkyltin Compounds - toxicity; Tributyltin; Tributyltin (TBT); Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; Water Pollution; Windows (intervals); England; English Channel; Long-term monitoring; Climate change; Pollution; Torrey Canyon oil spill; Overfishing; Tributyltin (TBT)
• ISSN: 0025-326X; 1879-3363; 1879-3363
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.01.068

Marine ecosystems are subject to anthropogenic change at global, regional and local scales. Global drivers interact with regional- and local-scale impacts of both a chronic and acute nature. Natural fluctuations and those driven by climate change need to be understood to diagnose local- and regional-scale impacts, and to inform assessments of recovery. Three case studies are used to illustrate the need for long-term studies: (i) separation of the influence of fishing pressure from climate change on bottom fish in the English Channel; (ii) recovery of rocky shore assemblages from the Torrey Canyon oil spill in the southwest of England; (iii) interaction of climate change and chronic Tributyltin pollution affecting recovery of rocky shore populations following the Torrey Canyon oil spill. We emphasize that “baselines” or “reference states” are better viewed as envelopes that are dependent on the time window of observation. Recommendations are made for adaptive management in a rapidly changing world.