Threats & Remedies in Aquatic Ecosystems

1. Threats & Remedies in Aquatic Ecosystems Professor Mike Elliott & research staff from IECS Mike.Elliott@hull.ac.uk Institute of Estuarine & Coastal Studies, University of Hull http://www.hull.ac.uk/iecs

2. Clark, RB, (2001). Marine Pollution, OUP, (5th Ed) • Gray, JS & M Elliott (2009) Ecology of Marine sediments: science to management, OUP (2nd Ed.). • Kaiser, M et al (2005) Marine Ecology Processes, Systems, and Impacts, OUP • McLusky, DS & M Elliott (2004) The Estuarine Ecosystem: ecology, threats & management, OUP (3rd Ed) • especially journals: Marine Pollution Bulletin, Estuarine Coastal & Shelf Science, Estuaries & Coasts, Marine Ecology Progress Series, Ocean & Coastal Management, etc. Relevant texts:

3. ‘The Appliance of Science’ understand the problem & understand the biology, physics and chemistry then interpret, understand and predict the effects then society (i.e. us) to act and either pay for solving problems or to stop the problems occurring?

4. ‘My husband writes Whodunnits, Thriller, Suspense and Horror stories - he specialises in books and articles on global pollution.’

5. What do we expect for/from the sea?

6. ‘Hold it! I don’t know about you lot, but I’m not jumping into that!’

7. Dead guillemots on the beach - why?

8. Dying bottle-nosed whale in an estuary - why?

9. Large-scale incidents - high in public awareness but: the sperm whale died of old age rather than pollution

10. Challenges for science & management: Recovery/coping with historical legacy Endangered coastal and marine ecosystem functions Legal & adminstrative framework Economic prosperity and delivery of societal benefits Coping with climate change & moving baselines There is only one big idea in marine management: how to maintain and protect ecological structure and functioning while at the same time allowing the system to produce ecosystem services from which we derive societal benefits.

11. DPSIR Approach (NB cyclical to helical) Fulfil ‘The Ecosystem Approach’ (D+P)+R ≠ (S+I) Approach Drivers (human activities responsible) Response (economic, governance actions, etc) Impact (on human uses and on users) Is it a definition or a tool for the EcoApp? Pressures (suite from each driver) State changes (environmental/natural variables)

12. Therefore: Manage for both ecology and economy (reason) Using both technology and administrative bodies (tools) Within both laws and governance (drivers) For both society and politics (drivers) Hence we need: Drivers for management Tools for management Endpoints/Outcomes of management

13. Aim (economic & ecological goods & services) Fulfil ‘The Ecosystem Approach’ Outcome! Set objectives (ecological, economic, societal, legislative) Action required (defined in advance) Tool! Action not required Measure status (EII, habitat mapping) Tool! Set indicators (birds/fishes; tonnage/ wealth creation, quality of life/non-infraction) Perform monitoring (surveillance, condition, compliance, investigative) Tool! Tool!

14. The Ecosystem Approach - Unifying Concepts 12 Principles Drivers Response Pressures Impacts State Change PESTLE Indicators 10 Tenets Symptoms of Ecosystem Pathology Indicators Indicators Objectives Hypotheses Aims SMART

15. P.E.S.T analysis (modified) • The organisation of an environment can be analysed by conducting a P.E.S.T analysis. • This is a simple analysis of an environment’s Political, Economical, Social and Technological organisation. • By adding legal aspects, this extends to P.E.S.T.L.E.

16. The ten tenets The seven tenets The six tenets To be successful, management measures or responses to changes resulting from human activities should be: • Ecologically sustainable • Technologically feasible • Economically viable • Socially desirable/tolerable • Legally permissible • Administratively achievable • Politically expedient • Ethically defensible (morally correct) • Culturally inclusive • Effectively communicable

17. sewage & organic matter Biological pollutants incl. microbes oils chemicals agro-chemicals minerals heat litter land claim barrages water removal navigation fisheries dredging mineral exploration recreation & amenity So what else do we do? What goes into the sea?

18. Effects of Human Activities Aim: description & prediction (scientific questions) then: reduction (socio-economic-political questions) Need knowledge of: features of the system how the system works type of threats how the system responds to threats

19. The need for Indicators to describe: • Condition of ecological/ecosystem elements • extent of Pressures exerted on elements • Responses to either the condition or changes to it Leading to: DPSIR approach: • Driving forces (human activities responsible) • Pressures (e.g. emissions) • State change (environmental variables) • Impact (changes in system) (also Welfare) • Response (measurement of policy options)

20. Main Questions for Science: What is the normal situation? How does it vary? Has there been a change? How big is the change? What caused it? (Can something be done about it?)

21. Ecological & economic goods & services Functioning, legislative drivers, & in-situ & ex-situ pressures Ecosystem Approach Hey, YOU the ecology-manager - how many invertebrates do you want in the estuary? how many fishes do you want in the estuary? how many birds do you want in the estuary? how much saltmarsh do you want around the estuary?

22. Ecological & economic goods & services Functioning, legislative drivers, & in-situ & ex-situ pressures Ecosystem Approach Hey, YOU the Lord Mayor - how much protection do you want around the estuary? how many fishermen do you want in the estuary? how much land claim do you want from the estuary? how much pollution do you want in the estuary? how many ships do you want in the estuary? how many people do you want around the estuary?

23. Ecological & economic goods & services Functioning, legislative drivers, & in-situ & ex-situ pressures Ecosystem Approach Hey, YOU - how much science do you want for the estuary? how much ecological carrying capacity do you want in the estuary? how much socio-economic carrying capacity do you want in the estuary?

24. Ecological & economic goods & services Functioning Ecosystem Approach What should there be (status)? & why (habitat needs)? Regain carrying capacity What is lost (reduced carrying capacity)? Produce Management Plan! Measure functioning (need indices of change) Permanent habitat loss Temporary habitat loss Can it be recovered? Recreate habitats Restore habitat Yes No Water quality barrier Report to EU HMWB (hydromorphology) Compensate the system Economic justification (xGEcS) Remedial action - pollution control

25. Ecological & economic goods & services Legislative Drivers Ecosystem Approach Decide conservation goals Decide quantitative standards Decide SMART objectives Report to EU/OSPAR Surveillance monitoring Remedial work Agree licences/permits/consents Create/agree methods Pass Check AQC/QA Investigative monitoring Produce Management Plan! Perform compliance monitoring Fail Check compliance with standards

26. Ecological & economic goods & services Response to In-situ pressures Ecosystem Approach Materials taken out What does society want? Materials put in Reported to EU/OSPAR Loss of ecological carrying capacity Maintenance of socio-economic carrying capacity Breach legislative driver Quantify EII 1 (hydromorphology) Quantify EII 2 (pressures) Spatial & temporal change Remediation/mitigation/ compensation Lead to (quantify) EII 3 (environmental quality) Produce Management Plan!

27. Ecological & economic goods & services Response to Ex-situ pressures Ecosystem Approach Unmanaged exogenic pressures Flooding/ storminess Relative sea-level rise Coastal squeeze erosion Options: Hold the line / retreat the line / advance the line / do nothing Mitigation/ compensation/ acceptance Soft/hard engineering Wins for safety, economy, ecology Produce Flood Risk, Shoreline Management, Habitat etc Management Plans Best practice in habitat creation Need for single management plan?!

28. Ecological & economic goods & services Response to Ex-situ pressures Ecosystem Approach External effects on breeding populations Upstream At sea Physical & chemical barriers (e.g. weirs & on salmonids) Anthropogenic Natural Influences far from TW (e.g. eels breeding in Atlantic, waders in high Arctic) Overfishing of migratory & nursery species Impacts on indigenous species, communities & their prey & predators ⇒Catchment and marine management plans and marine spatial planning linked to climate change strategies!

29. Ecological & economic goods & services Response to Ex-situ pressures Ecosystem Approach Climate and weather patterns (incl. NAO) Freshwater resources and run-off Temperature effects related to organisms’ tolerances Salinity balance Influence on organisms’ distributions and reproduction Point source pollution and WQ impacts Encouragement for invasive and introduced species Diffuse (nutrient) inputs Impacts on indigenous species, communities and their prey and predators Creation of biological pollution ⇒Catchment and marine management plans and marine spatial planning linked to climate change strategies!

30. Climate Change - Effects on Invertebrates, Fishes & Fisheries I relative sea level rise increased storminess marine incursion “coastal squeeze” coastal adjustment erosion increased need for refugia set-back/ managed retreat tidal area reduction salinity/depth alteration loss of habitat loss of prey/ feeding area wetland/habitat creation community displacement substratum change reduction in carrying capacity e.g. movement of brackish species increase in refugia change in prey availability fisheries repercussions fisheries support ‘Exogenic Unmanaged Pressures’

31. Climate Change - Effects on Invertebrates, Fishes & Fisheries II Altered temperature regime disruption of breeding cycle species distribution change e.g. northern species decrease in area e.g. southern species increase in area southern species reproduction enhanced northern species reproduction delayed change in community structure competitive disadvantage competitive advantage increase / decrease of ‘rare’ / ’fragile’ species fisheries repercussions conservation management repercussions

32. Marine/Estuarine Community – Forcing Variables Anthropogenic distortions Anthropogenic distortions Fundamental niche Physico-chemical attributes env.-biol. links biol.-env. links Community functional attributes Community structural attributes biol.-biol. links Anthropogenic distortions Anthropogenic distortions

33. Causes of Estuarine/Coastal Change Resulting from Human Activities • (a) Sources of inputs/pollutants: • natural solids - to offshore areas, from river catchment (erosion, leaching); • urban areas - domestic wastes (effluent, sludge); • industrial processes - brewing, distilling, pulp and paper making, chemical, petrochemical (onshore and offshore); • dredging, mineral exploration and extraction, marine excavation and drilling - disturbance and effects; • shipping - accidents, garbage, illegal practices (e.g. tanker washings);

34. Causes of Estuarine/Coastal Change Resulting from Human Activities • (a) Sources of inputs/pollutants (continued): • power generation - thermal pollution, fly-ash production, radionucleiides, biocides; • industrial wastes - collieries, china-clay waste, land-claim schemes; • agriculture and aquaculture - practices and malpractice (erosion, pesticides, fertilisers, food); • atmosphere - solids and soluble inputs.

35. Causes of Estuarine/Coastal Change Resulting from Human Activities • (b) Other activities: • barrages (for safety, amenity, power) - hydrographic changes; • abstraction (cooling water, desalination) - biota removal, mortality; • commercial fishing - bycatch mortality; • land-claim and coastal protection - habitat loss, disruption of sediment and hydrophysical regime; • offshore and onshore wind power - environmental disruption; • naval activities - mortalities, reduction of habitat.

37. Anthropogenic Causes of Change xenobiotics/toxins physical additions energy change physical structures overstimulation of biota introduced organisms (microbes (health) & macrobes) mutagenic response removal of biota Categories of Pollutants trace metals synthetic organic compounds hydrocarbons radioactivity inert (physical) materials nutrients organic matter energy

38. (a) Contaminant levels Physical & chemical Pollutants Water quality Toxicity Fisheries Land claim Land use Microbial pollutants (b) Irreversible habitat change – loss Reduction in productivity and biodiversity Nutrient cycling modification Land change and use Climate variability and global change Macro-biological pollution Sustainable fishing Marine energy Trace organics, POPs, EDS, antibiotics Traditional Threats (a) vs. Emerging Issues (b) (modified & greatly expanded from Boesch & Paul 2001)

39. Chemical: Heavy metalsO Organic matterO RadioactivityO HydrocarbonsO HeatO NutrientsN Persistent organicsN Biological: MicropathogensO Ballast water migrantsO Invasive macrophytesN Introduced parasitesN GMO’sN Escapees from cultureN Pollutants (old vs. new problems) • Physical: • Inert solids (sediment)O • Thermal deformationsO • Litter/garbageN • Large structuresN

40. Endangered & Fragile Habitats: Sabellaria BMNH Introduced & nuisance species: Eriocheir sinensis Introduced and harvestable species: Neogobius melanostomus (Elliott 2003)

41. Biodiversity changes & challenges: • Biological pollution – introduced species • Effects of global warming – changing distributions (e.g. Red Sea migrations; surrogate information from thermal discharges) • Examples of habitat modification effects e.g. Eriocheir, Caulerpa (Elliott, 2002; McLusky & Elliott, 2004; Olenin et al., 2011)

42. Future – biodiversity change: • Determine what’s there and what’s been lost • Quantify niche creation • Quantify rate & processes of filling niches • Determine sequence depending on time of start • (Fulfil management actions in these) (Elliott, 2002; McLusky & Elliott, 2004)

43. Unhealthy systems? Medical – Environmental – ( ) *1 • Diagnosis • Assessment (*2) • Prognosis • Prediction • Treatment • Remediation/Creation/ Restoration • Recovery Prevention • Prevention (*1 Steevens et al 2001 - Human Ecol. Risk Ass.) (* 2 using extension of symptoms for the diagnosis of ecosystem pathology) Comparison of the health of medical and environmental systems (modified from Elliott & Cutts 2004; see Tett et al., MEPS 2013)

44. Attributes for the diagnosis of ecosystem pathology:= 7 indicators for general application: • primary production • nutrients (fate & effects) • species diversity (abiotic areas) • community instability (biotic composition) • size and biomass spectrum • disease/anomaly prevalence • contaminant uptake and response

45. Ease of detection of effect Biological change changes in cells  changes in organisms  changes in populations  changes in communities  changes in ecosystems Specificity of cause Speed of response Confidence in methods? Inherent variability Complexity of system

46. Biological change changes in cells  changes in organisms  changes in populations  changes in communities  changes in ecosystems

47. Environmental homeostasis - resilience? Pollution effects in fishes – conceptual model (Elliott & Hemingway, 2002; also Elliott et al 2003; Lawrence & Hemingway 2003 - XENOFISH)

48. Extent of Impact • Temporal severity (longevity/duration) • instantaneous • short-lived (hours-weeks) • intermediate (weeks-months) • long-lived (years-decades) • ‘infinite’ (centuries/millennia) • Spatial severity (area affected) • local/district • regional • national (intra-boundary) • international (transboundary) • intercontinental • global

49. Content & (Spurious) Definitions: Ecosystem = ((Σp.Δp) + (Σc.Δc) + (Σb.Δb) + (δb/δc) + (δb/δp) + ((Σc.Δc)-Σb) + ((Σp.Δp)-Σb)).h Where p, c, b, h = physical, chemical, biological, human attributes And: Ecosystem Approach = ((D + P) + R)  (S + I)

50. CBD Ecosystem Approach A strategy for the integrated management (*) of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation (*) and sustainable use (*) in an equitable way. Its application will help to reach a balance of the three objectives (*) of the Convention. Based on applying appropriate scientific methodologies focused on levels of biological organization which encompass the essential processes, functions and interactions among organisms and their environment. It recognizes that humans, with their cultural diversity, are an integral component of ecosystems. www.biodiv.org