Combating ecosystem collapse from the tropics to the Antarctic

Dana M. Bergstrom; Barbara C. Wienecke; John van den Hoff; Lesley Hughes; David B. Lindenmayer; Tracy D. Ainsworth; Christopher M. Baker; Lucie Bland; David M.J.S. Bowman; Shaun T. Brooks; Josep G. Canadell; Andrew J. Constable; Katherine A. Dafforn; Michael H. Depledge; Catherine R. Dickson; Norman C. Duke; Kate J. Helmstedt; Andrés Holz; Craig R. Johnson; Melodie A. McGeoch; Jessica Melbourne-Thomas; Rachel Morgain; Emily Nicholson; Suzanne M. Prober; Ben Raymond; Euan G. Ritchie; Sharon A. Robinson; Katinka X. Ruthrof; Samantha A. Setterfield; Carla M. Sgrò; Jonathan S. Stark; Toby Travers; Rowan Trebilco; Delphi F.L. Ward; Glenda M. Wardle; Kristen J. Williams; Phillip J. Zylstra; Justine D. Shaw

doi:10.1111/gcb.15539

Combating ecosystem collapse from the tropics to the Antarctic

Dana M. Bergstrom
, Barbara C. Wienecke
, John van den Hoff
, Lesley Hughes
, David B. Lindenmayer
, Tracy D. Ainsworth
, Christopher M. Baker
, Lucie Bland
, David M.J.S. Bowman
, Shaun T. Brooks
, Josep G. Canadell
, Andrew J. Constable
, Katherine A. Dafforn
, Michael H. Depledge
, Catherine R. Dickson
, Norman C. Duke
, Kate J. Helmstedt
, Andrés Holz
, Craig R. Johnson
, Melodie A. McGeoch

Jessica Melbourne-Thomas, Rachel Morgain, Emily Nicholson, Suzanne M. Prober, Ben Raymond, Euan G. Ritchie, Sharon A. Robinson, Katinka X. Ruthrof, Samantha A. Setterfield, Carla M. Sgrò, Jonathan S. Stark, Toby Travers, Rowan Trebilco, Delphi F.L. Ward, Glenda M. Wardle, Kristen J. Williams, Phillip J. Zylstra, Justine D. Shaw

School of Biological Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

229 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Globally, collapse of ecosystems—potentially irreversible change to ecosystem structure, composition and function—imperils biodiversity, human health and well-being. We examine the current state and recent trajectories of 19 ecosystems, spanning 58° of latitude across 7.7 M km², from Australia's coral reefs to terrestrial Antarctica. Pressures from global climate change and regional human impacts, occurring as chronic ‘presses’ and/or acute ‘pulses’, drive ecosystem collapse. Ecosystem responses to 5–17 pressures were categorised as four collapse profiles—abrupt, smooth, stepped and fluctuating. The manifestation of widespread ecosystem collapse is a stark warning of the necessity to take action. We present a three-step assessment and management framework (3As Pathway Awareness, Anticipation and Action) to aid strategic and effective mitigation to alleviate further degradation to help secure our future.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1692-1703
Number of pages	12
Journal	Global Change Biology
Volume	27
Issue number	9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15539
Publication status	Published - May 2021

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
SDG 13 Climate Action
SDG 15 Life on Land

Keywords

adaptive management
climate change
ecosystem collapse
human impacts
pressures

Access to Document

10.1111/gcb.15539Licence: CC BY

Cite this

Bergstrom, D. M., Wienecke, B. C., van den Hoff, J., Hughes, L., Lindenmayer, D. B., Ainsworth, T. D., Baker, C. M., Bland, L., Bowman, D. M. J. S., Brooks, S. T., Canadell, J. G., Constable, A. J., Dafforn, K. A., Depledge, M. H., Dickson, C. R., Duke, N. C., Helmstedt, K. J., Holz, A., Johnson, C. R., ... Shaw, J. D. (2021). Combating ecosystem collapse from the tropics to the Antarctic. Global Change Biology, 27(9), 1692-1703. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15539

@article{f7bc882dd5d24ef49d08b8f49144eddc,

title = "Combating ecosystem collapse from the tropics to the Antarctic",

abstract = "Globally, collapse of ecosystems—potentially irreversible change to ecosystem structure, composition and function—imperils biodiversity, human health and well-being. We examine the current state and recent trajectories of 19 ecosystems, spanning 58° of latitude across 7.7 M km2, from Australia's coral reefs to terrestrial Antarctica. Pressures from global climate change and regional human impacts, occurring as chronic {\textquoteleft}presses{\textquoteright} and/or acute {\textquoteleft}pulses{\textquoteright}, drive ecosystem collapse. Ecosystem responses to 5–17 pressures were categorised as four collapse profiles—abrupt, smooth, stepped and fluctuating. The manifestation of widespread ecosystem collapse is a stark warning of the necessity to take action. We present a three-step assessment and management framework (3As Pathway Awareness, Anticipation and Action) to aid strategic and effective mitigation to alleviate further degradation to help secure our future.",

keywords = "adaptive management, climate change, ecosystem collapse, human impacts, pressures",

author = "Bergstrom, \{Dana M.\} and Wienecke, \{Barbara C.\} and \{van den Hoff\}, John and Lesley Hughes and Lindenmayer, \{David B.\} and Ainsworth, \{Tracy D.\} and Baker, \{Christopher M.\} and Lucie Bland and Bowman, \{David M.J.S.\} and Brooks, \{Shaun T.\} and Canadell, \{Josep G.\} and Constable, \{Andrew J.\} and Dafforn, \{Katherine A.\} and Depledge, \{Michael H.\} and Dickson, \{Catherine R.\} and Duke, \{Norman C.\} and Helmstedt, \{Kate J.\} and Andr{\'e}s Holz and Johnson, \{Craig R.\} and McGeoch, \{Melodie A.\} and Jessica Melbourne-Thomas and Rachel Morgain and Emily Nicholson and Prober, \{Suzanne M.\} and Ben Raymond and Ritchie, \{Euan G.\} and Robinson, \{Sharon A.\} and Ruthrof, \{Katinka X.\} and Setterfield, \{Samantha A.\} and Sgr{\`o}, \{Carla M.\} and Stark, \{Jonathan S.\} and Toby Travers and Rowan Trebilco and Ward, \{Delphi F.L.\} and Wardle, \{Glenda M.\} and Williams, \{Kristen J.\} and Zylstra, \{Phillip J.\} and Shaw, \{Justine D.\}",

note = "Funding Information: We acknowledge the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Antarctic Division, the Centre for Excellence in Environmental Decisions, The University of Queensland and the NESP Threatened Species Hub for support for the Boden Research Conference: Ecological Surprises and Rapid Collapse of Ecosystems in a Changing World (Canberra, 8?9 May 2018) and workshops. K. J. H. was supported by Fellowship DE200101791, and the research investigations on mangrove dieback in the Gulf of Carpentaria by NCD were supported with funding from the Australian Government's National Environmental Science Program. We thank S. L. Chown for discussion on a priori testing, J. Flemming, M. White and others from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, and D. Wachenfeld (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority) for comments on an earlier draft. Tess Egan provided excellent library support. This work is part of Australian Antarctic Program project \#4312. We also like to thank the reviewers for their comments on a previous version of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 John Wiley \& Sons Ltd Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

year = "2021",

month = may,

doi = "10.1111/gcb.15539",

language = "English",

volume = "27",

pages = "1692--1703",

journal = "Global Change Biology",

issn = "1354-1013",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",

number = "9",

}

Bergstrom, DM, Wienecke, BC, van den Hoff, J, Hughes, L, Lindenmayer, DB, Ainsworth, TD, Baker, CM, Bland, L, Bowman, DMJS, Brooks, ST, Canadell, JG, Constable, AJ, Dafforn, KA, Depledge, MH, Dickson, CR, Duke, NC, Helmstedt, KJ, Holz, A, Johnson, CR, McGeoch, MA, Melbourne-Thomas, J, Morgain, R, Nicholson, E, Prober, SM, Raymond, B, Ritchie, EG, Robinson, SA, Ruthrof, KX, Setterfield, SA, Sgrò, CM, Stark, JS, Travers, T, Trebilco, R, Ward, DFL, Wardle, GM, Williams, KJ, Zylstra, PJ & Shaw, JD 2021, 'Combating ecosystem collapse from the tropics to the Antarctic', Global Change Biology, vol. 27, no. 9, pp. 1692-1703. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15539

TY - JOUR

T1 - Combating ecosystem collapse from the tropics to the Antarctic

AU - Bergstrom, Dana M.

AU - Wienecke, Barbara C.

AU - van den Hoff, John

AU - Hughes, Lesley

AU - Lindenmayer, David B.

AU - Ainsworth, Tracy D.

AU - Baker, Christopher M.

AU - Bland, Lucie

AU - Bowman, David M.J.S.

AU - Brooks, Shaun T.

AU - Canadell, Josep G.

AU - Constable, Andrew J.

AU - Dafforn, Katherine A.

AU - Depledge, Michael H.

AU - Dickson, Catherine R.

AU - Duke, Norman C.

AU - Helmstedt, Kate J.

AU - Holz, Andrés

AU - Johnson, Craig R.

AU - McGeoch, Melodie A.

AU - Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica

AU - Morgain, Rachel

AU - Nicholson, Emily

AU - Prober, Suzanne M.

AU - Raymond, Ben

AU - Ritchie, Euan G.

AU - Robinson, Sharon A.

AU - Ruthrof, Katinka X.

AU - Setterfield, Samantha A.

AU - Sgrò, Carla M.

AU - Stark, Jonathan S.

AU - Travers, Toby

AU - Trebilco, Rowan

AU - Ward, Delphi F.L.

AU - Wardle, Glenda M.

AU - Williams, Kristen J.

AU - Zylstra, Phillip J.

AU - Shaw, Justine D.

N1 - Funding Information: We acknowledge the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Antarctic Division, the Centre for Excellence in Environmental Decisions, The University of Queensland and the NESP Threatened Species Hub for support for the Boden Research Conference: Ecological Surprises and Rapid Collapse of Ecosystems in a Changing World (Canberra, 8?9 May 2018) and workshops. K. J. H. was supported by Fellowship DE200101791, and the research investigations on mangrove dieback in the Gulf of Carpentaria by NCD were supported with funding from the Australian Government's National Environmental Science Program. We thank S. L. Chown for discussion on a priori testing, J. Flemming, M. White and others from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, and D. Wachenfeld (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority) for comments on an earlier draft. Tess Egan provided excellent library support. This work is part of Australian Antarctic Program project #4312. We also like to thank the reviewers for their comments on a previous version of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/5

Y1 - 2021/5

N2 - Globally, collapse of ecosystems—potentially irreversible change to ecosystem structure, composition and function—imperils biodiversity, human health and well-being. We examine the current state and recent trajectories of 19 ecosystems, spanning 58° of latitude across 7.7 M km2, from Australia's coral reefs to terrestrial Antarctica. Pressures from global climate change and regional human impacts, occurring as chronic ‘presses’ and/or acute ‘pulses’, drive ecosystem collapse. Ecosystem responses to 5–17 pressures were categorised as four collapse profiles—abrupt, smooth, stepped and fluctuating. The manifestation of widespread ecosystem collapse is a stark warning of the necessity to take action. We present a three-step assessment and management framework (3As Pathway Awareness, Anticipation and Action) to aid strategic and effective mitigation to alleviate further degradation to help secure our future.

AB - Globally, collapse of ecosystems—potentially irreversible change to ecosystem structure, composition and function—imperils biodiversity, human health and well-being. We examine the current state and recent trajectories of 19 ecosystems, spanning 58° of latitude across 7.7 M km2, from Australia's coral reefs to terrestrial Antarctica. Pressures from global climate change and regional human impacts, occurring as chronic ‘presses’ and/or acute ‘pulses’, drive ecosystem collapse. Ecosystem responses to 5–17 pressures were categorised as four collapse profiles—abrupt, smooth, stepped and fluctuating. The manifestation of widespread ecosystem collapse is a stark warning of the necessity to take action. We present a three-step assessment and management framework (3As Pathway Awareness, Anticipation and Action) to aid strategic and effective mitigation to alleviate further degradation to help secure our future.

KW - adaptive management

KW - climate change

KW - ecosystem collapse

KW - human impacts

KW - pressures

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85101779465

U2 - 10.1111/gcb.15539

DO - 10.1111/gcb.15539

M3 - Article

C2 - 33629799

AN - SCOPUS:85101779465

SN - 1354-1013

VL - 27

SP - 1692

EP - 1703

JO - Global Change Biology

JF - Global Change Biology

IS - 9

ER -

Combating ecosystem collapse from the tropics to the Antarctic

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

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