An Ecosystem Services Perspective for the Oceanic Eastern Tropical Pacific: Commercial Fisheries, Carbon Storage, Recreational Fishing, and Biodiversity

Abstract

The ocean provides ecosystem services (ES) that support humanity. Traditional single-issue management largely failed to protect the full suite of ES. Ecosystem-based management (EBM) promotes resilient social-ecological systems that provide ES. To implement EBM, an ES approach is useful: (1) characterize major ES provided (magnitude, geographic extent, monetary value, trends, and stakeholders), (2) identify trade-offs, (3) determine desired outcomes, and (4) manage anthropogenic activities accordingly. Here we apply the ES approach (steps 1-2) to an open ocean ecosystem, the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP), an area of 21 million km 2 that includes waters of 12 nations and the oceanic commons, using 35 years of fisheries and economic data, and 20 years of ship-based survey data. We examined commercial fisheries, carbon storage, recreational fishing, and biodiversity as the major provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting ES, respectively. Average catch value (using U.S. import prices for fish) for the 10 most commercially fished species was $2.7 billion yr −1 . The value of carbon export to the deep ocean was $12.9 billion yr −1 (using average European carbon market prices). For two fisheries-depleted dolphin populations, the potential value of rebuilding carbon stores was $1.6 million (cumulative); for exploited fish stocks it was also $1.6 million (an estimated reduction of 544,000 mt). Sport fishing expenditures totaled $1.2 billion yr −1 , from studies of three popular destinations. These initial, conservative estimates do not represent a complete summary of ETP ES values. We produced species richness maps for cetaceans, seabirds, and ichthyoplankton, and a sightings density map for marine turtles. Over 1/3 of cetacean, seabird, and marine turtle species occur in the ETP, and diversity (or density) hotspots are widespread. This study fills several gaps in the assessment of marine and coastal ES by focusing on an oceanic habitat, utilizing long-term datasets, mapping the spatial distribution of ecological components, and concentrating on an area beyond Europe and the USA.Martin et al. Oceanic Ecosystem ServicesOur results improve our understanding of ETP ES, highlight their variety, and offer a new perspective for a fisheries-dominated system. This study sets the stage for further analyses of trade-offs, which can inform decisions about resource management and biodiversity conservation.

Win‐wins for biodiversity and ecosystem service conservation depend on the trophic levels of the species providing services

“…Historically, the protection of species has been the primary goal of conservation (Soule & Wilcox, 1980). However, in recent years, conservation has shifted focus towards species that provide specific services to humans (Mace, 2014;Martin, Ballance, & Groves, 2016). This shift has generated substantial debate (Kareiva, 2014;Kareiva & Marvier, 2012;Soulé, 2014aSoulé, , 2014b, with some arguing that protecting species for their services ignores their intrinsic value, potentially driving further biodiversity declines (Miller, Soulé, & Terborgh, 2014).…”

Interdisciplinary knowledge exchange across scales in a globally changing marine environment

“…Research on each marine ecosystem services is typically conducted by numerous disciplines on different spatial and biological scales with supporting services having the largest footprint and provisioning services the smallest (Figure ). When the exchange of knowledge across these boundaries is ineffective, information on environmental, economic or social values, can be under‐represented in decision‐making (Martin, Ballance, et al., ; Martin, Momtaz, et al., ). Our literature analysis showed ecosystem services of cultural and regulatory value such as spirituality (0.03%) and international relations (0.67%) were the least represented in publications on climate change in marine systems (Appendix S2).…”

“…pollution dispersal and treatment) and cultural services (e.g. recreation) under global environmental change is a challenge for scientists and management bodies around the world (Foran et al, 2016;Frusher et al, 2014;Martin, Ballance, & Groves, 2016;Martin, Momtaz, Gaston, & Moltschaniwskyj, 2016). Sustaining marine ecosystem services in a globally changing environment will require socio-economic structures to adapt to the impacts of climate change as shifts in drivers and resulting ecosystem processes change (Metcalf et al, 2015).…”

Sustainable Ecosystem Services Framework for Tropical Catchment Management: A Review

“…Floods are one of the most dangerous natural events that threaten most tropical countries in monsoon seasons [81,82,97]. Forests, via ecosystem services, can act as a natural hazard regulator, which is crucial in mitigating natural disasters and their impacts, particularly in the Asia Pacific region where they function as protection against natural disasters of various types and degrees [98,99], from minimal land degradation up to flood disaster [100][101][102]. All of these give a significant impact on the watershed area.…”