Iterative mapping of marine ecosystems for spatial status assessment, prioritization, and decision support

作者：Kerry Sink, Luther Adams, Mari-Lise Franken, Linda R. Harris, Jock C. Currie, Natasha Karenyi, Anisha Dayaram, Sean N. Porter, Stephen P. Kirkman, Maya C. Pfaff, Lara Van Niekerk, Lara Atkinson, Anthony T.F. Bernard, Mariel Bessinger, Hayley C. Cawthra, Willem de Wet, Loyiso Dunga, Zoleka Filander, Andrew Green, David G. Herbert, Stephen Holness, SJ Lamberth, Tamsyn Livingstone, Melanie Lück‐Vogel, Fiona MacKay, Mapula Makwela, Ryan Palmer, Wilhem Van Zyl, Andrew Skowno · 发表于：Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.3389/fevo.2023.1108118 · 被引用次数：18 · 研究领域：Coastal and Marine Management、Marine and fisheries research、Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies

South Africa has taken an iterative approach to marine ecosystem mapping over 18 years that has provided a valuable foundation for ecosystem assessment, planning and decision-making, supporting improved ecosystem-based management and protection. Iterative progress has been made in overcoming challenges faced by developing countries, especially in the inaccessible marine realm. Our aim is to report on the approach to produce and improve a national marine ecosystem map to guide other countries facing similar challenges, and to illustrate the impact of even the simplest ecosystem map. South Africa has produced four map versions, from a rudimentary map of 34 biozones informed by bathymetry data, to the latest version comprising 163 ecosystem types informed by 83 environmental and biodiversity datasets that aligns with the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology. Data were unlocked through academic and industry collaborations; multi-disciplinary, multi-realm and multi-generational networks of practitioners; and targeted research to address key gaps. To advance toward a more transparent, reproducible and data-driven approach, limitations, barriers and opportunities for improvement were identified. Challenges included limited human and data infrastructure capacity to collate, curate and assimilate many data sources, covering a variety of ecosystem components, methods and scales. Five key lessons that are of relevance for others working to advance ecosystem classification and mapping, were di...