PARENT SESSION
Symposium 22: Expanding Scales, Expanding Perspectives: New Insights into Marine Ecosystem Dynamics
Organized by: P Raimondi and B Menge
Friday, August 8. 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM, SITCC Oglethorpe Auditorium.
Connecting Science to Ecosystem-Based Management: Reflections on the Ocean Commissions.
Lubchenco, Jane*,1, Rosenberg, Andrew2, Davis-Born, Renee1, Bergen, Lydia3, 1 Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR2 University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH3 University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA
ABSTRACT- In recent months, the country has heard from two national oceans commissions, both of which conducted comprehensive reviews of the Nation's ocean policies. The Commissions and the ensuing national dialogue are the first broad scale assessment of the country's attitudes, knowledge, management and policies regarding US waters in over 30 years. Both the independent Pew Oceans Commission (report released 9 April) and the congressionally mandated US Commission on Ocean Policy (in draft form as abstract was written) relied heavily on scientific understanding in conducting their reviews. Both Commissions conclude there is a significant disconnect between current scientific knowledge about marine ecosystems and the country's policies and practices affecting these systems. Both Commissions highlight the extent to which the country should increase its investment in scientific research and monitoring necessary to understand the dynamics of ocean ecosystems. The presentation will highlight relevant findings of both commissions, then focus on two issues for further engagement by the scientific community. (1) Both Commissions emphasize the need to take an ecosystem-based management approach to activities affecting oceans, yet the guidance to do so is limited. (2) Scientific research and monitoring programs that provide more comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of marine ecosystems will be needed, but exactly what they should look like needs to be defined. Many of the presentations in this symposium provide models and information that relate to both of these topics. The Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans, PISCO, for example combines monitoring and research that focuses on the near-shore portion of a Large Marine Ecosystem, the California Current system along the west coast of the US. The new insights emerging from PISCO suggest that it can serve as a model for other efforts to design effective large-scale, long-term, interdisciplinary research and monitoring programs that will inform policy and management.
Key words: Large marine ecosystems, Interdisciplinary research, Ecosystem-based management, Ocean policy