Marine biodiversity conservation in a changing climate

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Climate change is a serious concern for life in the oceans, yet few marine conservation strategies exist to effectively protect species while their environment is changing. Climate-related threats include changes in the temperature of the oceans, water becoming more acidic, and changing patterns of productive areas. In response, changes are being seen in many species, including shifts in the areas they use. A common suggestion for managing species under climate change is to reduce local threats such as fishing and pollution. The idea is that this might increase the ability of species and ecosystems to resist or respond to climate-related threats. However, little is known about which regions are more likely to be affected by climate change, which local threats interact with those related to climate, or which of those local threats can be effectively managed. The purpose of this research is to increase understanding of the patterns and effects of climate-related impacts on marine systems in Canada and their interactions with local threats. To achieve this, three objectives underpin this research: First, this research will characterize patterns of climate change, focusing on changes to date based on analyses of existing data and projected future changes based on climate models. Second, this research will characterize interaction between climate-related and other threats. Finally, this research will incorporate these threats and interactions into marine protected area design and marine spatial planning at a regional scale (all of Canada's Pacific waters) and local scale. The benefit of this research to Canadians is that it will develop urgently-needed methods to prioritize marine conservation and management strategies that consider both climate-related and local threats. An increased understanding of patterns of change can help to improve effectiveness of marine conservation. This research thus promises to make Canada's marine protected area and marine spatial planning more effective.