Comparative dynamics of exploited marine ecosystems

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Anthropogenic stressors including excessive harvesting, climate change and eutrophication are recognized as dominant drivers of large marine ecosystem (LME) change. These changes include global declines in phytoplankton biomass, reductions in organism body sizes, and widespread fisheries stock collapses. The long-term goal of our research is to quantify the role of these and related stressors in determining the structure and function of LMEs and their differential vulnerability to perturbation. This knowledge is a critical requirement for forecasting when, where, and under what conditions ecosystem function degrades and/or productivity is altered to the point that traditional management strategies fail or resource yields collapse. It is also central to the successful development and implementation of ecosystem based management strategies designed to avoid recurring large scale ecological disasters such as the collapse of cod and other groundfish species in the northwest Atlantic in the early 1990s. Our research over the past decade has significantly enhanced this understanding of how LMEs are structured and function.