Comparative dynamics of exploited marine ecosystems

包括过度捕捞、气候变化和富营养化在内的人为应激源被认为是大型海洋生态系统(LME)变化的主要驱动因素。这些变化包括全球浮游植物生物量的下降，生物体大小的减少，以及大范围的渔业种群崩溃。我们研究的长期目标是量化这些压力源和相关压力源在确定LME的结构和功能以及它们对扰动的不同脆弱性方面的作用。这一知识是预测生态系统功能何时、何地以及在什么条件下退化和/或生产力改变到传统管理战略可能失败或资源产量崩溃的关键要求。它也是成功制定和实施以生态系统为基础的管理战略的核心，旨在避免再次发生大规模生态灾难，如1990年代初西北大西洋鳕鱼和其他底层鱼类物种的崩溃。我们在过去十年中的研究大大加强了我们对LME如何结构和功能的理解。

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.