Prof. David Schiel1
1University Of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
It has been long known that the world’s coastal zone is being subjected to multiple and increasing stressors, both natural and human-induced. A plethora of papers on spatial and ecosystem-based management have been produced informing us about the myriad things needed for effective management, and yet degradation continues, and we seem to be stuck in our attempts to back away from ecological tipping points. In many respects, management of nearshore resources has involved the reduction or cancellation of activities, primarily those marine-based, through protected areas. The aim has been particularly at overfishing, primarily in the commercial sector, with presumed benefits through restoration of trophic relationships. This is a bit of a one-trick pony for management that does not account for cross-ecosystem effects from land sources – urbanisation, land-use intensification and contaminants – which unleash sediments and contaminants onto coastal reefs. With c 11,000 km of coastline, we have a long way to go for effective management. This talk traverses these issues with a focus on algal dominated reefs, their requirements for long-term sustainability, and with an underlying philosophy of the need to accommodate in some fashion both present and future uses.
Biography:
David Schiel is Distinguished Professor of Marine Science at Canterbury University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and the Marine Biological Association of the UK. His long-term research has focussed on ‘drivers of diversity’ of temperate reefs and ecosystem recovery after large-scale disturbances such as coastal uplift from earthquakes. He heads the Marine Ecology Research Group and is a longtime supporter of the ITRS movement.
