Research Priorities for Seascape Ecology
By Rosalie Wright
A recent study led by the Oxford Seascape Ecology Lab explores the future agenda for applied seascape ecology research.
A new paper in Marine Ecology Progress Series, led by the Oxford Seascape Ecology Lab’s Associate Researcher Dr Simon Pittman, along with Dr Lisa Wedding and colleagues, focuses on seascape ecology, which has recently emerged as a discipline applying principles of landscape ecology to marine environments.
Seascape ecology offers an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the causes and consequences of complex spatial patterns and ecological processes in our oceans. The discipline has been advanced by rapid developments in geospatial technologies and analytical tools that have enabled dynamic marine environments to be mapped and monitored across a broader range of spatial and temporal scales than were previously possible.
“While important progress in this field has been made in the past decade, there has been no coherent prioritisation of key research questions to help set the future research agenda for seascape ecology.”
Despite these technological advances and new opportunities for seascape research, significant gaps remain between scientific data collection and application to marine management. In order to most effectively guide conservation and decision-making practices, integrative research frameworks are required to critically consider the effects of scale, spatial contexts, seascape configuration and connectivity in marine ecosystems.
As we enter the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), such operational frameworks are necessary for the translation of complex ocean data into evidence-based practice. To assist the development of such integrative approaches and better understand current concerns in marine management, Oxford Seascape Ecology Lab Associate Researcher, Dr Simon Pittman, led an interdisciplinary research team to determine challenges and opportunities in the future of applied seascape ecology.
Recently published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series, Dr Pittman’s research team surveyed two groups - academic experts and management / conservation practitioners - to identify perceived priorities and key research questions across nine interrelated themes. This collaborative prioritisation involved both academics and practitioners to more effectively address existing gaps between science and practice.
Dr Pittman and the team found that certain questions elicited diverging priorities between the two respondent groups, the greatest difference being reported for a question regarding support for monitoring and assessment of the effectiveness of management actions. This ‘misalignment’ between academics and practitioners has been reported previously, and emphasises the need for more holistic approaches to socio-ecological research that are also more closely aligned with practical applications.
The study concluded by highlighting the critical importance of transdisciplinary approaches to seascape ecology research that span academic and practitioner boundaries. This will require collaborative efforts and enhanced dialogue to co-produce research questions that are highly relevant to management applications.
“These priority questions and themes serve as a roadmap for advancing applied seascape ecology during, and beyond, the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021−2030)”
Read the full article here: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13661
See more of Dr Pittman’s research: https://www.seascapeecology.com/