2025/11/01 by Tess O'Neill, Scott Bennett, Christopher J. Brown · 1 voice
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Marine and coastal plant biology #Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics #Marine and fisheries research
paper · pdf · doi:10.1002/aqc.70242
ABSTRACT Ecosystem restoration is gaining momentum as communities and policymakers increasingly appreciate the need to recover lost ecosystem services. However, more knowledge about the potential ecological outcomes of restoration for ecosystem services is needed to promote engagement of stakeholders with restoration targets. In Tasmania, the giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera , is a productive canopy species that has declined by 95%. We aimed to predict the effects of M. pyrifera restoration on food webs and fisheries production. The primary productivity ratio of M. pyrifera compared to the dominant understory species Ecklonia radiata was quantified and then incorporated into an Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) model of Tasmanian waters. Predator/prey interactions were estimated using the EwE model framework, which fits the model to historical fisheries data. Several scenarios were then simulated, representing uncertainty in predator/prey interactions and different areas of M. pyrifera restoration. Restoration of degraded reefs with M. pyrifera was predicted to increase primary productivity by about 40 times per unit area compared to the existing habitat. We predicted that restoring 30% of the degraded M. pyrifera area would increase abalone and coastal demersal fish catches by ~2.7%. Rock lobster and reef‐associated fisheries catches were predicted to increase by 0.4% and 1.4%, respectively. Future improvements could include downscaling the model to capture local increases in biomass and catch and refining predator/prey interactions through experimental studies. By modelling outcomes of ecological restoration, achievable targets can be set that are locally relevant and therefore more likely to attract support.