TY - JOUR
TI - Ocean sprawl: challenges and opportunities for biodiversity management in a changing world
AU - Firth, L
AU - Knights, A
AU - Bridger, D
AU - Evans, A
AU - Mieszkowska, N
AU - Moore, P
AU - O'Connor, N
AU - Sheehan, E
AU - Thompson, R
AU - Hawkins, S
T2 - Oceanography and Marine Biology
AB - The last few decades have seen rapid proliferation of hard artificial structures (e.g., energy infra-structure, aquaculture,  coastal  defences) in  the marine  environment:  ocean  sprawl. The  replacement of  natural,  often  sedimentary, substrata  with hard  substrata  has altered  the  distribution of species, particularly non- indigenous species, and can facilitate the assisted migration of native species at risk from climate change. This has been likened to urbanization as a driver of global biotic homogenization in the marine environment—the  process by which species  invasions and extinctions increase the genetic, taxonomic, or functional similarity of communities at local, regional, and global scales. Ecological engineering research showed that small- scale engineering interventions can have a significant positive effect on the biodiversity associated with artificial structures, promoting more diverse and resilient communities on local scales. This knowledge can be applied to the design of multifunctional structures that provide a range of ecosystem services. In coastal regions, hybrid designs can work with nature to combine hard and soft approaches to coastal defence in a more environmentally sensitive manner. The challenge now is to  manage ocean  sprawl with  the dual goal of supporting human populations and activities, simultaneously strengthening ecosystem resilience using an ecosystem- based approach
DA - 2016/09//
PY - 2016
VL - 54
SP - 189
EP - 262
UR - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/310462801_Ocean_sprawl_challenges_and_opportunities_for_biodiversity_management_in_a_changing_world
LA - English
KW - Wind Energy
KW - Fixed Offshore Wind
KW - Habitat Change
KW - Human Dimensions
ER -