How close is too close when it comes to a state of non-return to what we may think as ‘normal’ in coastal marine ecosystems? Or are we already too far down the track of ecosystem collapse that our aspirations to mitigate demise, in the face of a fast-changing climate, are delusional?
Well, this talk was requested to be uplifting and so far I guess I have failed miserably. We have much to look forward to however, in our ability to be smart in our response to mitigating the deleterious coastal marine changes we see. Unexpected resilience in our marine ecosystem is surprisingly abundant. We can look to the recovery of reefs and beaches to major oil spills, or to tiny patches of coastal estate that have been protected in adding resilience to wider coastal recovery of key species. Importantly resilience inherent in a capacity for very fast adaptation at microbial, and biochemical levels together with genomic flexibility provides hope for the future, and insight into how we may be able to mitigate ecosystem change.
From the Tropics to the Antarctic, let’s review natures’ less well-known responses to what we are throwing at it. There is a solution here, and its relatively simple. We have the capacity to remove a number of the multiple stressors impacting on our marine ecosystems thereby providing time for accommodation and adaptation.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them”
Albert Einstein