Observing and managing seascapes: linking synoptic oceanography, ecological processes, and geospatial modelling

Abstract

The capacity to observe, retrieve, and model the physiographical and hydrographical features of the sea (i.e. seascapes) has surpassed our ability to integrate this information into the assessment and stewardship of marine ecosystems. However, current marine policy that mandates integrated ecosystem assessments demands temporally intensive and spatially extensive predictions of key populations and ecosystem processes and services, particularly those related to habitat use and distribution. In this sense, seascape ecology represents an operational linkage between basic oceanography and applied ecology and management that embraces spatially explicit models of the dynamic distributions of populations, communities and foodwebs through a joint consideration of observational data and ecological processes. For these reasons, the ICES Journal of Marine Science solicited contributions to the article theme set, “Frontiers in seascape ecology”. In this introduction, we present current concepts and developments in seascape ecology, briefly summarize the 10 articles that appear herein, and discuss the most relevant challenges to this nascent discipline. The contributions included in this theme set illustrate the growing relevance of seascape ecology in the multidisciplinary management of marine ecosystems.