Linking human well-being and jellyfish: ecosystem services, impacts and societal responses
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Author(s)
Graham, William M
Gelcich, Stefan
Robinson, Kelly L
Duarte, Carlos M
Brotz, Lucas
Purcell, Jennifer E
Madin, Laurence P
Mianzan, Hermes
Sutherland, Kelly R
Uye, Shin-ichi
Pitt, Kylie A
Lucas, Cathy H
Bogeberg, Molly
Brodeur, Richard D
Condon, Rolert H
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2014
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Jellyfish are usually perceived as harmful to humans and are seen as "pests". This negative perception has hindered knowledge regarding their value in terms of ecosystem services. As humans increasingly modify and interact with coastal ecosystems, it is important to evaluate the benefits and costs of jellyfish, given that jellyfish bloom size, frequency, duration, and extent are apparently increasing in some regions of the world. Here we explore those benefits and costs as categorized by regulating, supporting, cultural, and provisioning ecosystem services. A geographical perspective of human vulnerability to jellyfish over ...
View more >Jellyfish are usually perceived as harmful to humans and are seen as "pests". This negative perception has hindered knowledge regarding their value in terms of ecosystem services. As humans increasingly modify and interact with coastal ecosystems, it is important to evaluate the benefits and costs of jellyfish, given that jellyfish bloom size, frequency, duration, and extent are apparently increasing in some regions of the world. Here we explore those benefits and costs as categorized by regulating, supporting, cultural, and provisioning ecosystem services. A geographical perspective of human vulnerability to jellyfish over four categories of human well-being (health care, food, energy, and freshwater production) is also discussed in the context of thresholds and trade-offs to enable social adaptation. Whereas beneficial services provided by jellyfish likely scale linearly with biomass (perhaps peaking at a saturation point), non-linear thresholds exist for negative impacts to ecosystem services. We suggest that costly adaptive strategies will outpace the beneficial services if jellyfish populations continue to increase in the future.
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View more >Jellyfish are usually perceived as harmful to humans and are seen as "pests". This negative perception has hindered knowledge regarding their value in terms of ecosystem services. As humans increasingly modify and interact with coastal ecosystems, it is important to evaluate the benefits and costs of jellyfish, given that jellyfish bloom size, frequency, duration, and extent are apparently increasing in some regions of the world. Here we explore those benefits and costs as categorized by regulating, supporting, cultural, and provisioning ecosystem services. A geographical perspective of human vulnerability to jellyfish over four categories of human well-being (health care, food, energy, and freshwater production) is also discussed in the context of thresholds and trade-offs to enable social adaptation. Whereas beneficial services provided by jellyfish likely scale linearly with biomass (perhaps peaking at a saturation point), non-linear thresholds exist for negative impacts to ecosystem services. We suggest that costly adaptive strategies will outpace the beneficial services if jellyfish populations continue to increase in the future.
View less >
Journal Title
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
Volume
12
Issue
9
Copyright Statement
© 2014 Ecological Society of America. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology)