Linking human well-being and jellyfish : ecosystem services, impacts, and societal responses
Date
2014-11Author
Graham, William M.
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Gelcich, Stefan
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Robinson, Kelly L.
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Duarte, Carlos M.
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Brotz, Lucas
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Purcell, Jennifer E.
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Madin, Laurence P.
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Mianzan, Hermes
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Sutherland, Kelly R.
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Uye, Shin-Ichi
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Pitt, Kylie A.
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Lucas, Cathy H.
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Bogeberg, Molly
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Brodeur, Richard D.
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Condon, Robert H.
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https://hdl.handle.net/1912/6993As published
https://doi.org/10.1890/130298DOI
10.1890/130298Abstract
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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Author Posting. © Ecological Society of America, 2014. This article is posted here by permission of Ecological Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 12 (2014): 515-523, doi:10.1890/130298.
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Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 12 (2014): 515-523Related items
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JeDI: Jellyfish Database Initiative
Condon, Robert H.; Lucas, Cathy H.; Duarte, Carlos M.; Pitt, Kylie A.; Haddock, Steven H. D.; Madin, Laurence P.; Brodeur, Richard D.; Sutherland, Kelly R.; Mianzan, Hermes W.; Purcell, Jennifer E.; Decker, Mary Beth; Uye, Shin-Ichi; Malej, Alenka; Bogeberg, Molly; Everett, John T.; Gibbons, Mark; Gonzalez, H.; Hay, S.; Hensche, N.; Hobson, R. J.; Kingsford, Michael J.; Kremer, P.; Lehtiniemi, Maiju; Ohman, Mark; Rissik, D.; Sheard, K.; Suthers, Iain; Coleman, N.; Costello, John H.; Gershwin, L. A.; Graham, William M.; Robinson, Kelly L.; Richardson, T. M.; Giesecke, R.; Gorsky, Gabriel; Greve, Wulf; Halsband-Lenk, C.; Hays, Graeme; Hobson, V.; Klein, David; Lebrato, Mario; Loveridge, Jan; Martens, P.; Milos, C.; Perry, G.; Stemmann, Lars; Sullivan, Barbara; Walker, T.; Schildhauer, Mark; Regetz, J. (Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). Contact: bco-dmo-data@whoi.edu, 2015-03-09)The Jellyfish Database Initiative (JeDI) is a scientifically-coordinated global database dedicated to gelatinous zooplankton (members of the Cnidaria, Ctenophora and Thaliacea) and associated environmental data. The database ... -
Is global ocean sprawl a cause of jellyfish blooms?
Duarte, Carlos M.; Pitt, Kylie A.; Lucas, Cathy H.; Purcell, Jennifer E.; Uye, Shin-Ichi; Robinson, Kelly L.; Brotz, Lucas; Decker, Mary Beth; Sutherland, Kelly R.; Malej, Alenka; Madin, Laurence P.; Mianzan, Hermes; Gili, Josep-Maria; Fuentes, Veronica; Atienza, Dacha; Pages, Francesc; Breitburg, Denise L.; Malek, Jennafer; Graham, William M.; Condon, Robert H. (Ecological Society of America, 2012-09-07)Jellyfish (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa) blooms appear to be increasing in both intensity and frequency in many coastal areas worldwide, due to multiple hypothesized anthropogenic stressors. Here, we propose that the proliferation ... -
Questioning the rise of gelatinous zooplankton in the world's oceans
Condon, Robert H.; Graham, William M.; Duarte, Carlos M.; Pitt, Kylie A.; Lucas, Cathy H.; Haddock, Steven H. D.; Sutherland, Kelly R.; Robinson, Kelly L.; Dawson, Michael N.; Decker, Mary Beth; Mills, Claudia E.; Purcell, Jennifer E.; Malej, Alenka; Mianzan, Hermes; Uye, Shin-Ichi; Gelcich, Stefan; Madin, Laurence P. (American Institute of Biological Sciences, 2012-02)During the past several decades, high numbers of gelatinous Zooplankton species have been reported in many estuarine and coastal ecosystems. Coupled with media-driven public perception, a paradigm has evolved in which the ...