Ecological Constraint Mapping: Understanding Outcome-Limiting Bottlenecks for Improved Environmental Decision-Making in Marine and Coastal Environments

Despite genuine attempts, the history of marine and coastal ecosystem management is littered with examples of poor environmental, social and financial outcomes. Marine ecosystems are largely populated by species with open populations, and feature ecological processes that are driven by multiple, interwoven, dynamic causes and effects. This complexity limits the acquisition of relevant knowledge of habitat characteristics, species utilisation and ecosystem dynamics. The consequence of this lack of knowledge is uncertainty about the link between action taken and outcome achieved. Such uncertainty risks misdirected human and financial investment, and sometimes may even lead to perverse outcomes. Technological advances offer new data acquisition opportunities, but the diversity and complexity of the biological and ecological information needed to reduce uncertainty means the increase in knowledge will be slow unless it is undertaken in a structured and focussed way. We introduce Ecological Constraint Mapping - an approach that takes a supply chain point of view and focusses on identifying the principal factors that constrain life-history outcomes (success/productivity/resilience/fitness) for marine and coastal species, and ultimately the quality and resilience of the ecosystems they are components of, and the life-history supporting processes and values ecosystems provide. By providing a framework for the efficient development of actionable knowledge, Ecological Constraint Mapping can facilitate a move from paradigm-based to knowledge-informed decision-making on ecological issues. It is suitable for developing optimal solutions to a wide range of conservation and management problems, providing an organised framework that aligns with current perspectives on the complex nature of marine and coastal systems.

Automated summary

The history of marine and coastal ecosystem management is often marked by poor outcomes due to a lack of relevant knowledge and uncertainty about the link between action taken and outcome achieved. Ecological Constraint Mapping provides a framework for developing actionable knowledge and transitioning to knowledge-based decision-making on ecological issues, particularly in the complex nature of marine and coastal systems.