Terms of Reference

Cumulative impact mapping and vulnerability of marine ecosystems to multiple anthropogenic stressors

National Advisory Meeting - National Capital Region

November 29, 30 and December 2, 2021
Virtual meeting

Chairperson: Tana Worcester

Context

A standard method to represent the different human uses of marine ecosystems and their cumulative ecological impacts in Canadian marine waters is required by Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO’s) Marine Spatial Planning program. It is proposed to use an existing, published, semi-quantitative method for cumulative impact mapping  (Halpern et al. 2008) that spatially represents the additive effects of anthropogenic activities and stressors on marine ecosystems. The Halpern et al. (2008) method transforms the distribution and intensity of human activities and their associated stressors into a single metric to display relative impacts within regions and ecosystems and is well established, having been applied at a global scale (Halpern et al. 2007; Halpern et al. 2015; Halpern et al. 2008) and at a regional scale in Pacific Canada (Ban et al. 2010; Clarke Murray et al. 2015a; Clarke Murray et al. 2015b; Singh et al. 2020), California (Halpern et al. 2009), Massachusetts (Kappel et al 2012a), Hawai’i (Selkoe et al. 2009), the Arctic (Afflerbach et al. 2017; Andersen et al. 2017), the Baltic Sea (Andersen et al. 2015) and the Mediterranean and Black Seas (Micheli et al. 2013).

The method uses a spatially-explicit cumulative impact model to relate the footprints of human activities to the potential impact on habitats using vulnerability metrics (Halpern et al. 2008; Teck et al. 2010; Kappel et al 2012b). This requires three data sources: 1) spatial distribution and intensity of human activities (e.g., fishing, shipping, industrial sites, etc.), 2) spatial distribution of marine habitat classes (e.g., rocky reef, shallow pelagic, eelgrass, etc.), and 3) a matrix of vulnerability scores to quantify the relative impact of each stressor on each habitat class. The method has been applied in Pacific Canada (Ban et al. 2010; Clarke Murray et al. 2015a; Clarke Murray et al. 2015b; Singh et al. 2020), and is underway in the Maritimes region, but has not been evaluated for use within Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

The vulnerability matrix used in cumulative impact mapping has also not been evaluated formally by DFO. The vulnerability (or sensitivity) of ecosystem components to stressors or threats is a key component of any environmental assessment, and is increasingly used in environmental impact assessment, cumulative effects assessment, and cumulative impact mapping. Vulnerability assesses differences in how ecosystems respond to stressors, which may not be taken into account by solely mapping the locations of activities or stressors. Vulnerability scores for habitats or species may be calculated in a variety of ways, but commonly include combinations of variables such as spatial scale, stressor frequency, functional impact, resistance to change, and length of recovery time (Halpern et al. 2007; Teck et al. 2010).  The matrix of vulnerability scores used in published cumulative impact mapping studies based on the Halpern method, all originate from a single expert-elicitation study for the California Current region (Teck et al. 2010) that has been modified for use in other regions. This peer review process will be used to evaluate the existing, published vulnerability matrices for use in Pacific and Atlantic Canada (Clarke Murray et al. 2015b; Teck et al. 2010; Kappel et al 2012b), and revise as needed to better reflect Canadian habitat classes and the stressors to which they are exposed.

The advice arising from this Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) National Peer Review (NPR) will be used to inform marine spatial planning processes. The cumulative impacts mapping methodology further expands the suite of cumulative effects assessment tools available for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. This study provides an opportunity to incorporate best available science into how DFO evaluates the spatial extent and intensity of cumulative impacts of human activities on marine ecosystems.

Objectives

A peer review process is needed to evaluate an established cumulative impact mapping method and validate the vulnerability scores contained in the associated vulnerability matrices. The working paper will be reviewed and provide a basis for discussion and advice based on the objectives outlined below:

1. Review the scores in the Pacific and Atlantic vulnerability matrices and recommend revisions to individual scores, as necessary.
2. Assess the cumulative impact mapping method in terms of the utility of its outputs for marine spatial planning and other conservation programs.
3. Identify areas of uncertainty and knowledge gaps.

Expected Publications

• Science Advisory Report
• Proceedings
• Research Document

Expected Participation

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (Ecosystems and Oceans Science, Marine Planning and Conservation)
• Academia
• Environmental non-governmental organizations
• Other invited experts

References

• Afflerbach, J.C., Yocum, D., and Halpern, B.S. 2017. Cumulative human impacts in the Bering Strait Region. Ecosystem Health and Sustainability 3(8): 1379888. doi:10.1080/20964129.2017.1379888.
• Andersen, J.H., Halpern, B.S., Korpinen, S., Murray, C., and Reker, J. 2015. altic Sea biodiversity status vs. cumulative human pressures. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 161: 88-92. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2015.05.002.
• Andersen, J.H., Berzaghi, F., Christensen, T., Geertz-Hansen, O., Mosbech, A., Stock, A., Zinglersen, K.B., and Wisz, M.S. 2017. Potential for cumulative effects of human stressors on fish, sea birds and marine mammals in Arctic waters. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 184: 202-206. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2016.10.047.
• Ban, N.C., Alidina, H.M., and Ardron, J.A. 2010. Cumulative impact mapping: Advances, relevance and limitations to marine management and conservation, using Canada's Pacific waters as a case study. Marine Policy 34(5): 876-886. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2010.01.010.
• Clarke Murray, C., Agbayani, S., and Ban, N.C. 2015a. Cumulative effects of planned industrial development and climate change on marine ecosystems. Global Ecology and Conservation 4: 110-116.
• Clarke Murray, C., Agbayani, S., Alidina, H.M., and Ban, N.C. 2015b. Advancing marine cumulative effects mapping: An update in Canada’s Pacific waters. Marine Policy 58: 71-77. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2015.04.003.
• Halpern, B.S., Selkoe, K.A., Micheli, F., and Kappel, C.V. 2007. Evaluating and ranking the vulnerability of global marine ecosystems to anthropogenic threats. Conservation Biology 21(5): 1301-1315. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2007.00752.x.
• Halpern, B.S., Kappel, C.V., Selkoe, K.A., Micheli, F., Ebert, C.M., Kontgis, C., Crain, C.M., Martone, R.G., Shearer, C., and Teck, S.J. 2009. Mapping cumulative human impacts to California Current marine ecosystems. Conservation Letters 2(3): 138-148. doi:10.1111/j.1755-263X.2009.00058.x.
• Halpern, B.S., Frazier, M., Potapenko, J., Casey, K.S., Koenig, K., Longo, C., Lowndes, J.S., Rockwood, R.C., Selig, E.R., and Selkoe, K.A. 2015. Spatial and temporal changes in cumulative human impacts on the world’s ocean. Nature communications 6(1): 1-7.
• Halpern, B.S., Walbridge, S., Selkoe, K.A., Kappel, C.V., Micheli, F., D'Agrosa, C., Bruno, J.F., Casey, K.S., Ebert, C., Fox, H.E., Fujita, R., Heinemann, D., Lenihan, H.S., Madin, E.M.P., Perr y, M.T., Selig, E.R., Spalding, M., Steneck, R., and Watson, R. 2008. A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems. Science 319(5865): 948-952. doi:10.1126/science.1149345.
• Micheli, F., Halpern, B.S., Walbridge, S., Ciriaco, S., Ferretti, F., Fraschetti, S., Lewison, R., Nykjaer, L., and Rosenberg, A.A. 2013. Cumulative Human Impacts on Mediterranean and Black Sea Marine Ecosystems: Assessing Current Pressures and Opportunities. PLOS ONE 8(12): e79889. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0079889.
• Selkoe, K.A., Halpern, B.S., Ebert, C., Franklin, E., Selig, E.R., Casey, K.S., Bruno, J., and Toonen, R.J. 2009. A map of human impacts to a “pristine” coral reef ecosystem, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Coral Reefs 28(3): 635-650.
• Singh, G.G., Eddy, I.M.S., Halpern, B.S., Neslo, R., Satterfield, T., and Chan, K.M.A. 2020. Mapping cumulative impacts to coastal ecosystem services in British Columbia. PLOS ONE 15(5): e0220092. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0220092.
• Teck, S.J., Halpern, B.S., Kappel, C.V., Micheli, F., Selkoe, K.A., Crain, C.M., Martone, R., Shearer, C., Arvai, J., Fischhoff, B., Murray, G., Neslo, R., and Cooke, R. 2010. Using expert judgment to estimate marine ecosystem vulnerability in the California Current. Ecological Applications 20(5): 1402-1416. doi:10.1890/09-1173.1.