EMECO

MARBEF World Conference on Marine Biodiversity

 Call for Panel Abstracts

The panel organizers invite abstract submissions that explore historical
abundances and distributions of marine animals and the human activities influencing those trends and other papers relating to the ideas outlined in the abstract below. Individuals and collaborative teams integrating marine sciences, history, and/or policy research are encouraged to submit abstracts.

The deadline for submission is 1 April, 2008. Proposed papers will be submitted to the conference scientific committee for acceptance, after which final papers will be selected by the session chairs.

Session 3.3

"What lived in the oceans? Shifting baselines in time and space"

Co-Chairs: Bo Poulsen, (Department of Environmental, Social and Spatial Change, Roskilde University, Denmark) Loren McClenachan (Scripps Institute of Oceanography, USA) Andrew A. Rosenberg (Department of Natural Resources, University of New Hampshire, USA Matthew McKenzie (History Department, University of Connecticut, USA)

Global depletion of marine life due to over-fishing, habitat loss, pollution and other human impacts has taken an enormous toll on the world's oceans. At the same time the effects of climate variability and future changes are forcing abundance and distribution of ocean life. New historical analyses reaching back hundreds of years show that bays, estuaries, and ocean basins had an array of sea life that is largely forgotten and utterly surprising today. Research presented in this session brings to light historic patterns of ocean life to guide recovery of marine ecosystems. Recent advances in scientific and historical methodology enable researchers to enhance knowledge and understanding of the interaction of humankind with the marine environment including the ecological impact of large-scale human harvesting and the role of marine resource utilization in the development of human societies. This research exemplified by the History of Marine Animal Populations program of the Census of Marine Life, broadens and deepens knowledge of the contemporary condition of the marine environment and provides the time series and ecological insight required to assess the future sustainability of marine animal populations. This session will compare topologies of change in marine ecosystems and related human activity through historical time.

More conference information

Source: EUR-OCEANS