Image
Credit: Ōhiwa Harbour, Sustainable Seas

Ecological responses to cumulative effects

This project brings together mātauranga Māori and science to develop new knowledge about cumulative effects

Project LeaderDurationBudget
Simon Thrush (University of Auckland) & Kura Paul-Burke (MUSA Environmental/University of Waikato)March 2020 – June 2023$3,904,000

Overview

This project addresses the cumulative effects (CE) of multiple stressors on soft-sediment and rocky reef biodiversity and ecosystem function. This knowledge is necessary to underpin models, decision-making processes and to implement EBM.

Building on Tipping points and Ecosystem services research, this project will:

  • Co-develop place-based tohu (traditional indicators) of the ecological condition of our estuaries and coasts
  • Develop ecological footprint analysis to support improved decision-making, investment and knowledge of how activities and stressors impact on biodiversity and ecosystem services
  • Investigate bottlenecks to recovery of reef and soft-sediment seafloor ecosystems
  • Develop new methods to map ecological response footprints of stressors and their impacts on ecosystem services
  • Provide a cumulative effects assessment (CEA) framework that is based on understanding of interactions between ecosystem components to inform marine spatial planning and risk assessment
  • Identify the constraints on ecosystem recovery to better manage risk and expectations.

We will engage in field studies, develop models and work with broader environmental initiatives across Aotearoa New Zealand proposed by iwi, community groups, central or regional government that support EBM developments. This includes:

  • Hauraki Gulf Seas Change process
  • Tauranga Harbour and Ōhiwa Harbour in response to actions to improve biodiversity and ecosystem function
  • Marlborough Sounds with multi-sector interests in trailing EBM
  • Southland estuaries with interests in enhancing the removal of nitrogen from the coastal ecosystem

In the context of each of these initiatives, we will work ecological communities and processes that play important roles in ecosystem service delivery and resilience.

For example, in Ōhiwa Harbour we will work with the potential for shellfish populations to enhance the ecosystem recovery of estuaries and rehabilitate negative effects of sediments and nutrients.

This research will allow us to develop frameworks across the Challenge that improve the way we make decisions about the risks posed by different activities in the marine environment, and the opportunities we have to improve the ecological health and mauri of our coasts and estuaries. 

Research Team

Simon Thrush (University of Auckland)
Kura Paul-Burke (MUSA Environmental/University of Waikato)
Conrad Pilditch (University of Waikato)
Karin Bryan (University of Waikato)
Nick Shears (University of Auckland)
Judi Hewitt (NIWA/University of Auckland)
Drew Lohrer (NIWA)
Carolyn Lundquist (NIWA/University of Auckland)
Dave Schiel (University of Canterbury)
Steve Wing (University of Otago)
Candida Savage (University of Otago)

Related News

Project proposal

336 KB | pdf

Location

This is a national project.

Tools & Resources

This project has produced or contributed to:

Fisheries: Tools, resources and research
Summary
This is a research round-up of our tools, resources and research that support an EBM approach to fisheries management. It is a living document, and more will be added as they develop. Latest update: 2 August 2021
View
Sampling frequency, duration and the Southern Oscillation influence the ability of long-term studies to detect sudden change
Academic publication
Hewitt JE, Bulmer R, Stephenson F, and SF Thrush. April 2021. Global Change Biology 27:2213–2224.
View
Shady business: The problem of mud in our estuaries
Presentation
Webinar presentation by Simon Thrush, Kura Paul-Burke, Megan Carbines & Conrad Pilditch, May 2021 (44 mins + Q&A)
View
Predicting habitat suitability of filter-feeder communities in a shallow marine environment, New Zealand
Academic publication
Ribó M, Macdonald H, Watson SJ, Hillman JR, Strachan LJ, Thrush SF, Mountjoy JJ, Hadfield MG & Lamarche G (August 2021). Marine Environmental Research, 163: 105218
View
Identifying ‘vital attributes’ for assessing disturbance-recovery potential of seafloor communitiess
Academic publication
Gladstone-Gallagher RV, Hewitt JE, Thrush SF, Brustolin MC, Villnäs A, Valanko S, Norkko A (in press). Ecology and Evolution: DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7420
View
Thresholds in catchment nitrogen loads for shifts from seagrass to nuisance macroalgae in shallow intertidal estuaries
Academic publication
Robertson, BP, & Savage, C (2020). Limnology & Oceanography 66: 1353-1366
View
Combined species occurrence and density predictions to improve marine spatial management
Academic publication
Rullens V, Stephenson F, Lohrer A, Townsend M, & Pilditch CA (2021). Ocean & Coast Management, 209, 105697.
View
Who is contributing where? Predicting ecosystem service multifunctionality for shellfish species through ecological principles
Academic publication
Rullens V, Townsend M, Lohrer AM, Stephenson F, Pilditch CA (2022). Science of the Total Environment, 808: 152147
View
Ecosystem-based management in Aotearoa New Zealand (UN Ocean Decade Laboratory)
Presentation
This webinar presentation and discussion was led by early-career researchers working with Sustainable Seas. March 2022 (1hr45m + 15m Q&A)
View
Te Au o Te Moana | Special Webinar Series: Healthy Seas
Presentation
This webinar was presented by Conrad Pilditch, Megan Ranapia, Rebecca Gladstone-Gallagher, Simon Thrush, Joanne Ellis, and Tom Brough. March 2022 (1hr, 30mins Q&A)
View
Reframing environmental limits for estuaries
Guidance
This document provides an ecological perspective on how to overcome ecological issues related to the use of national environmental limits. Hewitt J, Bulmer R, Clark D, Couzens G, Ellis J, Gladstone-Gallagher R, Lohrer D, Pilditch D, Thrush S (May 2022)
View
Seafood: Tools, resources and research
Summary
This is a research round-up of our tools, resources and research that support an ecosystem-based management (EBM) approach to the seafood industry (July 2022)
View
Unraveling ecosystem functioning in intertidal soft sediments: the role of density-driven interactions
Academic publication
Schenone, S, Thrush, S F (2020) Sci Rep 10, 1190 9 .
View
Advancing approaches for understanding the nature-people link
Academic publication
Siwicka E, Thrush SF (2020). Ecological Complexity, Volume 44,100877.
View
Cascading impacts of earthquakes and extreme heatwaves have destroyed populations of an iconic marine foundation species
Academic publication
Thomsen M S, Mondardini L, Thoral F, Gerber D, Montie S, South P M, Tait L, Orchard S, Alestra T, & Schiel D R (2021). Diversity and Distributions, 27, 2369– 2383.
View
Threshold effects of relative sea-level change in intertidal ecosystems: Empirical evidence from earthquake-induced uplift on a rocky coast
Academic publication
Orchard S, Fischman HS, Gerrity S, Alestra T, Dunmore R, Schiel DR (2021). GeoHazards; 2(4):302-320.
View
Cataclysmic disturbances to an intertidal ecosystem: loss of ecological infrastructure slows recovery of biogenic habitats and diversity
Academic publication
Schiel DR, Gerrity S, Orchard S, Alestra T, Dunmore RA, Falconer T, Thomsen MS and Tait LW (2021). Front. Ecol. Evol. 9:767548.
View
Missing the forest and the trees: Utility, limits and caveats for drone imaging of coastal marine ecosystems
Academic publication
Tait LW, Orchard S, Schiel DR (2021). Remote Sensing. 13(16):3136.
View
Loss of Giant Kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, driven by marine heatwaves and exacerbated by poor water clarity in New Zealand
Academic publication
Tait LW, Thoral F, Pinkerton MH, Thomsen MS and Schiel DR (2021). Front. Mar. Sci. 8:721087.
View
Coastal darkening substantially limits the contribution of kelp to coastal carbon cycles
Academic publication
CO Blain, SC Hansen, NT Shears. (2021). Coastal darkening substantially limits the contribution of kelp to coastal carbon cycles. Global change biology, 27, 5547-5563.
View
The impact of cumulative stressor effects on uncertainty and ecological risk
Academic publication
Rullens V, Stephenson F, Hewitt J, Clark D, Pilditch C, Thrush S, Ellis J (October 2022)
View
Prioritising cumulative effects as a critical national issue
Summary
This impact case study shows how we have influenced others to take cumulative effects seriously, and recognise it as a critical problem (August 2020)
View
Developing the next generation of marine managers and researchers
Summary
This impact case study describes how our researchers are sharing EBM knowledge and building lasting relationships with students and teachers – inspiring the next generation (August 2021)
View
Enabling cumulative effects management 
Summary
This impact case study demonstrates how our research is having a real-time impact on how our marine environment is managed to reduce the impact of cumulative effects (August 2022)
View
Our research in action
Summary
These impact case studies show our research is supporting management, influencing policy, and inspiring the next generation. Each was developed at a point in time to showcase our work.
View
Waitī Waitā conference presentations
Presentation
The combined meeting of the New Zealand Marine and Freshwater Science Societies was held in November 2022, and research from several of our projects was presented.
View
Tōtaranui/Queen Charlotte Sound interactive map
Map
This interactive map of Tōtaranui/Queen Charlotte Sound shows the study locations our researchers have worked at.
View
Ecological network analysis of traits reveals variable response capacity to stress
Academic publication
Gladstone-Gallagher R, Hewitt J, Siwicka E, Gammal J, Brustolin M, Norkko A, Pilditch C & Thrush S (May 2023)
View
Cumulative effects erode resilience in coastal ecosystems
Summary
This summary gives the main points of three articles published between 2021 and 2023, which highlight how cumulative effects can induce an overarching snowball effect, and how understanding this mechanism is crucial to predicting ecological shifts.
View
Ngā tohu o te taiao: Observing signs of the natural world to identify seastar over-abundance as a detriment to shellfish survival in Ōhiwa Harbour, Aotearoa/New Zealand
Academic publication
Paul-Burke K, Ngarimu-Camron R, Paul W, Burke J, Ransfield T, Aramoana W, Cameron K, O’Brien T, & Bluett C (March 2022)
View
Extracting remotely-sensed water quality parameters from shallow intertidal estuaries
Academic publication
Shao Z, Bryan K, Lehmann M & Pilditch C (December 2022)
View
Going under: The implications of sea-level rise and reduced light availability on intertidal primary production
Academic publication
Flowers G, Needham H, Bulmer R, Lohrer A & Pilditch C (April 2023)
View
Disturbance–recovery dynamics inform seafloor management for recovery
Academic publication
Hewitt J, Gladstone‐Gallagher R & Thrush S (September 2022)
View
Emergence of the subtropical sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii as a threat to kelp forest ecosystems in northern New Zealand
Academic publication
Balemi C & Shears N (August 2023)
View
The legacies of land-clearance and trophic downgrading accumulate to affect structure and function of kelp forests
Academic publication
Wing S, Shears N, Tait L & Schiel D (December 2022)
View
Ecogeochemistry and denitrification in non-eutrophic coastal sediments
Academic publication
Vieillard A & Thrush S (March 2021)
View
Stressors increase the impacts of coastal macrofauna biodiversity loss on ecosystem multifunctionality
Academic publication
Gammal J, Hewitt J, Gladstone-Gallagher R, Thrush S, Douglas E, Lohrer A & Pilditch C (July 2022)
View
Mapping the delivery of ecological functions combining field collected data and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
Academic publication
Schenone S, Azhar M, Ramírez C, Strozzi, A, Delmas P & Thrush S (September 2021)
View
Using ecosystem response footprints to guide environmental management priorities
Academic publication
Low J, Gladstone-Gallagher R, Hewitt J, Pilditch C, Ellis J & Thrush S (August 2023)
View
Scaling up benthic primary productivity estimates in a large intertidal estuary using remote sensing
Academic publication
Shao Z, Bryan K, Flowers G, Lehmann M & Pilditch C (September 2023)
View
Toward a network perspective in coastal ecosystem management
Academic publication
Gladstone-Gallagher R, Thrush S, Low J, Pilditch C, Ellis J & Hewitt J (November 2023)
View
Coastal ecosystem management: Managing multiple stressors by considering network interactions
Summary
This summary suggests a series of questions which will enable environmental managers and scientists to understand the potential for unexpected risks, and to develop strategies for handling unexpected environmental outcomes.
View
Coupling marine ecosystem state with environmental management and conservation: A risk-based approach
Academic publication
Gladstone-Gallagher R, Hewitt J, Low J, Pilditch C, Stephenson F, Thrush S & Ellis J (February 2024)
View
An ecological principles-based approach to guide coastal environmental management
Summary
This summary highlights the findings of three academic publications from the Challenge (April 2024)
View
High-densities of large tuaki, the New Zealand cockle (Austrovenus stutchburyi) provide a post-settlement predation refuge for conspecific juveniles
Academic publication
Fenton K, Salmond N, Foreman S, Curtis J, Jowett T, Savage C & Wing S (2024)
View
Large‐scale one‐off sea urchin removal promotes rapid kelp recovery in urchin barrens
Academic publication
Miller K, Balemi C, Bell D, Blain C, Caiger P, Hanns B, Kulins S, Peleg O, Spysksma A, Shears N (2023)
View
Marine heat waves drive bleaching and necrosis of temperate sponges
Academic publication
Bell J, Smith R, Micaroni V, Strano F, Balemi C, Caiger P, Miller K, Spyskma A & Shears N (2023)
View
Size‐specific reduction in kelp consumption by New Zealand urchins exposed to chemical cues from the red rock lobster
Academic publication
Curtis J & Wing S (2024)
View

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