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Daniel Conley

Daniel Conley

Professor

Daniel Conley

Ecosystem impacts of hypoxia: thresholds of hypoxia and pathways to recovery

Author

  • A. Steckbauer
  • C. M. Duarte
  • J. Carstensen
  • R. Vaquer-Sunyer
  • Daniel Conley

Summary, in English

Coastal hypoxia is increasing in the global coastal zone, where it is recognized as a major threat to biota. Managerial efforts to prevent hypoxia and achieve recovery of ecosystems already affected by hypoxia are largely based on nutrient reduction plans. However, these managerial efforts need to be informed by predictions on the thresholds of hypoxia (i.e. the oxygen levels required to conserve biodiversity) as well as the timescales for the recovery of ecosystems already affected by hypoxia. The thresholds for hypoxia in coastal ecosystems are higher than previously thought and are not static, but regulated by local and global processes, being particularly sensitive to warming. The examination of recovery processes in a number of coastal areas managed for reducing nutrient inputs and, thus, hypoxia (Northern Adriatic; Black Sea; Baltic Sea; Delaware Bay; and Danish Coastal Areas) reveals that recovery timescales following the return to normal oxygen conditions are much longer than those of loss following the onset of hypoxia, and typically involve decadal timescales. The extended lag time for ecosystem recovery from hypoxia results in non-linear pathways of recovery due to hysteresis and the shift in baselines, affecting the oxygen thresholds for hypoxia through time.

Department/s

  • Quaternary Sciences
  • BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate

Publishing year

2011

Language

English

Publication/Series

Environmental Research Letters

Volume

6

Issue

2

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

IOP Publishing

Topic

  • Geology

Keywords

  • hypoxia
  • recovery

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1748-9326