New trends, weaknesses and challenges in evaluating the combined impacts of climate and anthropogenic stressors on marine and coastal areas. A review of the existing scientific literature led by CMCC@Ca’Foscari highlights the importance of developing new multidisciplinary approaches, of exploiting the emerging volume of data available, and of involving governing authorities at different levels, from the development of scientific models to the use of their findings.

The increasing degradation of marine and coastal ecosystems worldwide highlights their crucial role in regulating climate, providing food resources and contributing to societal well-being.

Most of these ecosystems across the globe have been significantly altered by the complex interplay between anthropogenic pressures – such as overexploitation of fish, shellfish and other organisms, land and sea-based pollution, aquaculture – and climate-related pressures – e.g., rising sea temperatures which at times lead to marine heatwaves, increased occurrence of climate and weather extremes, and ocean acidification.

The international research community is moving forward in designing and testing different approaches and methodological tools for a comprehensive assessment of what are known as “cumulative impacts”. A recent study led by researchers from CMCC@Ca’Foscari – the strategic partnership between the CMCC Foundation and the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice – analyzed a hundred scientific publications on the topic. The work, published in the journal Science of The Total Environment, brings together a multidisciplinary team of experts from the Marine Coastal Ecosystems Biodiversity and Services in a Changing World (MaCoBioS) project.

Through a review of the existing literature, the study highlights the importance of developing new multidisciplinary approaches, of exploiting the emerging volume of data available, and of involving governing authorities at different levels, from the development of scientific models to the use of their findings.

Machine Learning methodologies, that are becoming increasingly advanced and usable due to the growing availability of data, feature among the emerging trends highlighted in the analysis. Critical issues include a still limited consistency in the use of terminology among the various studies on the subject and a scarce integration of concepts explaining the ecosystem services perspective/variations.

There is also a lack of operational guidance for decision-makers and planners to assist them in implementing concrete actions that  safeguard the areas concerned.

“A closer dialogue between the research community and decision-makers and planners is needed to adapt the methodologies of the former to the needs and perspectives of the latter. For example, methodologies could be integrated into real-life decision-making processes, thus making them truly useful for guiding the management of ecosystems in marine coastal areas,” says Christian Simeoni, PhD student in Science and Management of Climate Change at Ca’Foscari University Venice and CMCC, lead author of the study.

“Given the growing availability of observed and remotely sensed data, Machine Learning is an approach that complements existing ones to support a better investigation of these complex environments, and to better understand the relationships between the different elements that compose them,” adds Elisa Furlan, a researcher at the CMCC Foundation and the Ca’Foscari University of Venice. “In long-term planning, informed by the integration of future simulations provided by climate models, as well as by ‘what if’’ scenarios – which simulate different management options of a given area to study their possible effects and/or benefits – these tools can help planners and administrators of the marine environment identify the most appropriate protection measures while avoiding less effective actions, which could also lead to further alterations of ecosystems.”

For more information: 

Christian Simeoni, Elisa Furlan, Hung Vuong Pham, Andrea Critto, Silvia de Juan, Ewan Trégarot, Cindy C. Cornet, Erik Meesters, Catarina Fonseca, Andrea Zita Botelho, Torsten Krause, Alicia N’Guetta, Fabiola Espinoza Cordova, Pierre Failler, Antonio Marcomini, Evaluating the combined effect of climate and anthropogenic stressors on marine coastal ecosystems: Insights from a systematic review of cumulative impact assessment approaches, Science of The Total Environment, Volume 861, 2023, 160687, ISSN 0048-9697, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160687.