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Rapid and direct recoveries of predators and prey through synchronized ecosystem management

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 1, Article number: 0068 (2017) Cite this article

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Abstract

One of the twenty-first century’s greatest environmental challenges is to recover and restore species, habitats and ecosystems. The decision about how to initiate restoration is best-informed by an understanding of the linkages between ecosystem components and, given these linkages, an appreciation of the consequences of choosing to recover one ecosystem component before another. However, it remains difficult to predict how the sequence of species’ recoveries within food webs influences the speed and trajectory of restoration, and what that means for human well-being. Here, we develop theory to consider the ecological and social implications of synchronous versus sequential (species-by-species) recovery in the context of exploited food webs. A dynamical systems model demonstrates that synchronous recovery of predators and prey is almost always more efficient than sequential recovery. Compared with sequential recovery, synchronous recovery can be twice as fast and produce transient fluctuations of much lower amplitude. A predator-first strategy is particularly slow because it counterproductively suppresses prey recovery. An analysis of real-world predator–prey recoveries shows that synchronous and sequential recoveries are similarly common, suggesting that current practices are not ideal. We highlight policy tools that can facilitate swift and steady recovery of ecosystem structure, function and associated services.

The unprecedented pace of change in the Anthropocene1–3 has added urgency to the task of recovering degraded ecosystems, focusing attention on the time it takes to achieve conservation goals, restoration successes and social-ecological sustainability4,5. Restoration is a global priority of tremendous breadth, with recent international commitments to restore more than half a billion hectares of land6 as well as the >3,500 marine fisheries worldwide that remain overexploited7. The costliness of prolonged restoration efforts and mandates for rebuilding timelines make it all-the-more pressing to develop practical means to accelerate the speed of recoveries7–10. Remarkably, the pace of recovery is often overlooked in ecosystem restoration. Here, we propose that the temporal sequence in which interventions are implemented can influence the pace of recovery, that this influence is often overlooked in ecosystem restoration, and that it is likely to play a critical role in shaping twenty-first century solutions to environmental issues.

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Figure 1: Example time series illustrating that ecological communities can follow a predictable sequence of recovery to achieve trophic upgrades, following declines in predator and prey populations (trophic downgrades).
Figure 2: Time series panels showing predator and prey densities during community disassembly and recovery.
Figure 3: Community return time and volatility for three recovery scenarios.

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Acknowledgements

T. Young helped to sharpen the presentation of this paper. J.F.S., A.C.S., B.S.H., and P.S.L. thank the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for their support of the Ocean Tipping Points project, J. Kellner for insightful comments about model dynamics, and Guujaaw for inspiration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Conservation Biology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington 98112, USA

    Jameal F. Samhouri & Phillip S. Levin

  2. National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California, 735 State Street, Suite 300, Santa Barbara, 93101, California, USA

    Adrian C. Stier & Benjamin S. Halpern

  3. Frank Orth and Associates, 2725 Montlake Boulevard East, Seattle, 98112, Washington, USA

    Shannon M. Hennessey

  4. Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, 97331, Oregon, USA

    Mark Novak

  5. Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, SL5 7PY, Berkshire, UK

    Benjamin S. Halpern

  6. Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, 93106, California, USA

    Benjamin S. Halpern

Authors
  1. Jameal F. Samhouri
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  2. Adrian C. Stier
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Contributions

J.F.S., A.C.S., P.S.L. and M.N. designed the study. J.F.S., A.C.S., M.N. and S.M.H. collected and analysed all data. J.F.S., A.C.S., P.S.L., B.S.H. and M.N. jointly wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jameal F. Samhouri.

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Supplementary Discussion; Supplementary Figures 1–8; Supplementary Tables 1–3 (PDF 788 kb)

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Samhouri, J., Stier, A., Hennessey, S. et al. Rapid and direct recoveries of predators and prey through synchronized ecosystem management. Nat Ecol Evol 1, 0068 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-016-0068

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