How can we Engineer Ecosystem Resilience in a Rapidly Changing World?

Adrian Stier, Ph.D.
Department of Ecology Evolution & Marine Biology
University of California, Santa Barbara

Livestream via BlueJeans

ABSTRACT
Recovery of degraded ecosystems is one of the greatest challenges today: Past efforts to recover degraded ecosystems have been unsuccessful and seemingly healthy ecosystems continue to surprise us by undergoing unexpected collapse. These recovery failures and unpredictable collapses suggests that – despite a tremendous amount of research on ecosystem resilience – we still have much to learn about how natural systems resist and recover from shocks. My research seeks to answer a fundamental yet unresolved question in ecology and conservation biology – how can we engineer ecosystem resilience in a rapidly changing world? My research program seeks to answer this question by developing and testing of ecological theory surrounding the drivers of ecosystem assembly and resilience and applying ecological principles to recover degraded ecosystems. My talk will highlight the decline in kelp forest resilience and show how human impacts are altering the capacity of kelp forest ecosystems to recover from shocks by removing key predators from the ecosystem. Using this case study I will show how restoration in an increasingly human-dominated world requires fresh perspectives on the dynamic nature of ecosystem resilience. I’ll finish my talk by discussing my ongoing research projects in coral reef and kelp forest ecosystems, and discuss the broader implications of my research for sustainable management and conservation in coastal ecosystems.

Host: Mark Hay, Ph.D.