Although ecosystem services are increasingly embedded in policy agendas, it is largely unknown if and how policy actors are considering them. This paper features a retrospective analysis of interviews with key policy actors involved in the strategic decision-making process leading to an innovative large-scale Dutch coastal management project, the Sand Motor mega beach nourishment. The interviews were analysed to ascertain which ecosystem services were considered and how they were described by policy actors. The findings suggest that broad, unspecified ecosystem services were adopted highly by the policy actors, while specific ecosystem service categories were rarely considered. Also, relatable and easy to understand cultural ecosystem services also constituted critical arguments for policy actors in their strategic decision making. The study suggests a ‘translation step’ between ecosystem services research and decision making for ecosystem services to truly align with relevant aspects of decision making.

Alexander van Oudenhven et al, 2018, ’Mind the Gap’ between ecosystem services classification and strategic decision making. Ecosystem Services. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.09.003

We are now accepting abstracts for Future Oceans₂. We welcome abstracts for oral and poster presentations. Abstracts must be submitted for specific sessions or workshops, and so it is advised to consult the session and workshop details prior to submission. The deadline for abstract submission is 1^st December 2018. Abstracts must be submitted via the registration and abstract submission portal. There is no fee for abstract submission. 

IMBeR´s regional programme, CLIOTOP’s largest Task Team ‘Marine Predator Isotopes’ recently published an article in Global Ecology and Biogeography. The paper presents a global spatial and comparative analysis of nitrogen stable isotopes for three species of tuna: yellowfin, albacore and bigeye. Predictive models were employed to assess broad-scale spatial patterns and environmental drivers of oceanic food webs. The analyses highlighted that while there are regional differences in the trophic structure of oceanic ecosystems, globally, tunas share similar functional trophic roles. Their work suggests that habitat compression resulting from the predicted global expansion of oxygen minimum zones with ocean warming will impact marine food webs and the corresponding foraging habits of marine predators.

Pethybridge, H., Choy, C.A., Logan, J.M., Allain, V., Lorrain, A., Bodin, N., Somes, C.J., Young, J., Ménard, F., Langlais, C. & Duffy, L., (2018) A global meta‐analysis of marine predator nitrogen stable isotopes: Relationships between trophic structure and environmental conditions. Global Ecology and Biogeography. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12763

The sixth IMBeR ClimEco summer school was held at the Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta, Indonesia last month. It brought together 60 participants and lecturers from a range of natural, social and economic marine science disciplines, to consider Transdisciplinary approaches for sustainable oceans.

Scientists are increasingly required to demonstrate the real world tangible impacts arising from their research. Despite significant advances in scholarship dedicated to understanding and improving the relationships between science, policy and practice, much of the existing literature remains high level, theoretical, and not immediately accessible to early career researchers (ECRs) who work outside of the policy sciences. In this new paper, Megan Evans and Chris Cvitanovic draw on the literature and their own experiences working in the environmental sciences to provide an accessible resource for ECRs seeking to achieve policy impact in their chosen field. They (i) describe key concepts in public policy to provide sufficient background for the non-expert, (ii) articulate a number of practical steps and tools that can help ECRs to identify and enhance the policy relevance of their research, and (iii) highlight some of the key personality traits that ECRs can foster to operate more effectively at the interface of science, policy and practice.

The Global Ocean Summit 2018 (GOS 2018) was organised by the Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Thchnology (QNLM) at Oceantec Valley, Qingdao from 3-5 July 2018, with the aim of enhancing partnerships on ocean observations and research. The Department of Science and Technology of Shandong Province and the Science/American Association for the Advancement of Science co-hosted the event. GOS 2018 was attended by over 150 delegates including leaders and scientists from 118 marine-related institutions and universities, from 24 countries representing Asia, North America, Oceania, Europe and Africa, as well as delegates from five international organisations/programmes.