title: Emergent Properties Delineate Marine Ecosystem Perturbation and Recovery.
abstract: Whether there are common and emergent patterns from marine ecosystems remains an important question because marine ecosystems provide billions of dollars of ecosystem services to the global community, but face many perturbations with significant consequences. Here, we develop cumulative trophic patterns for marine ecosystems, featuring sigmoidal cumulative biomass (cumB)-trophic level (TL) and 'hockey-stick' production (cumP)-cumB curves. The patterns have a trophodynamic theoretical basis and capitalize on emergent, fundamental, and invariant features of marine ecosystems. These patterns have strong global support, being observed in over 120 marine ecosystems. Parameters from these curves elucidate the direction and magnitude of marine ecosystem perturbation or recovery; if biomass and productivity can be monitored effectively over time, such relations may prove to be broadly useful. Curve parameters are proposed as possible ecosystem thresholds, perhaps to better manage the marine ecosystems of the world.
authors.affiliation: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, 166 Water St, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA. Electronic address: Jason.Link@noaa.gov.
authors.forename: Jason S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Link
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, University Ca' Foscari, Venice, Castello 2737/b 30122, Venice, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pranovi
authors.affiliation: OGS (Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale), Department of Oceanography, Borgo Grotta Gigante 42/c, 34010 Sgonico (TS), Italy.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Libralato
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR EME 212, Centre de Recherche Halieutique Méditerranéenne et Tropicale, Avenue Jean Monnet, BP 171, 34203 Sète Cedex, France; Institute of Marine Science (ICM-CSIC), & Ecopath International Initiative Research Association, passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, n° 37-49. 08003, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Coll
authors.affiliation: University of British Columbia, Fisheries Centre, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
authors.forename: Villy
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.affiliation: OGS (Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale), Department of Oceanography, Borgo Grotta Gigante 42/c, 34010 Sgonico (TS), Italy; International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Strada Costiera, 11, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Cosimo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Solidoro
authors.affiliation: CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, GPO Box 1538, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Fulton
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D020387:Food Chain; D008386:Marine Biology; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009792:Oceans and Seas