Strengthening the Role and Uptake of Diverse Knowledge to Sustain Marine Biodiversity in U.S. Waters

When it comes to conserving and restoring marine life, it’s not as simple as just “following the science.” While yes, science should have an active seat at the decision-making table, scientific knowledge can be applied differently by managers and practitioners who are working to make the best decisions. Thus, it’s important for scientific knowledge to be generated through collaborative efforts that involve many. In this spirit, we believe in a more expansive view of science, where research and discovery acts as a gathering place for diverse voices—from scientists to managers to practitioners to Indigenous leaders and experts—to contribute, discuss, at times debate, and ultimately, move forward together.

As a step towards this vision for marine biodiversity in the U.S., the Lenfest Ocean Program, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, and the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation have embarked on Marine Biodiversity Dialogues, a set of task forces composed of international experts and thought leaders working to address two foundational knowledge needs:

1. The location and extent of marine species and habitats both inside and outside U.S. protected areas; and
2. How those species and habitats interact in time and space to support ecosystem health and resilience.

Through this work, our focus is not only on building new knowledge, but also on strengthening the interface between knowledge holders and knowledge users. For it is from there that people may come together to engage with and transform different knowledge sources into meaningful actions.

Task Force I: Assessing Biodiversity in U.S. Waters

“To get off on the right foot, we needed to make inroads with historically siloed groups,” says Dr. Emmett Duffy, Smithsonian Institution, “namely between the researchers that investigate marine habitats and species and the managers and practitioners that use the information. We knew the output from such a collaboration would be our best chance to create something truly useful.”

So began the first Marine Biodiversity Dialogues task force, led by Dr. Duffy alongside Dr. Daniel Dunn, University of Queensland. Starting in mid-2020, they brought together an international team of experts in marine ecology, conservation science, resource management, and monitoring and evaluation to create an innovative marine biodiversity assessment framework (to be published soon). They then applied the framework to map the location of marine habitats and species both inside and outside U.S. protected areas.

“That may sound like nothing more than technical jargon, but without it we were flying blind” says Dr. Dunn. “Using that framework, we took a nation-wide snapshot of marine biodiversity in U.S. waters – from the near coast to the borders of the Exclusive Economic Zone, including inside and outside existing protections.” Unsurprisingly, while 26 percent of the U.S. marine environment is currently within some form of area-based conservation, they fail to meet criteria for an effective protected area network in that few regions protect biodiversity in ways that foster the health and resilience of marine systems.

The value of the framework is that it can help us fix that, providing the basis for ongoing characterization of marine biodiversity moving forward. So, whether communities are working to expand existing, or site new, marine protected areas, implement ecosystem-based fisheries management, support offshore wind projects or develop climate adaptation measures, managers and others can use the framework to assess whether these interventions are helping to move towards a more effectively managed network of spatial protections in the U.S.

Task Force II: Understanding How Biodiversity Fosters Ecosystem Health and Resilience

Now that the framework exists, does this mean we’re done? Not at all. While no explicit national mandate exists to guide management of marine biodiversity, there are a host of federal laws that aim to sustain or recover marine resources (e.g., National Marine Sanctuary Act, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act). The question is how to we use the framework to help inform decision-making locally, regionally, and nationally to sustain biodiversity and healthy ecosystems for people and nature.

“We can’t just try to operationalize the framework; we need to build on it. To do that we must now address a fundamental question,” says Dr. Duffy, “that is, what is the relationship between diverse marine life and functioning, resilient marine ecosystems?” To that end, Dr. Duffy is now working with Gabrielle Canonico, U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System and the U.S. Marine Biodiversity Observation Network, NOAA, and Dr. Steven Scyphers, University of South Alabama, to form the second Marine Biodiversity Dialogues task force.

Initiated in late 2022, the group aims to understand how species and habitat diversity support ecosystem health and resilience. Such information would help identify and prioritize the key components of marine biodiversity that are required to help manage and conserve broader ecosystems comprised of different species and habitats.

“Marine biodiversity can mean many things to many people,” says Dr. Scyphers. “That is why we will do this work in communities, choosing case studies and engaging managers, practitioners, and stakeholders to understand their perspectives on marine biodiversity and incorporate their feedback.” The task force itself includes individuals across various backgrounds, expertise, and relationships, as well as managers and policymakers in an advisory capacity.

“The great opportunity we have is to create something truly sustainable,” says Canonico, “where communities are empowered with the scientific information they need to evaluate their own areas and take actions that are not only meaningful to them, but also reflects their unique values.”

Why We Call It Marine Biodiversity Dialogues

The results from this work may reveal insights we already suspected or totally surprise us. We anticipate both. Our real intent is to bring people together to engage with whatever new knowledge emerges and deepen our understanding of how and why marine biodiversity matters to ecosystem health. We believe we all might learn something new – from these rich systems and from each other.

We invite you to follow the progress of Marine Biodiversity Dialogues Task Force II. The task force is now exploring case study regions and developing relationships at the national, state, and local levels. There will be many opportunities to engage. Here at Lenfest, we will be working with the task force to conduct outreach that meets all levels of interest. Please do contact me at [email protected] and our outreach manager, Emily Knight, at [email protected].