Workshop 4

Title: Advances and challenges of marine biogeography during crisis times

Organizers: Juan Pablo Quimbayo  and Chancey MacDonald

Duration: 10-12 a.m. Speaker talks (12:00-12:45 break), 1-3 p.m. Discussion and synthesis paper brainstorm  

Content

Global changes and human actions are affecting the structure and dynamics of marine

ecosystems at a rate and geographic extent that jeopardize our ability to predict,

understand, and mitigate these effects. The most notorious consequences for oceans

include climate tracking shifts in species distribution, habitat degradation, and loss of

carbon storage in coastal blue-carbon ecosystems (e.g., salt marshes, mangroves, and

seagrass). Despite these impacts being observed globally, our understanding and

awareness of their effects on tropical and subtropical marine ecosystems are

geographically limited, mostly concentrated in the Indo-Pacific, the Great Barrier Reef, and

to some extent in the Caribbean, whereas other peripheral areas, such as the eastern

pacific and Southwestern Atlantic, remain outside regional and global assessments.

Overcoming this geographic constraint is one of the major challenges in Marine

Biogeography.

During this workshop, we will

1. review past, present, and future marine biodiversity patterns;
2. examine the consequences of these impacts on coastal marine biodiversity and human populations;
3. discuss theoretical and methodological limitations to understanding the effects of

global change and human actions on marine habitats over space and time;

and (iv) outline future perspectives for advances in marine biogeography, drawing parallels, and

highlighting cross-ecosystem opportunities, between marine and terrestrial habitats.