Raphael Sagarin

Sustainability and Global Seafood

Tight coupling to ecosystems and dependence on common-pool resources threaten fisheries and aquaculture. Although seafood is the most highly traded food internationally, it is an often overlooked component of global food security. It provides essential local food, livelihoods, and export earnings. Although global capture fisheries production is unlikely to increase, aquaculture is growing considerably. Sustaining seafoods contributions to food security hinges on the ability of institutions, particularly in developing countries, to protect and improve ecosystem health in the face of increasing pressures from international trade.

Observational approaches in ecology open new ground in a changing world

Ecology has entered into a dynamic period, driven by both the urgency of large-scale ecological problems and startling new ecological findings that are being shared broadly beyond the scientific community. Both of these factors are well represented by observational approaches to ecology, which are re-emerging after a long period of deference to manipulative experimental approaches. These approaches examine ecological patterns and processes through data gathered in situations where nature has not been purposefully manipulated. The use of unmanipulated observational data reflects on the work of early naturalists, but is greatly enhanced by technological advances in remote sensing, microscopy, genetics, animal-borne sensors, and computing. Once dismissed as merely “exploratory”, strictly observational approaches to ecology have demonstrated capability in testing hypotheses by correlating variables, comparing observed patterns to output from existing models, exploiting natural experiments, and simulating experiments within large datasets. These approaches can be used in a stand-alone fashion, but are strengthened when reconciled with experimental manipulations to isolate fine-scale ecological mechanisms.

False estimates of the advance of spring.

Bias is introduced into almost all recent reports of climate-related trends in the phenology of spring events (for example, the timing of migration, egg laying and ice melt) by giving the calendar date of such occurrences each year, rather than their timing relative to the vernal equinox (refs 1–8, but see ref. 9). Most of these studies overestimate the advance of spring events, as the calendar date of the vernal equinox shows a trend to become earlier throughout any century, although this bias is small in the examples published so far. However, its magnitude cannot be predicted for any data set that is extended into the twenty-first century, because of long-term changes in the date of the vernal equinox. As phenological data are important for studying climate change, trends need to be reported in terms that accurately reflect changes to the Earth system.

Legal Bedrock for Rebuilding America's Ocean Ecosystems

The public trust doctrine would provide a powerful framework for restructuring the way we manage U.S. oceans.

Phenology: False estimates of the advance of spring

Bias is introduced into almost all recent reports of climate-related trends in the phenology of spring events (for example, the timing of migration, egg laying and ice melt) by giving the calendar date of such occurrences each year, rather than their timing relative to the vernal equinox (refs 1–8, but see ref. 9). Most of these studies overestimate the advance of spring events, as the calendar date of the vernal equinox shows a trend to become earlier throughout any century, although this bias is small in the examples published so far. However, its magnitude cannot be predicted for any data set that is extended into the twenty-first century, because of long-term changes in the date of the vernal equinox. As phenological data are important for studying climate change, trends need to be reported in terms that accurately reflect changes to the Earth system.

The Silver Anniversary of the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone: Twenty-Five Years of Ocean Use and Abuse, and the Possibility of a Blue Water Public Trust Doctrine

Sustainably managing marine ecosystems has proved nearly impossible, with few success stories. Ecosystem management failures largely stem from the traditional sector-by-sector, issue-by-issue approach to managing ocean-borne activities—an approach that is fundamentally unable to keep pace with the dynamics of coupled human, ecological and oceanographic systems. In the United States today there are over twenty federal agencies and thirty-five coastal states and territories operating under dozens of statutory authorities shaping coastal and ocean policy. Among marine ecologists and policy experts there is an emerging consensus that a major overhaul in U.S. ocean governance is necessary. This Article suggests that the public trust doctrine— an ancient legal concept that is already incorporated in U.S. state coastal

Bringing molecular tools into environmental resource management: untangling the molecules to policy pathway.

New advances in molecular biology can be invaluable tools in resource management, but they are best incorporated through a collaborative process with managers who understand the most pressing questions, practical limitations, and political constraints.

The Public Trust Doctrine: Where Ecology Meets Natural Resources Management

The public trust doctrine (PTD) is a legal concept with ancient roots, and it is increasingly being examined as a framework for modern conservation. At its core, the PTD is based on the idea that certain natural resources cannot be fairly or effectively managed by private owners. Rather, these resources should be held in trust by government, which must manage their consumptive use and protection on behalf of present and future citizens. Although historically the PTD applied to a limited set of natural resources such as shellfish beds and submerged lands, courts and legal scholars have expanded the definition of trust resources to include wildlife, oceans, and ecosystem services generally. The wide range of interpretations of the PTD is seen as both a weakness (because it leads to uncertainty in property ownership) and a strength (because it can adapt to accommodate emerging science about what it takes to protect ecosystems).

Reinvigorating the Public Trust Doctrine: Expert Opinion on the Potential of a Public Trust Mandate in U.S. and International Environmental Law

Upon independence from Britain, public lands and waters and a law that would become a foundational principle of American natural resources policy became vested in the nascent state governments. Und...

Consistent Frequency of Color Morphs in the Sea Star Pisaster ochraceus (Echinodermata: Asteriidae) across Open-Coast Habitats in the Northeastern Pacific

ABSTRACT The sea star Pisaster ochraceus (Brandt, 1835) is among the most conspicuous members of northeastern Pacific rocky-shore fauna due to its dramatic color variation, ranging from bright yellowish orange to brown to deep purple. Despite a large body of ecological and developmental biology information on P. ochraceus, few studies have rigorously examined color patterns or their causes across its geographic range. We used thousands of observations of sea star color and size taken from southern California to northern Oregon to show that the frequency of orange sea stars is approximately 20% with little variation across a broad latitudinal band. However, the frequency of orange sea stars in a population increases with the size of the animals in most populations. We consider several alternative hypotheses for these color patterns but find that the most parsimonious explanation is that adult color is a selectively neutral genetic trait that expresses itself ontogenetically. These novel findings point to the need for renewed study of the basic biology of this key ecological species.