Summary - Selection 20

Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services by Boris Worm et al.

Just because the oceans are enormous and vast, it does not mean that human activity will not have any impact. What is happening is that there are huge losses in populations and species. With the marine diversity loss comes a loss in the ocean's ability to provide food and maintain water quality. What is questionable is if they can recover. People need to realize the importance of a rich marine biodiversity, which does not include any invasive species. Without a healthy population of marine species, humans can become affected from those services such as fishing, flood control, and waste detoxification. It is not just oceans that are being affected, estuaries, coral reefs, and coastal and oceanic fish communities are as well.

Through experiments on examining the effects of variations in marine diversity, Worm concluded that as biodiversity is lost, so goes the loss of ecosystem services. The rate of fisheries will collapse which can also affect economic opportunities. Though the results were drastic, he at least concluded that it is possible to recover lost biodiversity and perhaps reverse some of the damages. We need to work on preserving local populations and managing our industrial growth in order to stabilize the losses without sabotaging the marine ecosystems. We need highly diversified systems to provide us with more services. Consistent changes in our lifestyles across the world also will help with marine ecosystems, such as pollution control, maintaining habitats, reserving any sort of wildlife, practise sustainable fishing and have true appreciation for the services that our ecosystems provide for us.