Sustainable management of renewable resources in a changing environment: an integrated approach across ecosystems

Informations

Funding country

Norway

Acronym

-

URL

-

Start date

1/1/2015

End date

12/31/2020

Budget

5,282,112 EUR

Fundings

Abstract

In this project, three of the leading Norwegian research groups in ecology and evolution (CEES at the University of Oslo, CBD at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim -NTNU-, and the Department of Arctic and Marine Biology at the University of Tromsø) collaborate to study how climate change affects how species can be harvested in a sustainable way from an ecosystem perspective. The project focused on 7 study systems from terrestrial (1. domestic reindeer, 2. reindeer and mountain fox on Svalbard, 3. ptarmigan in mountains and tundra, 4. invasive red fox populations in the north, 5. moose and small game in boreal forest), freshwater (6. Lake Mjøsa), and marine ecosystems (7. Barents Sea). SUSTAIN aims to improve management strategies to ensure sustainable exploitation, while avoiding negative changes, of ecosystems. To achieve this, SUSTAIN follows the framework of a "strategic foresight protocol": a structured process in which scientific results are used to explore possible future scenarios, as well as their implications for management measures that promote a better future. The project is developed in collaboration with a panel of end users consisting of industries, administration, and voluntary organizations, to ensure that the project results can be applied directly to relevant issues. In addition to establishing a new national network, this project contributes to educating a new generation of biologists and research leaders. The many produced results have been presented in conferences and published in both scientific journals and popular science media. Here we present a summary: (1) Some results show population status of fish in the Barents Sea, moose, reindeer, and ptarmigan, in continental Norway and Svalbard. Here, mathematical models were produced to understand harvesting in varying environments, and in populations with individuals of different ages or sizes. (2) Other studies developed theoretical models to explore different harvesting strategies and tested them with data from reindeer or fish. (3) Some of the results are about space- and time-related interactions between species, and how this affects harvesting, especially in the Barents Sea. (4) Some studies have researched climate effects on food chains, for example, changes in ground and sea ice patterns, the effect of extreme weather conditions on population dynamics, and synchronization of population dynamics at different scales. (5) The combined effects of climate, harvesting and management were also investigated in several systems. The results emphasized the importance of evidence-based population management, as well as the need for ecosystem-based monitoring to keep up with climate change. The final period of SUSTAIN focuses on completing the various doctoral degrees and continuing to publish and disseminate the results. In addition, the most relevant findings of the project are collected in the form of a special issue in the journal Climate Research. A few months after the end of the project, a joint conference will be organized with end users to present and discuss further use of the results of SUSTAIN.