UC San Diego

Coastal ecosystems and fisheries are complex in terms of the abiotic and biotic processes that host them, and the peoples and policies that steward them. This complexity is likely to increase under climate change, and our efforts to characterize climate-fishery interactions will be of critical importance for ensuring the long-term “sustainability” of marine ecosystems and ecosystem services. To this end, I have oriented my chapters along two major axes: understanding the biology and oceanography of coastal ecosystems under climate change; and developing applied science for sustainable seafood harvest and fisheries management.First, I discuss changes in deoxygenation and its effects on marine organisms within the context of the Planetary Boundary Framework . I propose that deoxygenation be added to the framework, discussing five possible “control variables” and the various interactions that exist between deoxygenation and other climate change processes. With these processes in mind, I explore the effects of “press-pulse” climate stress on Mano de León scallops, a commercially-important species traditionally fished throughout Northwest Mexico. I find that, while the effects of press-pulse climate stress are generally negative, these animals may be more resilient to change than expected. In the second portion of my dissertation, I explore which fisheries and fishery species can be considered most “climate-friendly” from a carbon perspective. I estimate the carbon footprint of several seafood products produced by small-scale fisheries in Northwest Mexico, demonstrating how certain types of seafood have a remarkably low carbon footprint. Subsequently, I demonstrate how overfishing very likely increases the carbon footprint of seafood and fisheries. Looking forward, I hope to use this body of research to expand the intellectual toolkit we use for understanding climate-fishery interactions.