Assessing Trophic Cascade Dynamics in Coastal Marine Ecosystems for Enhanced Biodiversity Conservation

Abstract

The coastal marine ecosystems are important in the maintenance of biodiversity and sustenance of human livelihood but are increasingly threatened by overfishing, habitat degradation, and climate change. The various impacts of trophic cascades disruption in the food web due to the loss or change of apex predators are one of the primary factors that characterize the biodiversity and health of the ecosystem. The proposed study would be instrumental in evaluating the trophic cascade processes in marine ecosystems on the coast and how it can be used to conserve biodiversity. We performed field survey and ecological modelling on a number of coastal areas that were different in terms of anthropogenic effects such as marine protected areas (MPAs) and fished areas. We have found that the removal of apex predators causes dramatic changes in species abundance and structure, causing a loss of biodiversity especially in regions with only a limited level of protection. On the other hand, locations where predators are not destroyed have more top-down regulation and biodiversity. We elaborate on the conservation implications of such results, where the protection of predators and the use of MPAs in protecting coastal biodiversity are of importance. This paper sheds light on the importance of learning about trophic cascades in guiding ecosystem-based management and achieving better biodiversity conservation in the light of increasing environmental demands.