At-risk marine biodiversity faces extensive, expanding, and intensifying human impacts

• DOI: 10.1126/science.abe6731
• Publication Date: 2021-04-01T19:05:47Z
• Authors: Casey C. O’Hara; Melanie Frazier; Benjamin S. Halpern
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; Aquatic Organisms; Conservation of Natural Resources; Climate Change; Oceans and Seas; Endangered Species; Fisheries; Fishes; Biodiversity; Environment; 15. Life on land; 03 medical and health sciences; Stress, Physiological; 13. Climate action; Animals; Humans; Human Activities; 14. Life underwater; Ecosystem

An ever-growing human footprint

Human activities are increasingly affecting the marine environment but understanding how much and in what ways is an extreme challenge given the vastness of this system. O'Hara et al. looked at a suite of human-induced stressors on >1000 marine species over the course of 13 years. They found that species are experiencing increasing levels of stress over more than half of their ranges, with some species having an even higher proportion of their ranges affected. Fishing has the largest impact, but other stressors, such as climate change, are also important and growing.

Science , this issue p. 84