Threats to sandy beach ecosystems: A

review By Defeo O. et al 2009

Paper discussion

Animator:

Ose Pauleus

About the main author • Omar Defeo

o Faculty lecturer & Investigator

o Member of the National Academy of Sciences of

Uruguay

o Head of Department of Ecology and Evolution.

o FAO Consultant.

o Work on marine ecology and fisheries

management.

Key words • Sandy shore:

o Loose deposits of sand, gravel or shells that cover the shoreline in many places

oConsist of three entities: surf zones, beaches and dunes, linked by the interchange of material particularly sand ( Dyer 1986)

oClimate change

a change in global or regional climate patterns, apparently from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels

"climate change". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, n.d. Web. 26 August 2013.

<http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/climate-change>.

Context • Expansion of human

population

o Shifts toward the coast

(sandy shores)

• Economic progress

o development

• Climate change

o See level arise

http://lsds.co.za/current-clients/

Goal • Wake up call

• Awareness of human (our) pressures on

shoreline.

Ecosystem services • Sediment storage and transport

• Wave dissipation and associated buffering

against extreme events (storms, tsunamis)

• Breakdown of organic materials and

pollutants

• Water filtration and purification

• Nutrient mineralization and recycling

• Water storage in dune aquifers and

groundwater discharge through beaches

Ecosystem services • Maintenance of biodiversity and genetic

resources

• Nursery areas for juvenile fishes

• nesting sites for turtles and shorebirds, and

rookeries for pinnipeds

• Prey resources for birds and terrestrial wildlife

• Scenic vistas and recreational opportunities

• Functional links between terrestrial and

marine environments in the coastal zone

Stressors • Recreation

• Cleaning

• Nourishment

• Pollution

• Exploitation

By Norb Psuty, Rutgers university

Stressors • Biological invasions

• Coastal

development and

engineering

• Mining

• Climate change

Conclusion and recommendation

• Management should be based on existing

knowledge

• More research to better understand marine

ecosystems

• Marine reserves and marine protected areas

• Others????