Decision-making with ecological process for coastal and marine planning: current literature and future directions

Marine-protected areas are designated to reduce anthropogenic impacts on biodiversity and enhance fish production, but other ecological processes are inadequately accommodated in plans for coastal and marine ecosystems. We conducted a quantitative systematic literature review and meta-analysis on how researchers and decision-makers include ecological processes in coastal and marine conservation planning. Marine spatial planning ideally delivers representative protected areas systems that deliver persistence for ecosystems and species. Although several reviews have reported on incorporating connectivity as a process in marine spatial planning, to our knowledge, no one has yet published an inclusive review on how ecological processes are incorporated to help ensure persistence in coastal and marine planning. A total of 162 peer-reviewed journal research papers and 27 non-peer-reviewed papers ( n = 189) were identified that included ecological processes in coastal and marine conservation planning between 2000 and 2019, the number of papers integrating ecological processes peaked in 2013 followed by a declining trend to 2019. We attribute the trend to the complexity of the problem of integrating dispersal and demographic objectives alongside other management goals. The results of our statistical analysis uncovered that incorporating ecological processes in conservation planning is important for coastal and marine ecosystems across the literature ( p -value < 0.001). However, there was significant variation in scope and choice of method in planning assessments. Dispersal was the process most frequently incorporated in spatial plans, followed by demography and flows of nonliving materials. Identifying appropriate ecosystem objectives and incorporating multiple sources of uncertainty into conservation planning for coastal and marine ecosystems remain important areas for future research. This review highlights the need for greater awareness among planners of the relevance of ecological processes in conservation planning for coastal and marine ecosystems.