Enabling successful science-policy knowledge exchange between marine biodiversity research and management: An Australian case study

Knowledge exchange (KE) between research and decision-making is increasingly demanded for tackling environmental challenges, yet there is still much to learn about how to enable that effectively. Here, we analyze a distributor of research funding (i.e., the Australian National Environmental Science Program Marine Biodiversity Hub (‘the hub’)) which actively coordinated KE between researchers and state- and Commonwealth Government end-users. Through 30 in-depth qualitative interviews with researchers, hub executives and end-users we identify enablers of KE engagement, compare what researchers and decision-makers found most important, and highlight what research programs and funding organizations can learn from this case study. Through an evolution of programs, the hub had a strong governance structure, co-identified priority setting, and funding for emerging priorities. Additional enablers were a legacy of longstanding interpersonal working relationships, regular engagement, knowledge brokering roles, and the nationally trusted role of the hub. Researchers more so than end-users found trust, the focus on clear end-user needs as well as the hub's governance and progress-monitoring key to success. End-users more often indicated the early engagement, collaborative nature, and flexibility to adjust as important assets to effective interaction. Visions for future KE included better engagement of Traditional Owners, streamlining direct access to expertise, more accessible outputs, and earlier involvement of researchers in policy development. In sum, we find that time (e.g., pre-story, early engagement) and boundary roles (e.g., knowledge brokering individuals, engaged research funders or coordinators) are key to success underlining that there are substantial components to KE success that can be nurtured and planned for

Rapid increase in coral cover on an isolated coral reef, the Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve, north-western Australia

Against a background of coral reef ecosystem decline, understanding the propensity for coral communities to recover after acute disturbances is fundamental to forecasting and maintaining resilience. It may be expected that offshore reef ecosystems are less affected by anthropogenic disturbances compared with reefs closer to population centres, but that recovery may be slower on isolated reefs following disturbances. To test the hypothesis that community recovery is slow in isolated locations, we measured changes in coral cover and relative abundance of coral genera over a 4 year period (200509) at Ashmore Reef, north Western Australia, following severe bleaching. The percent cover of hard coral tripled, from 10.2% (±1.46 s.e.) in 2005 to 29.4% (±1.83 s.e.) in 2009 in all habitats (exposed and lagoonal) and depth zones (25 and 810m), and the percent cover of soft corals doubled, from 4.5% (+0.63 s.e.) in 2005 to 8.3% (+1.4 s.e.) in 2009. Significant shifts in the taxonomic composition of hard corals were detected. Our results imply that coral recovery in isolated locations can occur rapidly after an initial delay in recruitment, presumably through the interacting effects of self-recruitment and reduced exposure to additive impacts such as coastal pollution

High Macroalgal Cover and Low Coral Recruitment Undermines the Potential Resilience of the World's Southernmost Coral Reef Assemblages

Coral reefs are under increasing pressure from anthropogenic and climate-induced stressors. The ability of reefs to reassemble and regenerate after disturbances (i.e., resilience) is largely dependent on the capacity of herbivores to prevent macroalgal expansion, and the replenishment of coral populations through larval recruitment. Currently there is a paucity of this information for higher latitude, subtropical reefs. To assess the potential resilience of the benthic reef assemblages of Lord Howe Island (31°32′S, 159°04′E), the worlds' southernmost coral reef, we quantified the benthic composition, densities of juvenile corals (as a proxy for coral recruitment), and herbivorous fish communities. Despite some variation among habitats and sites, benthic communities were dominated by live scleractinian corals (mean cover 37.4%) and fleshy macroalgae (20.9%). Live coral cover was higher than in most other subtropical reefs and directly comparable to lower latitude tropical reefs. Juvenile coral densities (0.8 ind.m−2), however, were 5–200 times lower than those reported for tropical reefs. Overall, macroalgal cover was negatively related to the cover of live coral and the density of juvenile corals, but displayed no relationship with herbivorous fish biomass. The biomass of herbivorous fishes was relatively low (204 kg.ha−1), and in marked contrast to tropical reefs was dominated by macroalgal browsing species (84.1%) with relatively few grazing species. Despite their extremely low biomass, grazing fishes were positively related to both the density of juvenile corals and the cover of bare substrata, suggesting that they may enhance the recruitment of corals through the provision of suitable settlement sites. Although Lord Howe Islands' reefs are currently coral-dominated, the high macroalgal cover, coupled with limited coral recruitment and low coral growth rates suggest these reefs may be extremely susceptible to future disturbances

Development and expansion in the marine social sciences: Insights from the global community

The importance of understanding the complexities of societal relationships with our global ocean, and how these influence sustainable management and effective, equitable governance, is crucial to addressing ocean challenges. Using established horizon scanning method, this paper explores current trends in marine social sciences through a survey of the global marine social science research and practitioner community (n = 106). We find that marine social sciences research is broad, covering themes relating to governance and decision-making, stakeholder participation and engagement, the socio-cultural dimensions of marine systems, ocean literacy, community-based and area-specific management, and the blue economy, and identify future research priorities highlighted by the community. Our results, however, suggest several barriers persist, including the relationship between marine social sciences and other disciplines, and the visibility and recognition of marine social sciences both internal and external to academia. Finally, the paper generates prospective thinking and highlights recommendations for future research and practice

Building leaders for the UN Ocean Science Decade: A guide to supporting early career women researchers within academic marine research institutions

Diverse and inclusive marine science is now recognized as essential for addressing the complex and accelerating challenges facing marine social-ecological systems (Blythe and Cvitanovic, 2020; Lawless et al., 2021). The United Nations (UN) Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) identifies gender diversity as integral to achieving its objectives of “the science we need for the ocean we want” and realizing the Sustainable Development Goals. For example, SDG 5.5 specifically aims to ensure that there are equal opportunities for women’s leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life (UN, 2015). The importance of gender equality has also been reflected in other global initiatives, including the UN Women’s programmes on leadership and participation (UN Women, 2022)

Applying an Organizational Psychology Model for Developing Shared Goals in Interdisciplinary Research Teams

Developing solutions to contemporary sustainability challenges requires new integrative forms of knowledge production, such as those embodied by interdisciplinary research approaches. The growing interest and investment toward building successful interdisciplinary collaborations has led to an emergent body of literature focused on understanding how to optimize interdisciplinary research processes. One of the recurrent themes throughout this literature has been the importance of establishing shared goals at the onset of research efforts, which can increase the efficiency and efficacy of both knowledge production processes, and efforts to link that knowledge to decision-making processes. To date, however, there remains little guidance for the most effective methods for establishing shared goals within interdisciplinary research environments. To help address this gap, in this paper and via a case study, we explore the utility of an organizational psychology model, the ASPIRe model, for developing shared goals within sustainability-focused interdisciplinary research teams.viewers who provided helpful and constructive comments on this manuscript. Funding for this work was provided by the Centre for Marine Socioecology at the University of Tasmania, Australia

An Assessment of How Australian Fisheries Management Plans Account for Climate Change Impacts

For Australian fisheries to remain productive and sustainable (environmentally and commercially), there is a need to incorporate climate change considerations into management and planning, and to implement planned climate adaptation options. Here, we determine the extent to which Australian state fisheries management documents consider issues relating to climate change, as well as how frequently climate change is considered a research funding priority within fisheries research in Australia. We conduct a content analysis of fisheries management documents investigating categories and themes relating to Australian state fisheries, climate, and environmental change. We also reviewed recent Research Priorities from the major fisheries research funding body for reference to climate change related themes, and the number of subsequently funded projects which considered climate change or related topics. Results show that commercial state fisheries management documents consider climate only to a limited degree in comparison to other topics, with less than one-quarter of all fisheries management documents having content relating to climate. However, we find that the south-east and south-west regions of the Australian coastline have the highest incorporation of “climate” and “environmental protection considerations” in their fisheries management documents, and that fisheries are more likely to have more “climate-related mentions” within their related management documents, if they (i) primarily target species with higher economic commercial catch values, (ii) commercial catch weights, or (iii) a greater number of commercial fish stocks existing. Only a small number of recently funded fisheries research projects considered climate change, representing only a small proportion of fisheries research investment. Given the extensive climate-driven impacts recently documented among key Australian fisheries species and associated ecosystems, we conclude that there is a clear need for fisheries management in Australia to consider longer-term climate adaptation strategies for Australian commercial state fisheries to remain sustainable into the future. We suggest that without additional climate-related fisheries research and funding, many Australian agencies and fisheries may not be prepared for the impacts and subsequent adaptation efforts required for sustainable fisheries under climate chang

Boundary spanning at the science–policy interface: the practitioners’ perspectives

Cultivating a more dynamic relationship between science and policy is essential for responding to complex social challenges such as sustainability. One approach to doing so is to “span the boundaries” between science and decision making and create a more comprehensive and inclusive knowledge exchange process. The exact definition and role of boundary spanning, however, can be nebulous. Indeed, boundary spanning often gets conflated and confused with other approaches to connecting science and policy, such as science communication, applied science, and advocacy, which can hinder progress in the field of boundary spanning. To help overcome this, in this perspective, we present the outcomes from a recent workshop of boundary-spanning practitioners gathered to (1) articulate a definition of what it means to work at this interface (“boundary spanning”) and the types of activities it encompasses; (2) present a value proposition of these efforts to build better relationships between science and policy; and (3) identify opportunities to more effectively mainstream boundary-spanning activities. Drawing on our collective experiences, we suggest that boundary spanning has the potential to increase the efficiency by which useful research is produced, foster the capacity to absorb new evidence and perspectives into sustainability decision-making, enhance research relevance for societal challenges, and open new policy windows. We provide examples from our work that illustrate this potential. By offering these propositions for the value of boundary spanning, we hope to encourage a more robust discussion of how to achieve evidence-informed decision-making for sustainability.Support for the workshop was provided by Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies and The Pew Charitable Trusts. PFEA is supported by the U.K. Natural Environment Research Council (NE/N005457/1)

Stakeholder influence and relationships informengagement strategies in marine conservation

Many current marine conservation approaches do not adequately consider the diverse social elements and human aspects necessary to achieve conservation outcomes. The results of conservation research are therefore not always useful for conservation managers to apply in practice. To address this gap, this study combines qualitative methods and quantitative social network analysis to help conservation managers gain in-depth insight into social elements of marine conservation and opportunities that can help achieve conservation outcomes. Specifically, using the North West Shelf Flatback Turtle Conservation Program as a case study, our analysis shows that 1) a stakeholder’s position in the turtle conservation network is not the sole or best indicator of their leadership potential to achieve conservation outcomes, 2) peripheral stakeholders are also important for trust, decision-making, and future success, 3) mixed-methods can identify additional opportunities to maintain and further build trust and influence between diverse stakeholders 4) building relationships to support conservation outcomes is accomplished by leveraging stakeholders’ roles in the conservation program. By identifying who has influence and who needs to be involved in marine conservation to achieve success, this study demonstrates the value of mixed-methods research approaches. Specifically, our findings show how social network approaches can help conservation managers and stakeholders strategically build communication and engagement strategies that can be used to achieve conservation outcomes.This work was supported by the North West Shelf Flatback Turtle Conservation program; GTP was supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship; and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

Ten Considerations for Research Funders Seeking to Enhance Knowledge Exchange and the Impact of Marine Science on Policy and Practice

Research funders can play an important role in supporting the integration of marine science into policy and practice to enable evidence-informed decision-making. However, to date, there is a paucity of guidance available to help research funders understand the specific actions they can take to support knowledge exchange among the researchers that they fund and relevant stakeholders, particularly within marine contexts. This Brief Research Report aims to begin to fill this gap through an in-depth case study of the Lenfest Ocean Program (LOP). Specifically, through qualitative interviews with 32 participants across eight LOP funded research projects (i.e., case studies) we sought to: (i) understand the types of impacts that have resulted from the LOP funded research, (ii) determine which activities undertaken by the LOP enabled funded research projects to achieve these impacts, and (iii) synthesize findings to articulate the core lessons that have emerged from our examination of these research projects. Results show that the concept of “research impact” is complex and can be interpreted in a number of ways including: (i) raising awareness of research among end-users, (ii) development and expansion of social networks, (iii) the provision of information to decision-makers, (iv) the development of decision-support tools, and (v) a direct contribution to policy change. We highlight the ways by which the LOP has supported the attainment of these impacts, as well as 10 general considerations that research funders should consider when seeking to enhance the impact of the research that they fund on marine policy and practice.Funding for this research was provided by the Pew Charitable Trusts