ZMT - Leibniz Zentrum für Marine Tropenforschung

Coastal temperate rainforest (CTR) ecosystems are found on every continent except Antarctica. High volumes of freshwater and materials flux are expected to result in particularly strong land–ocean connections in these ecoregions, but up until recently a conceptual framework of land–ocean couplings and their role in shaping marine ecosystems has been lacking. Using the largest contiguous expanse of CTR on Earth - the Northeast Pacific CTR - as a case study, this presentation will integrate current understanding of the spatial and temporal scales of interacting processes across the land–ocean continuum, and examine how these processes structure and are defining features of marine ecosystems from nearshore to offshore domains. I will give an overview of climate and other anthropogenic drivers of change in these metaecosystems, review key knowledge gaps, and finally present preliminary insights from new research on the effects of urbanization on the CTR coastal ocean.