Biomass dynamics of primary producers provide a basis for assessing their capacity to capture carbon and mitigate excess greenhouse gases. Here, we estimate inter-annual and seasonal biomass cycles in canopy-forming Sargassaceae at 19 sites spanning ~ 200 km of the Ningaloo World Heritage Area over 11 consecutive years. Our global average summer estimate of 1.53 kg wet wt m −2 equates to 4.1–9.4 Gg of standing macroalgal carbo...

Macroalgae‐dominated reefs are a prominent habitat in tropical seascapes that support a diversity of fishes, including fishery target species. To what extent, then, do macroalgal habitats contribute to small‐scale tropical reef fisheries? To address this question we: (1) Quantified the macroalgae‐associated fish component in catches from 133 small‐scale fisheries, (2) Compared life‐history traits relevant to fishing (e.g. grow...

We introduced a multilevel model of value shift to describe the changing social context of wildlife conservation. Our model depicts how cultural‐level processes driven by modernization (e.g., increased wealth, education, and urbanization) affect changes in individual‐level cognition that prompt a shift from domination to mutualism wildlife values. Domination values promote beliefs that wildlife should be used primarily to bene...

Canopy‐forming macroalgae can construct extensive meadow habitats in tropical seascapes occupied by fishes that span a diversity of taxa, life‐history stages and ecological roles. Our synthesis assessed whether these tropical macroalgal habitats have unique fish assemblages, provide fish nurseries and support local fisheries. We also applied a meta‐analysis of independent surveys across 23 tropical reef locations in 11 countri...

Anthropogenic stressors are impacting ecological systems across the world. Of particular concern are the recent rapid changes occurring in coral reef systems. With ongoing degradation from both local and global stressors, future reefs are likely to function differently from current coral‐dominated ecosystems. Determining key attributes of future reef states is critical to reliably predict outcomes for ecosystem service provisi...

Article impact statement : Conservation values are unlikely to change through intentional efforts.

Climate change and ocean acidification are altering marine ecosystems and, from a human perspective, creating both winners and losers. Human responses to these changes are complex, but may result in reduced government investments in regulation, resource management, monitoring and enforcement. Moreover, a lack of peoples’ experience of climate change may drive some towards attributing the symptoms of climate change to more fami...

The hope for creating widespread change in social values has endured among conservation professionals since early calls by Aldo Leopold for a “land ethic.” However, there has been little serious attention in conservation to the fields of investigation that address values, how they are formed, and how they change. We introduce a social–ecological systems conceptual approach in which values are seen not only as motivational goal...

Stakeholders increasingly expect ecosystem assessments as part of advice on fisheries management. Quantitative models to support fisheries decision‐making may be either strategic (‘big picture’, direction‐setting and contextual) or tactical (focused on management actions on short timescales), with some strategic models informing the development of tactical models. We describe and review ‘ M odels of I ntermediate C omplexity f...