Advances in social and natural sciences provide hope for new approaches to restore the bounty and resilience of ocean ecosystems. From new interdisciplinary approaches and conceptual frameworks, to new tools—such as catch shares, ecosystem-based management, marine spatial planning, and marine reserves—to new insights into strategies for adapting to the impacts of climate change and designing resilient and effective institutions, new knowledge is beginning to inform policies and practices. This decade is a pivotal one for the future of the ocean. The confluence of local, regional, and global changes in the ocean—driven by stressors, including nutrient pollution, habitat loss, overfishing, and climate change and ocean acidification—is rapidly transforming many once bountiful and resilient ocean ecosystems into depleted or disrupted systems. Degraded ecosystems cannot provide key ecosystem services, such as production of seafood, protection of coastlines from severe storms and tsunamis, capture of carbon, and provision of places for recreation. The accelerating pace of change presents daunting challenges for communities, businesses, nations, and the global community to make a transition toward more sustainable practices and policies. In this paper, we highlight new interdisciplinary approaches, tools, and insights that offer hope for recovering the bounty and beauty of the ocean and the ongoing benefits that they provide to people.

Lubchenco, J., and L.E. Petes. 2010. Eleventh Annual Roger Revelle Commemorative Lecture: The interconnected biosphere—Science at the ocean’s tipping points. Oceanography 23(2):115–129, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2010.55.

Allison, G.W., J. Lubchenco, and M.H. Carr. 1998. Marine reserves are necessary but not sufficient for marine conservation. Ecological Applications 8(1):S79–S92.

Babcock, R.C., N.T. Shears, A.C. Alcala, N.S. Barrett, G.J. Edgar, K.D. Lafferty, T.R. McClanahan, and G.R. Russ. In press. Decadal trends in marine reserves reveal differential rates of change in direct and indirect effects. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Baskett, M.L., S.A. Levin, S.D. Gaines, and J. Dushoff. 2005. Marine reserve design and the evolution of size at maturation in harvested fish. Ecological Applications 15(3):882–901.

Berkes, F., J. Colding, and C. Folke, eds. 2008. Navigating Social-Ecological Systems: Building Resilience for Complexity and Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 416 pp.

Biggs, R., S.R. Carpenter, and W.A. Brock. 2009. Turning back from the brink: Detecting and impending regime shift in time to avert it. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106:826–831.

Carpenter, S.R., and W.A. Brock. 2008. Adaptive capacity and traps. Ecology and Society 13(2):40.

Carpenter, S.R., and C. Folke. 2006. Ecology for transformation. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 21(6):309–315.

Carpenter, S.R., H.A. Mooney, J. Agard, D. Capistrano, R.S. DeFries, S. Díaz, T. Dietz, A.K. Duraiappah, A. Oteng-Yeboah, H.M. Pereira, and others. 2009a. Science for managing ecosystem services: Beyond the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106:1,305–1,312.

Carpenter, S.R., C. Folke, M. Scheffer, and F. Westley. 2009b. Resilience: Accounting for the noncomputable. Ecology and Society 14(1):13.

Chichilnisky, G., and G. Heal. 1998. Economic returns from the biosphere. Nature 391:629–630.

Costello, C., and S. Polasky. 2008. Optimal harvesting of stochastic spatial resources. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 56:1–18.

Costello, C., S.D. Gaines, and J. Lynham. 2008. Can catch shares prevent fisheries collapse? Science 321:1,678–1,681.

Costello, C., A. Rassweiler, D. Siegel, G. De Leo, F. Micheli, and A. Rosenberg. In press. The value of spatial information in MPA network design. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Crowder, L., and E. Norse. 2008. Essential ecological insights for marine ecosystem-based management and marine spatial planning. Marine Policy 32:772–778.

Daily, G.C., T. Söderqvist, S. Aniyar, K. Arrow, P. Dasgupta, P.R. Ehrlich, C. Folke, A. Jansson, B.-O. Jansson, N. Kautsky, and others. 2000. The value of nature and the nature of value. Science 289:395–396.

Dasgupta, P., S. Levin, and J. Lubchenco. 2000. Economic pathways to ecological sustainability. Bioscience 50(4):339–345.

Diaz, R.J., and R. Rosenberg. 2008. Spreading dead zones and consequences for marine ecosystems. Science 321:926–929.

Dietz, T., E. Ostrom, and P.C. Stern. 2003. The struggle to govern the commons. Science 302:1,907–1,912.

Douvere, F. 2008 The importance of marine spatial planning in advancing ecosystem-based sea use management. Marine Policy 32:762–771.

Ehler, C., and F. Douvere. 2007. Visions for a Sea Change: Report of the First International Workshop on Marine Spatial Planning. Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and Man and the Biosphere Programme, IOC Manual and Guides 46, ICAM Dossier 3, UNESCO, Paris, France, 84 pp. Available online at: http://www.unesco-ioc-marinesp.be/uploads/documentenbank/322a25f624fcb940dc70d0b3b510de24.pdf (accessed April 6, 2010).

Gaines, S.D., S.E. Lester, K. Grorud-Colvert, C. Costello, and R. Pollnac. In press a. The evolving science of marine reserves: New developments and emerging research frontiers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Gaines, S.D., C. White, M.H. Carr, and S.R. Palumbi. In press b. Designing marine reserve networks for both conservation and fisheries management. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Grorud-Colvert, K., S.E. Lester, S. Airamé, E. Neeley, and S.D. Gaines. In press. Communicating marine reserve science to diverse audiences. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Halpern, B.S. 2003. The impact of marine reserves: Do reserves work and does reserve size matter? Ecological Applications 13(1):S117–S137.

Halpern, B.S., and R.R. Warner. 2002. Marine reserves have rapid and lasting effects. Ecology Letters 5:361–366.

Halpern, B.S., S.E. Lester, and K.L. McLeod. In press. Placing marine protected areas onto the ecosystem-based management seascape. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Hamilton, S.L., J.E. Caselle, D. Malone, and M.H. Carr. In press. Incorporating biogeography into evaluations of the Channel Islands marine reserve network. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Heal, G., G.C. Daily, P.R. Ehrlich, J. Salzman, C. Boggs, J. Hellmann, and J. Hughes. 2001. Protecting natural capital through ecosystem service districts. Stanford Environmental Law Journal 20:333­–364.

Heal, G., and W. Schlenker. 2008. Sustainable fisheries. Nature 455:1,044–1,045.

Hilborn, R., J.M. Orensanz, and A.M. Parma. 2005. Institutions, incentives and the future of fisheries. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 360:47–57.

Janssen, M.A., O. Bodin, J.M. Anderies, T. Elmqvist, H. Ernstson, R.R.J. McAllister, P. Olsson, and P. Ryan. 2006. Toward a network perspective of the study of resilience in social-ecological systems. Ecology and Society 11(1):15.

Kathiresan, K., and N. Rajendran. 2005. Coastal mangrove forests mitigated tsunami. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 65:601–606.

Kinzig, A.P., D. Starrett, K. Arrow, S. Aniyar, B. Bolin, P. Dasgupta, P. Ehrlich, C. Folke, M. Hanemann, G. Heal, and others. 2003. Coping with uncertainty: A call for a new science-policy forum. Ambio 32(5):330–335.

Leslie, H.M., and A.P. Kinzig. 2009. Resilience science. Chapter 4 in Ecosystem-Based Management for the Oceans. K.M. McLeod and H.L. Leslie, eds, Island Press, Washington, DC.

Lester, S.E., B.S. Halpern, K. Grorud-Colvert, J. Lubchenco, B.I. Ruttenberg, S.D. Gaines, S. Airamé, and R.R. Warner. 2009. Biological effects within no-take marine reserves: A global synthesis. Marine Ecology Progress Series 384:33–46.

Levin, S.A. 1998. Ecosystems and the biosphere as complex adaptive systems. Ecosystems 1:431–436.

Levin, S.A. 1999. Fragile Dominion: Complexity and the Commons. Perseus Publishing, Cambridge, MA, 272 pp.

Levin, S.A., and J. Lubchenco. 2008. Resilience, robustness, and marine ecosystem-based management. Bioscience 58(1):27–32.

Liu, J., T. Dietz, S.R. Carpenter, M. Alberti, C. Folke, E. Moran, A.N. Pell, P. Deadman, T. Kratz, J. Lubchenco, and others. 2007. Complexity of coupled human and natural systems. Science 317:1,513–1,516. 

Love, M.S., P. Morris, M. McCrae, and R. Collins. 1990. Life history aspects of 19 rockfish species (Scorpaenidae: Sebastes) from the southern California bight. NOAA Technical Report NMFS 87.

Lubchenco, J. 1998. Entering the century of the environment: A new social contract for science. Science 279:491–497.

Lubchenco, J., S.R. Palumbi, S.D. Gaines, and S. Andelman. 2003. Plugging a hole in the ocean: The emerging science of marine reserves. Ecological Applications 13(1):S3–S7.

McCook, L.J., T. Ayling, M. Cappo, J.H. Choat, R.D. Evans, D.M. DeFreitas, M. Heupel, T.P. Hughes, G.P. Jones, B. Mapstone, and others. In press. Adaptive management of the Great Barrier Reef: A globally significant demonstration of the benefits of networks of marine reserves. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

McLeod, K., and H. Leslie, eds. 2009a. Ecosystem-Based Management for the Oceans. Island Press, Washington, DC, 392 pp.

McLeod, K., and H. Leslie, eds. 2009b. Why ecosystem-based management? Chapter 1 in Ecosystem-Based Management for the Oceans. K.M. McLeod and H.L. Leslie, eds, Island Press, Washington, DC.

McLeod, K., J. Lubchenco, S.R. Palumbi, and A.A. Rosenberg. 2005. Scientific Consensus Statement on Marine Ecosystem-Based Management. Signed by 221 academic scientists and policy experts with relevant expertise and published by the Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea, 21 pp. Available online at: http://www.compassonline.org/pdf_files/EBM_Consensus_Statement_v12.pdf (accessed March 28, 2010).

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Synthesis. Island Press, Washington, DC.

National Research Council. 1999. Our Common Journey. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 384 pp.

National Research Council. 2008. Increasing Capacity for Stewardship of Oceans and Coasts: A Priority for the 21st Century. National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 156 pp.

Nelson, E., G. Mendoza, J. Regetz, S. Polasky, H. Tallis, D.R. Cameron, K.M.A. Chan, G.C. Daily, J. Goldstein, P.M. Kareiva, and others. 2009. Modeling multiple ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation, commodity production, and tradeoffs at landscape scales. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 7(1):4–11.

Ostrom, E. 2009. A general framework for analyzing sustainability of social-ecological systems. Science 325:419–422.

Ostrom, E., J. Burger, C.B. Field, R.B. Norgaard, and D. Policansky. 1999. Revisiting the commons: Local lessons, global challenges. Science 284:278–282.

Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans. 2007. The Science of Marine Reserves, 2nd ed. 21 pp. Available online at: http://www.piscoweb.org/outreach/pubs/reserves (accessed February 15, 2010).

Pelc, R.A., R.R. Warner, S.D. Gaines, and C.B. Paris. In press. Detecting larval export from marine reserves. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Pew Oceans Commission. 2003. America’s Living Oceans: Charting a Course for Sea Change. Pew Oceans Commission, Arlington, VA. Available online at: http://www.pewtrusts.org/our_work_detail.aspx?id=130 (accessed April 5, 2010).

Pollnac, R., P. Christie, J.E. Cinner, T. Dalton, T.M. Daw, G.E. Forrester, N.A.J. Graham, and T.R. McClanahan. In press. Marine reserves as linked social-ecological systems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Pomeroy, R., and F. Douvere. 2008. The engagement of stakeholders in the marine spatial planning process. Marine Policy 32:816–822.

Rabalais, N.N., R.E. Turner, and D. Scavia. 2002. Beyond science into policy: Gulf of Mexico hypoxia and the Mississippi River. Bioscience 52(2):129–142.

Redstone Strategy Group LLC, and Environmental Defense Fund. 2007. Assessing the Potential for LAPPs in U.S. Fisheries. Available online at: http://redstonestrategy.com/documents/2007-03-26%20Assessing%20the%20Potential%20for%20LAPPs%20in%20US%20Fisheries.pdf (accessed April 12, 2010).

Roberts, C.M., J.A. Bohnsack, F. Gell, J.P. Hawkins, and R. Goodridge. 2001. Effects of marine reserves on adjacent fisheries. Science 294:1,920–1,923.

Rosenberg, A.A., and K.L. McLeod. 2005. Implementing ecosystem-based approaches to management for the conservation of ecosystem services. Marine Ecology Progress Series 300:270–274.

Rosenberg, A.A., and P.A. Sandifer. 2009. What do managers need? Chapter 2 in Ecosystem-Based Management for the Oceans. K.M. McLeod and H.L. Leslie, eds, Island Press, Washington, DC.

Ruckelshaus, M., and A.D. Guerry. 2009. Valuing marine ecosystems? Marine Scientist 26:26–29.

Schellnhuber, H.J., P.J. Crutzen, W.C. Clark, M. Claussen, and H. Held. 2004. Earth System Analysis for Sustainability. Report on the 91st Dahlem Workshop. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 468 pp.

Smith, M.D., J. Lynham, J.N. Sanchirico, and J.A. Wilson. In press. Political economy of marine reserves: Understanding the role of opportunity costs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Socolow, R.H. 1999. Nitrogen management and the future of food: Lessons from the management of energy and carbon. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 96:6,001–6,008.

Steffen, W., A. Sanderson, P. Tyson, J. Jäger, P. Matson, B. Moore, F. Oldfield, K. Richardson, F. Oldfield, H.-J. Schellnhuber, B.L. Turner II, and R.J. Wasson. 2004. Global Change and the Earth System: A Planet Under Pressure. Springer-Verlag, New York, NY, 332 pp.

Tallis, H.M., and P. Kareiva. 2006. Shaping global environmental decisions using socio-ecological models. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 21(10):562–568.

Tallis, H., and S. Polasky. 2009. Mapping and valuing ecosystem services as an approach for conservation and natural-resource management. Annals of the New York Academy of Science 1162:265–283.

Tallis, H., P. Kareiva, M. Marvier, and A. Chang. 2008. An ecosystem services framework to support both practical conservation and economic development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 105(28):9,457–9,464.

Turner, R.K., and G.C. Daily. 2008. The ecosystem services framework and natural capital conservation. Environmental and Resource Economics 39(1):25–35.

United Nations Environment Programme. 2006. Marine and Coastal Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: A Synthesis Report Based on Findings of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya, 64 pp.

US Commission on Ocean Policy. 2004. An Ocean Blueprint for the 21^st Century. US Commission on Ocean Policy, Washington, DC. Available online at: http://oceancommission.gov/documents/full_color_rpt/000_ocean_full_report.pdf (accessed April 5, 2010).

US Global Change Research Program. 2009. Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States. Cambridge University Press, New York, NY. Available online at: http://downloads.globalchange.gov/usimpacts/pdfs/climate-impacts-report.pdf (accessed April 5, 2010).

Vitousek, P.M., H.A. Mooney, J. Lubchenco, and J.M. Melillo. 1997. Human domination of Earth’s ecosystems. Science 277:494–499.

Walker, B., and D. Salt. 2006. Resilience Thinking: Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World. Island Press, Washington, DC, 192 pp.

Wood, L.J., L. Fish, J. Laughren, and D. Pauly. 2008. Assessing progress towards global marine protection targets: Shortfalls in information and action. Oryx 42:340–351.

Worm, B., E.B. Barbier, N. Beaumont, J.E. Duffy, C. Folke, B.S. Halpern, J.B.C. Jackson, H.K. Lotze, F. Micheli, S.R. Palumbi, and others. 2006. Impacts of biodiversity loss on ocean ecosystem services. Science 314:787–790.

Young, O.R., F. Berkhout, G.C. Gallopin, M.A. Janssen, E. Ostrom, and S. van der Leeuw. 2006. The globalization of socio-ecological systems: An agenda for scientific research. Global Environmental Change 16:304–316.

This is an open access article made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format as long as users cite the materials appropriately, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate the changes that were made to the original content. Images, animations, videos, or other third-party material used in articles are included in the Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If the material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission directly from the license holder to reproduce the material.