Boris Worm
Biographic Data
| ID | 6018524 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Boris Worm |
| GIVEN NAMES | Boris |
| FAMILY NAME | Worm |
| SIGNATURE | WORM B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Dalhousie University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5742-8716 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 11 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 19 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2003 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Integrating global targets for protected areas and sustainable fisheries
The global ocean harbors millions of unique species, many of which help to provide food and nutrients for nearly half of the world’s human population. Yet, the continued viability of this critical food source is uncertain as unsustainable exploitation has eroded marine biodiversity, and ecosystems are affected by a changing climate. Efforts to rebuild overexploited fisheries, restore marine biodiversity, and build climate resilience are underway,…
Resilience of reefs to overfishing
From policy to practice
Unintended bycatch of depleted or vulnerable marine species is an unsolved conservation issue that undermines the sustainability of fisheries worldwide. In Canada, policy incentives to address bycatch of vulnerable species-at-risk have become more prominent in recent years. Yet bycatch risk has been difficult to quantify and mitigate, in part due to large data gaps in fisheries observation and monitoring. Here we suggest the use of novel modellin…
Protecting the global ocean for biodiversity, food and climate
Making ocean literacy inclusive and accessible
Engagement in marine science has historically been the privilege of a small number of people with access to higher education, specialised equipment and research funding. Such constraints have often limited public engagement and may have slowed the uptake of ocean science into environmental policy. Recognition of this disconnect has spurred a growing movement to promote ocean literacy, defined as one’s individual understanding of how the ocean aff…
Rebuilding marine life
Sustainable Development Goal 14 of the United Nations aims to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”. Achieving this goal will require rebuilding the marine life-support systems that deliver the many benefits that society receives from a healthy ocean. Here we document the recovery of marine populations, habitats and ecosystems following past conservation interventions. Recovery rates acro…
Evolution of the Galapagos in the Anthropocene
Tracking the global footprint of fisheries
More than half the fish in the sea As the human population has grown in recent decades, our dependence on ocean-supplied protein has rapidly increased. Kroodsma et al. took advantage of the automatic identification system installed on all industrial fishing vessels to map and quantify fishing efforts across the world (see the Perspective by Poloczanska). More than half of the world's oceans are subject to industrial-scale harvest, spanning an are…
Marine reserves can mitigate and promote adaptation to climate change
Strong decreases in greenhouse gas emissions are required to meet the reduction trajectory resolved within the 2015 Paris Agreement. However, even these decreases will not avert serious stress and damage to life on Earth, and additional steps are needed to boost the resilience of ecosystems, safeguard their wildlife, and protect their capacity to supply vital goods and services. We discuss how well-managed marine reserves may help marine ecosyste…
Global evaluation of shark sanctuaries
Due to well-documented declines in many shark populations there is increasing pressure to implement new management and rebuilding strategies at the national and international scale. Since 2009, fifteen coastal countries in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans have opted to ban commercial shark fishing altogether, and have laws that prohibit the possession, trade or sale of sharks and shark products. These ‘shark sanctuaries’ collectively cover…
Decomposing the effects of ocean warming on chlorophyll a concentrations into physically and biologically driven contributions
Author: Olonscheck, D. et al.; Genre: Journal Article; Finally published : 2013; Open Access; Title: Decomposing the effects of ocean warming on chlorophyll a concentrations into physically and biologically driven contributions
How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean?
The diversity of life is one of the most striking aspects of our planet; hence knowing how many species inhabit Earth is among the most fundamental questions in science. Yet the answer to this question remains enigmatic, as efforts to sample the world's biodiversity to date have been limited and thus have precluded direct quantification of global species richness, and because indirect estimates rely on assumptions that have proven highly controve…
Declining ocean chlorophyll under unabated anthropogenic CO 2 emissions
Photosynthetic assimilation of carbon dioxide and inorganic nutrients by phytoplankton constitutes a necessary prerequisite for sustaining marine life. This process is tightly linked to the concentration of chlorophyll in the ocean’s euphotic zone. According to a recent field study marine chlorophyll(a) concentrations have declined over the last century with an estimated global rate of 1.0 % of the global median per year. Here we attempt to ident…
Management Effectiveness of the World's Marine Fisheries
Ongoing declines in production of the world's fisheries may have serious ecological and socioeconomic consequences. As a result, a number of international efforts have sought to improve management and prevent overexploitation, while helping to maintain biodiversity and a sustainable food supply. Although these initiatives have received broad acceptance, the extent to which corrective measures have been implemented and are effective remains largel…
Rebuilding Global Fisheries
Fighting for Fisheries In the debate concerning the future of the world's fisheries, some have forecasted complete collapse but others have challenged this view. The protagonists in this debate have now joined forces to present a thorough quantitative review of current trends in world fisheries. Worm et al. (p. 578 ) evaluate the evidence for a global rebuilding of marine capture fisheries and their supporting ecosystems. Contrasting regions that…
Adaptive Management of the Great Barrier Reef and the Grand Canyon World Heritage Areas
Conventional perceptions of the interactions between people and their environment are rapidly transforming. Old paradigms that view humans as separate from nature, natural resources as inexhaustible or endlessly substitutable, and the world as stable, predictable, and in balance are no longer tenable. New conceptual frameworks are rapidly emerging based on an adaptive approach that focuses on learning and flexible management in a dynamic social-e…
Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services
Human-dominated marine ecosystems are experiencing accelerating loss of populations and species, with largely unknown consequences. We analyzed local experiments, long-term regional time series, and global fisheries data to test how biodiversity loss affects marine ecosystem services across temporal and spatial scales. Overall, rates of resource collapse increased and recovery potential, stability, and water quality decreased exponentially with d…
Globalization, Roving Bandits, and Marine Resources
Overfishing is increasingly threatening the world's marine ecosystems (1, 2). The search for the social causes of this crisis has often focused on inappropriate approaches to governance and lack of incentives for conservation (3, 4). Little attention, however, has been paid to the critical impact of sequential exploitation: the spatially expanding depletion of harvested species (5). The economist Mancur Olson (6) argued that local governance crea…
Rapid worldwide depletion of predatory fish communities
Making ocean literacy inclusive and accessible
Engagement in marine science has historically been the privilege of a small number of people with access to higher education, specialised equipment and research funding. Such constraints have often limited public engagement and may have slowed the uptake of ocean science into environmental policy. Recognition of this disconnect has spurred a growing movement to promote ocean literacy, defined as one’s individual understanding of how the ocean aff…
Global evaluation of shark sanctuaries
Due to well-documented declines in many shark populations there is increasing pressure to implement new management and rebuilding strategies at the national and international scale. Since 2009, fifteen coastal countries in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans have opted to ban commercial shark fishing altogether, and have laws that prohibit the possession, trade or sale of sharks and shark products. These ‘shark sanctuaries’ collectively cover…
Adaptive Management of the Great Barrier Reef and the Grand Canyon World Heritage Areas
Conventional perceptions of the interactions between people and their environment are rapidly transforming. Old paradigms that view humans as separate from nature, natural resources as inexhaustible or endlessly substitutable, and the world as stable, predictable, and in balance are no longer tenable. New conceptual frameworks are rapidly emerging based on an adaptive approach that focuses on learning and flexible management in a dynamic social-e…
Rapid worldwide depletion of predatory fish communities
Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services
Human-dominated marine ecosystems are experiencing accelerating loss of populations and species, with largely unknown consequences. We analyzed local experiments, long-term regional time series, and global fisheries data to test how biodiversity loss affects marine ecosystem services across temporal and spatial scales. Overall, rates of resource collapse increased and recovery potential, stability, and water quality decreased exponentially with d…
Globalization, Roving Bandits, and Marine Resources
Overfishing is increasingly threatening the world's marine ecosystems (1, 2). The search for the social causes of this crisis has often focused on inappropriate approaches to governance and lack of incentives for conservation (3, 4). Little attention, however, has been paid to the critical impact of sequential exploitation: the spatially expanding depletion of harvested species (5). The economist Mancur Olson (6) argued that local governance crea…
Adaptive Management of the Great Barrier Reef and the Grand Canyon World Heritage Areas
Conventional perceptions of the interactions between people and their environment are rapidly transforming. Old paradigms that view humans as separate from nature, natural resources as inexhaustible or endlessly substitutable, and the world as stable, predictable, and in balance are no longer tenable. New conceptual frameworks are rapidly emerging based on an adaptive approach that focuses on learning and flexible management in a dynamic social-e…
Management Effectiveness of the World's Marine Fisheries
Ongoing declines in production of the world's fisheries may have serious ecological and socioeconomic consequences. As a result, a number of international efforts have sought to improve management and prevent overexploitation, while helping to maintain biodiversity and a sustainable food supply. Although these initiatives have received broad acceptance, the extent to which corrective measures have been implemented and are effective remains largel…
Rebuilding Global Fisheries
Fighting for Fisheries In the debate concerning the future of the world's fisheries, some have forecasted complete collapse but others have challenged this view. The protagonists in this debate have now joined forces to present a thorough quantitative review of current trends in world fisheries. Worm et al. (p. 578 ) evaluate the evidence for a global rebuilding of marine capture fisheries and their supporting ecosystems. Contrasting regions that…
How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean?
The diversity of life is one of the most striking aspects of our planet; hence knowing how many species inhabit Earth is among the most fundamental questions in science. Yet the answer to this question remains enigmatic, as efforts to sample the world's biodiversity to date have been limited and thus have precluded direct quantification of global species richness, and because indirect estimates rely on assumptions that have proven highly controve…
Declining ocean chlorophyll under unabated anthropogenic CO 2 emissions
Photosynthetic assimilation of carbon dioxide and inorganic nutrients by phytoplankton constitutes a necessary prerequisite for sustaining marine life. This process is tightly linked to the concentration of chlorophyll in the ocean’s euphotic zone. According to a recent field study marine chlorophyll(a) concentrations have declined over the last century with an estimated global rate of 1.0 % of the global median per year. Here we attempt to ident…
Decomposing the effects of ocean warming on chlorophyll a concentrations into physically and biologically driven contributions
Author: Olonscheck, D. et al.; Genre: Journal Article; Finally published : 2013; Open Access; Title: Decomposing the effects of ocean warming on chlorophyll a concentrations into physically and biologically driven contributions
Marine reserves can mitigate and promote adaptation to climate change
Strong decreases in greenhouse gas emissions are required to meet the reduction trajectory resolved within the 2015 Paris Agreement. However, even these decreases will not avert serious stress and damage to life on Earth, and additional steps are needed to boost the resilience of ecosystems, safeguard their wildlife, and protect their capacity to supply vital goods and services. We discuss how well-managed marine reserves may help marine ecosyste…
Global evaluation of shark sanctuaries
Due to well-documented declines in many shark populations there is increasing pressure to implement new management and rebuilding strategies at the national and international scale. Since 2009, fifteen coastal countries in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans have opted to ban commercial shark fishing altogether, and have laws that prohibit the possession, trade or sale of sharks and shark products. These ‘shark sanctuaries’ collectively cover…
Tracking the global footprint of fisheries
More than half the fish in the sea As the human population has grown in recent decades, our dependence on ocean-supplied protein has rapidly increased. Kroodsma et al. took advantage of the automatic identification system installed on all industrial fishing vessels to map and quantify fishing efforts across the world (see the Perspective by Poloczanska). More than half of the world's oceans are subject to industrial-scale harvest, spanning an are…
Rebuilding marine life
Sustainable Development Goal 14 of the United Nations aims to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”. Achieving this goal will require rebuilding the marine life-support systems that deliver the many benefits that society receives from a healthy ocean. Here we document the recovery of marine populations, habitats and ecosystems following past conservation interventions. Recovery rates acro…
Evolution of the Galapagos in the Anthropocene
Protecting the global ocean for biodiversity, food and climate
Making ocean literacy inclusive and accessible
Engagement in marine science has historically been the privilege of a small number of people with access to higher education, specialised equipment and research funding. Such constraints have often limited public engagement and may have slowed the uptake of ocean science into environmental policy. Recognition of this disconnect has spurred a growing movement to promote ocean literacy, defined as one’s individual understanding of how the ocean aff…
From policy to practice
Unintended bycatch of depleted or vulnerable marine species is an unsolved conservation issue that undermines the sustainability of fisheries worldwide. In Canada, policy incentives to address bycatch of vulnerable species-at-risk have become more prominent in recent years. Yet bycatch risk has been difficult to quantify and mitigate, in part due to large data gaps in fisheries observation and monitoring. Here we suggest the use of novel modellin…
Resilience of reefs to overfishing
Integrating global targets for protected areas and sustainable fisheries
The global ocean harbors millions of unique species, many of which help to provide food and nutrients for nearly half of the world’s human population. Yet, the continued viability of this critical food source is uncertain as unsustainable exploitation has eroded marine biodiversity, and ecosystems are affected by a changing climate. Efforts to rebuild overexploited fisheries, restore marine biodiversity, and build climate resilience are underway,…
Biology (13 works) · Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies (13 works) · Marine and fisheries research (12 works) · Ecology (10 works) · Environmental Science (10 works) · Geography (10 works) · Business (9 works) · Ecosystem (9 works) · Environmental resource management (9 works) · Fishery (9 works)