ABSTRACT
LOUISE B. FIRTH1, ANTONY M. KNIGHTS2, DANIELLE BRIDGER3, ALLY J. EVANS4, NOVA MIESZKOWSKA5,6, PIPPA J. MOORE4, NESSA E. O’CONNOR7,
EMMA V. SHEEHAN3, RICHARD C. THOMPSON2 & STEPHEN J. HAWKINS5,8
1School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Science, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK
E-mail: louise.rth@plymouth.ac.uk 2School of Marine Science and Engineering, Plymouth University,
Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK 3Marine Institute, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK
4Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, SY23 3DA, UK
5The Marine Biological Association of the UK, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, PL1 2PB, UK
6Department of Ocean, Earth and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3GP, UK
7School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, BT9 7BL, UK 8Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton,
Waterfront Campus, University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK
The last few decades have seen rapid proliferation of hard articial structures (e.g., energy infrastructure, aquaculture, coastal defences) in the marine environment: ocean sprawl. The replacement of natural, often sedimentary, substrata with hard substrata has altered the distribution of species, particularly non-indigenous species, and can facilitate the assisted migration of native species at risk from climate change. This has been likened to urbanization as a driver of global biotic homogenization in the marine environment-the process by which species invasions and extinctions increase the genetic, taxonomic, or functional similarity of communities at local, regional, and global scales. Ecological engineering research showed that small-scale engineering interventions can have a signicant positive effect on the biodiversity associated with articial structures, promoting more diverse and resilient communities on local scales. This knowledge can be applied to the design of multifunctional structures that provide a range of ecosystem services. In coastal regions, hybrid designs can work with nature to combine hard and soft approaches to coastal defence in a more environmentally sensitive manner. The challenge now is to manage ocean sprawl with the dual goal of supporting human populations and activities, simultaneously strengthening ecosystem resilience using an ecosystem-based approach.
