
Nur Arafeh-DalmauStanford University | SU · Hopkins Marine Station
Nur Arafeh-Dalmau
Doctor of Philosophy
Postdoctoral Researcher
About
45
Publications
20,719
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Introduction
I currently work at The University of Queensland, under the supervision of Hugh Possingham, Dave Schoeman, and Fiorenza Micheli. My research is on Kelp Forest Ecology and Marine Spatial Planning. My current projects are on the impacts of marine heatwaves on kelp forest communities, designing networks of marine protected areas in Baja California, Mexico, and in the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Also, integrating climate change into decision tools such as Marxan.
Additional affiliations
June 2022 - present
July 2022 - July 2023
July 2022 - July 2023
Education
January 2018 - April 2022
August 2014 - October 2016
September 2010 - June 2014
Publications
Publications (45)
Slower warming in the deep ocean encourages a perception that its biodiversity is less exposed to climate change than that of surface waters. We challenge this notion by analysing climate velocity, which provides expectations for species’ range shifts. We find that contemporary (1955–2005) climate velocities are faster in the deep ocean than at the...
Article Integrating climate adaptation and transboundary management: Guidelines for designing climate-smart marine protected areas Graphical abstract Highlights d We provide 21 guidelines for designing climate-smart transboundary protected areas d Future climates could decrease connectivity by 50% and hinder species recovery d Climate-smart network...
Marine heatwaves are globally occurring events that can negatively impact fisheries, but their impacts on small-scale operations remain understudied. We investigate the historical and future impacts of marine heatwaves on small-scale fisheries operating along a biogeographic transition zone in the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. We estimate the...
Under accelerating threats from climate-change impacts, marine protected areas (MPAs) have been proposed as climate-adaptation tools to enhance the resilience of marine ecosystems. Yet, debate persists as to whether and how MPAs may promote resilience to climate shocks. Here, we use 38 years of satellite-derived kelp cover to empirically test wheth...
Systematic conservation planning (SCP) involves the cost-effective placement and application of management actions to achieve biodiversity conservation objectives. Given the political momentum for greater global nature protection, restoration, and improved management of natural resources articulated in the targets of the Global Biodiversity Framewo...
The number of marine protected areas (MPAs) implemented globally is rising, with calls to protect 30 % of the ocean by 2030. One potential benefit of MPAs is increased resilience to anthropogenic climate change impacts. However, realistic ecological expectations are needed to identify the conditions that may yield resilience benefits and determine...
The global food production system is increasingly strained by abrupt and unpredictable weather events, which hinder communities' ability to adapt to climate variations. Despite advances in meteorological predictions, many communities lack the academic knowledge or infrastructure to interpret these complex models. This gap highlights the need for so...
Kelp forests are one of the earth's most productive ecosystems and are at the greatest risk from climate change, yet little is known regarding their future threats and current conservation status. By combining a global remote sensing dataset of floating kelp forests with climate data and projections, we find that exposure to projected marine heatwa...
Marine protected areas (MPAs) can promote population recovery from climate change impacts by reducing local stressors, such as fishing. However, with extreme climatic events such as marine heatwaves (MHWs) increasing in frequency and duration, it remains unclear whether MPAs enhance recovery following these acute perturbations, and how recovery var...
Under accelerating threats from climate change impacts, marine protected areas (MPAs) have been proposed as climate adaptation tools to enhance the resilience of marine ecosystems. Yet, debate persists as to whether and how MPAs may promote resilience to climate shocks. Here, we empirically assess whether a network of 85 temperate MPAs in coastal w...
Los bosques de macroalgas son ecosistemas de gran importancia debido a su papel fundamental en la salud y la estabilidad de nuestros océanos. En los últimos años, la abundancia de los bosques de macroalgas ha disminuido producto de diversas perturbaciones de origen natural y antropogénico, como por ejemplo eventos de contaminación, introducción de...
In June 2023, the IUCN Species Survival Commission created the Seaweed Specialist Group. This international group of scientists and practitioners will work to assess and improve the conservation status of seaweeds, build networks and partnerships to prioritize conservation actions and communicate the importance of seaweed species.
Seaweeds (macroa...
Marine kelp forests cover 1/3 of our world's coastlines, are heralded as a nature-based solution to address socio-environmental issues, connect hundreds of millions of people with the ocean, and support a rich web of biodiversity throughout our oceans. But they are increasingly threatened with some areas reporting over 90% declines in kelp forest c...
Today, all ecosystems are undergoing environmental change due to human activity, and in many cases the rate of change is accelerating due to climate change. Consequently, conservation programs are increasingly focused on the response of organisms, populations, and ecosystems to novel conditions. In parallel, the field of conservation biology is dev...
Kelp forests are one of the most productive ecosystems on earth, providing critical ecosystem services. Despite their global importance, their persistence in the face of human pressure and climate change is uncertain. We present a 38-year quarterly time series of satellite imagery that maps the distribution and persistence of surface canopy-forming...
Mesoscale oceanographic features influence the composition of zooplankton. Cyclonic eddies can promote upwelling and production of gelatinous zooplankton, which play critical roles in ocean biogeochemical cycling. We examined variation in assemblages of thaliaceans (salps, doliolids and pyrosomes) among mesoscale oceanographic features at the tropi...
Establishing marine reserves is particularly challenging in highly populated coastal areas where stakeholders compete for resources and space, such as the Mediterranean Sea. While large-scale conservation planning is useful, there is a need for finer-grained assessments at local and regional scales. Yet fine scale environmental and socioeconomic da...
Climate-smart conservation addresses the vulnerability of biodiversity to climate change impacts but may require transboundary considerations. Here, we adapt and refine 16 biophysical guidelines for climate-smart marine reserves for the transboundary California Bight ecoregion. We link several climate-adaptation strategies (e.g., maintaining connec...
Marine conservation design and fisheries management are increasingly integrating biophysical, socio-economic and governance considerations. Integrative approaches are adopted to achieve more effective, equitable, inclusive, and robust marine policies and practices. This paper describes a participatory process to co-produce biophysical, socio-econom...
Marine conservation design and fisheries management are increasingly integrating
biophysical, socio-economic and governance considerations. Integrative approaches
are adopted to achieve more effective, equitable, inclusive, and robust marine policies
and practices. This paper describes a participatory process to co-produce biophysical,
socio-econom...
Climate change is redistributing terrestrial and marine biodiversity and altering fundamental ecological interactions. To conserve biodiversity and promote its long‐term persistence, protected areas should account for the ecological implications of species’ redistribution. Data paucity across many systems means that achieving this goal requires gen...
Kelp forests are globally important and highly productive ecosystems, yet their persistence and protection in the face of climate change and human activity are poorly known. Here, we present a 35-year time series of high-resolution satellite imagery that maps the distribution and persistence of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) forests along ten de...
In most regions, the distribution of marine forests and the efficacy of their protection is unknown. We mapped the persistence of giant kelp forests across ten degrees of latitude in the Northeast Pacific Ocean and found that 7.7% of giant kelp is fully protected, with decreasing percentages from north to south. Sustainability goals should prioriti...
Land free of direct anthropogenic disturbance is considered essential for achieving biodiversity conservation outcomes but is rapidly eroding. In response, many nations are increasing their protected area (PA) estates, but little consideration is given to the context of the surrounding landscape. This is despite the fact that structural connectivit...
Climate change is redistributing terrestrial and marine biodiversity and altering fundamental ecological interactions. To adequately conserve biodiversity and promote its long-term persistence, protected areas should account for the ecological implications of species redistribution. Data paucity across many systems means that achieving this goal re...
In this letter, we argue that kelp forest ecosystems — one of the most productive ecosystems on earth — are being severely impacted by extreme climatic events, threatening their capacity to produce goods and services worth billions of dollars to humanity. A worldwide phenomenon, political inaction and climate change denial are jeopardizing society’...
Land free of direct anthropogenic disturbance is considered essential for achieving biodiversity conservation outcomes but is rapidly eroding. In response, many nations are increasing their protected area estates but little consideration is given to the context of the surrounding landscape. This is despite the fact that connectivity between protect...
Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of marine heatwaves. A recent extreme warming event (2014–2016) of unprecedented magnitude and duration in the California Current System allowed us to evaluate the response of the kelp forest community near its southern (warm) distribution limit. We obtained sea surface temperatures for the no...
Catalonia's red coral populations (Corallium rubrum)- considered endangered by the IUCN- are under serious threat. The political conflict between the Catalan and the Spanish Governments could jeopardise ongoing conservation efforts. We discuss how Catalonia's pioneer harvesting moratorium of red coral in the Mediterranean sea could be imperilled by...
The US and Mexico share a common history in many areas, including language and culture. They face ecological changes due to the increased frequency and severity of droughts and rising energy demands; trends that entail economic costs for both nations and major implications for human well being. We describe an ongoing effort by the Environment Worki...
Estudi realitzat per la Universitat de Barcelona, sota l'encàrrec del Parc Natural del Montgrí, les illes Medes i el Baix Ter.
The coastal forests formed by the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera are iconic and primary habitats distributed discontinuously from central Baja California (Mexico) to central California (USA). The giant kelp creates a biogenic habitat that supports high levels of species diversity and productivity in the region, acting as a refuge, nursery and food...
It is acknowledged that an effective path to globally protect marine ecosystems is through the establishment of eco-regional scale networks of MPAs spanning across national frontiers. In this work we aimed to plan for regionally feasible networks of MPAs that can be ecologically linked with an existing one in a transboundary context. We illustrate...
Current evidence suggests that mass extinctions events are not correlated with the magnetic reversals of the earth. However, new available data allows analysis with long temporal-scale including more taxonomic groups. Here, an analysis with the 16 major taxonomic groups used as stratigraphic biomarkers, with data ranging from the Permian- Triassic...
La eco-región Ensenadense es un ecosistema marino compartido entre Estados
Unidos (EU) y México que debería ser manejado en coordinación. Sin embargo, las
acciones de manejo son distintas a ambos lados de la frontera. En EU, el estado de
California recientemente rediseñó una red de Áreas Marinas Protegidas (AMPs) mediante
el “Marine Life Protection...
En la eco-región Ensenadense se encuentran las Islas de la Costa del Mar
Pacífico (ICMP), Isla Coronado, Todos Santos, San Martín y San Jerónimo. Los
arrecifes rocosos submareales de estas islas albergan extensos bosques de Macrocystis
pyrifera, que sirven como hábitat crítico para muchas especies. Las ICMP pertenecen a
la Zona Marina Prioritaria d...