OSPAR Science Agenda Knowledge Gap Portal

Knowledge gap description: Refine the methodology for assessing the impacts of a changing state of the marine environment on ecosystem services: integrate quantitative information relating to impacts on ecosystem service provision, potentially through economic valuation of ecosystem service flows (integrating Natural Capital Accounting; NCA). NCA could address the need for quantitative data and spatial detail. NCA could address the need to expand the list of ecosystem services to ensure that the coverage of the ecosystem account is as complete as possible and to decide how and which ecosystem service should be prioritised.

Knowledge gap description: Refine the methodology for assessing the impacts of a changing state of the marine environment on ecosystem services: there is a need for more spatial detail. Consider pursuing an explicit spatial approach to allow differentiation (e.g., between areas with higher ecosystem service provision that receive a higher/lower magnitude of state change impact and areas with lower ecosystem service provision receiving higher/lower magnitude of impact). One way to do this is to focus on differences in impacts of state change and ecosystem service provision between the five OSPAR regions. This could overcome current uncertainties in assigning magnitudes to the impacts of state change on ecosystem services.

Knowledge gap description: Quantify impacts by conducting a case study that focuses on one or two ecosystem services whose provision is more quantifiable (e.g., carbon storage).

Knowledge gap description: Continue to explore the links between ecosystem services and the Drivers and Activities components of the DAPSIR framework and the consequences of impacts on ecosystem services on these components.

Knowledge gap description: Scientific knowledge of the complex relationships between ecological functioning by specific ecosystem components and the provision of ecosystem services is still progressing. This often makes it challenging to apply ecosystem services, since this must be supported by clear understanding of the ecosystem components that provide the services and the ecological functions that underly their provision (particularly for regulation and maintenance services).

Knowledge gap description: The ecosystem services considered in this report are categories that consolidate other categories or parts of categories. This was done for efficiency, clarity, and to avoid data gaps associated with some detailed ecosystem services. This could lead to gaps in future exercises of economic valuation of ecosystem services.

Knowledge gap description: The visualisation of the impacts to ecosystem services was done for two case studies: Marine Litter and Marine Mammals. The same methodology was applied to all the other thematic assessments but these need to further review.

Knowledge gap description: More working and scientific policy interactions are still needed, at both regional-sea and European levels. The coordination and additional resources shared through common projects are key to enabling this work to proceed under commonly agreed and defined timelines and priorities.

Knowledge gap description: Greatly improved monitoring and progress on the scientific policy process itself are needed to enable sufficient technical, methodological and management progress towards a more integrated assessment, as well as provide information and evidence to support evaluation of the efficiency of management measures.

Knowledge gap description: Climate Change: There are some uncertainties in the climate change predictions, which will require additional research in order to increase accuracy on the future impacts of benthic habitats, particularly along the coastline.

Knowledge gap description: Climate Change: There is not always a wide range of datasets available to systematically measure the effects of climate change and ocean acidification on benthic habitats and species, due to the paucity of the monitoring programme.

Knowledge gap description: Climate Change: For example, carbonate mounds, Haploops habitat and Cymodocea meadows were excluded due to the lack of information available within the Marine Evidence based Sensitivity Assessment (MarESA) sources.

Knowledge gap description: Climate Change: The predictions of future trends (2020-2030) for the condition of deep-sea sponge aggregations are challenging. Future environmental conditions in the OSPAR Maritime Area may contribute to deterioration in the condition of deep-sea sponge aggregations. However, further research is needed to advance scientific knowledge on this front.

Knowledge gap description: Climate Change: Climate change and ocean acidification impacts on carbonate mounds remain unknown.

Knowledge gap description: Climate Change: The current and immediate future impacts on coral gardens from ocean acidification are difficult to quantify. Predictions tend not to take into account the potential increased vulnerability of early life stages to ocean acidification.

Knowledge gap description: Climate Change: Although adult vent organisms are adapted to oscillations and variable low pH, high temperature and low oxygen in vent fluids, it is not known whether species are adapted to permanent change in environmental variables.

Knowledge gap description: It is difficult to measure the effectiveness of measures to improve the status of benthic habitats, due to the multiple activities and pressures involved, and because the effects of measures on the recovery of habitats may take a long time to become evident.

Knowledge gap description: Improved knowledge of human activities and pressure/sensitivity studies will increase understanding of the status of maerl beds. 

Knowledge gap description: Knowledge gaps of biodiversity, connectivity, life histories (including for example reproduction and growth rates), function and resilience of communities to disturbance and change (e.g. fishing, climate change, potential future deep-seabed mining).

Knowledge gap description: Changes following human-induced threats in comparison to changes related to natural variability can also be hard to determine. 

Knowledge gap description: Lack of knowledge on impact of aquatic noise, electromagnetic fields on diadromous fish behaviour

Knowledge gap description: Impacts of range shifts in prey species as well as ocean warming and acidification should be investigated. Special attention should be drawn to any coastal development project, and potential habitat and/or hotspots included in national or regional marine spatial planning frameworks

Knowledge gap description: Limited knowledge of the impact of threats.