SEMINAR CANCELLED DUE TO TRAIN STRIKES

From the sea to the land: the ecosystem functions and services provided by marine carrion

Marine carrion fulfils a fundamental role not only in the structure and functioning of the ecosystem, but also in the provision of ecosystem services to humans. Carcasses of marine animals, in fact, represent a significant food supply for scavengers and decomposers, from the deep sea to coastal areas. Nevertheless, scavengers are not the only ones benefitting from marine carrion. Humans have exploited whale carcasses for millennia for goods such as food, oil and bones, gaining knowledge of the sea while observing them stranded on the shore. Nowadays, forty per cent of the human population – more than three billion people – live on the coast, putting considerable environmental pressure on these areas, and undermining the ecosystem services related to marine carcasses.

In this talk, I will reveal the past, present and future ecosystem services provided by marine carcasses, and reflect on the role that we, humans, play in maintaining them.