Year: 2023
Type: review
Abstract: An estimated three million shipwrecks exist worldwide and are recognized as cultural resources and foci of archaeological investigations. Shipwrecks also support ecological resources by providing underwater habitats that can be colonized by diverse organisms ranging from microbes to megafauna. In the present article, we review the emerging ecological subdiscipline of shipwreck ecology, which aims to understand ecological functions and processes that occur on shipwrecks. We synthesize how shipwrecks create habitat for biota across multiple trophic levels and then describe how fundamental ecological functions and processes, including succession, zonation, connectivity, energy flow, disturbance, and habitat degradation, manifest on shipwrecks. We highlight future directions in shipwreck ecology that are ripe for exploration, placing a particular emphasis on how shipwrecks may serve as experimental networks to address long-standing ecological questions.
Source: BioScience
Institutions: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA National Ocean Service, NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, University of Ulster, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, University of Edinburgh, Cranfield University, Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, University of Southern Mississippi
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,705
OpenAlex ID: W4389932316