Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL 33181, USA.
Western Australian Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, North Beach, WA 6920, Australia.
Science. 2024 Aug 2;385(6708):adl2362. doi: 10.1126/science.adl2362.
In ecosystems, sharks can be predators, competitors, facilitators, nutrient transporters, and food. However, overfishing and other threats have greatly reduced shark populations, altering their roles and effects on ecosystems. We review these changes and implications for ecosystem function and management. Macropredatory sharks are often disproportionately affected by humans but can influence prey and coastal ecosystems, including facilitating carbon sequestration. Like terrestrial predators, sharks may be crucial to ecosystem functioning under climate change. However, large ecosystem effects of sharks are not ubiquitous. Increasing human uses of oceans are changing shark roles, necessitating management consideration. Rebuilding key populations and incorporating shark ecological roles, including less obvious ones, into management efforts are critical for retaining sharks' functional value. Coupled social-ecological frameworks can facilitate these efforts.
在生态系统中，鲨鱼可以是捕食者、竞争者、促进者、营养物质运输者和食物来源。然而，过度捕捞和其他威胁已经大大减少了鲨鱼的数量，改变了它们在生态系统中的角色和影响。我们回顾了这些变化以及对生态系统功能和管理的影响。大型掠食性鲨鱼往往受到人类的不成比例的影响，但它们可以影响猎物和沿海生态系统，包括促进碳封存。与陆地捕食者一样，鲨鱼在气候变化下可能对生态系统功能至关重要。然而，鲨鱼对生态系统的巨大影响并非普遍存在。人类对海洋的日益增加的利用正在改变鲨鱼的角色，需要进行管理考虑。重建关键种群并将鲨鱼的生态角色（包括不太明显的角色）纳入管理工作中，对于保持鲨鱼的功能价值至关重要。社会-生态耦合框架可以促进这些努力。
