RT @JoseMFarinas: 'Europe’s native oyster reefs have been so damaged by human impacts that they are collapsed, according to @IUCNRedList ec….

RT @oceans_past: Our October newsletter, Oceans Past News, has just gone out! Get in touch with us if you're keen to be added to our mailin….

RT @NewsfromScience: A new study finds at least 1.7 million hectares of sea floor around Europe—the area the size of Northern Ireland—used….

With credit to our many co-authors including @JPrestonDiggles @AlecBMMoore @PoulsenBo @ecoevoenviro and others on X who I may have missed. @ConvexSeascape, @ERC_Research, @ExeterMarine @UniExeCEC.

While a sad tale of loss, these records help us envision a more hopeful future. In this @UNEP Restoration Decade, can we aim higher when investing in the future of our seas? . Whatever we decide moving forward, we must look to and learn from the past. Credit: Stephane Pouvreau

Our collated records tell an unsettling story of just how degraded European seas are. Even more so when you consider that many of these records, including some from the 1700s, were describing already depleted oyster habitats or expressing concerns for oyster populations.

Huge demand for oysters, however, led to the demise of oyster habitat. Today only remnant reefs remain: these can be found in parts of France, West Scotland and Ireland, and a few other sites. Credit Mary Evans Picture Library

Reefs formed at scales of multiple hectares to km2. Quotes describing reef size, vertical relief, and the huge numbers of oysters caught on newly discovered reefs, came from multiple EU countries (extract of Table from paper below). Reefs also supported a highly diverse community

The results blew us away. Oyster reef habitat historically exist in many inshore and shallow sea locations across Europe. Despite < one quarter of sources mentioning habitat extent, they collectively described 1.7million hectares of oyster habitat

In our new @naturesustainab paper led by Dr Philine zu Ermgassen and I @UniExeCEC @EdinburghUni, @NORA_Europe members, we used 100s of sources published across 350 yrs to identify locations of likely past native oyster, Ostrea edulis, reef habitat

'Read all about it!' NEW paper from an international, interdisciplinary team in @naturesustainab reveals the vast extent of past European native oyster reef ecosystems @NORA_Europe @ConvexSeascape @ERC_Research @ExeterMarine #openaccess #historicalecology

Fantastic talks by @MadisonBP, @RachelMWinter_ , Zoe Heard, Ismet Saygu and many others at the @maf_world @Q_MAREwg training school last week, on learning from the past for better understanding of #marine ecosystems today #shiftingbaselines @ExeterMarine @UniExeCEC @ProfCallum

Last week I had the pleasure of learning about different approaches to understanding past #marine ecosystems. thanks to the organisers @kagiadi @PastOceans, Tatiana Theodoropoulou, funders @maf_world @Q_MAREwg & contributors! @ExeterMarine @UniExeCEC

RT @PastOceans: Happy to see our food for thought in ices journal, we explore how #palaeontology #history #archaeology can help understand….

RT @Q_MAREwg: Day 2 of Q-Mare workshop with @ruththurstan @maf_world @PAGES_IPO talking about historical sources to identify human impacts….

It feels amazing to be in Crete for an interdisciplinary training school and workshop funded by EU Cost Action @maf_world and @PAGES_IPO. Exciting sessions and collaborations ahead! @kagiadi @PastOceans @odealab @MadisonBP

RT @Q_MAREwg: Our final workshop starting today in beautiful Plakias on Crete, co-organized with @maf_world @PAGES_IPO .

RT @seachangeerc: Another fantastic SEACHANGE annual meeting in Cornwall. An intense few days of reviewing results and planning future rese….

RT @TCEHTCD: A fantastic Oceans Past Conference X in Exeter June 2024! Historical perspectives on human-ocean interactions: deep understand….

RT @kylevanhoutan: Global review of historical ecology targets conservation outcomes & diverse voices #environment….