Overcoming Shifting Baselines: Paleo-Behaviour Reveals Industrial Revolution as Tipping Point.

ABSTRACT: Human activities have significantly altered coastal ecosystems worldwide. The phenomenon of shifting baselines syndrome (SBS) complicates our understanding of these changes, masking the true scale of human impacts. This study investigates the long-term ecological effects of anthropogenic activities on New Zealand's coastal ecosystems over 800 years using fish otolith microchemical profiling and dynamic time warping across an entire stock unit. Results reveal a shift in snapper (Chrysophrys auratus; Sparidae) habitat-use behaviour, transitioning from low-salinity estuarine environments to higher-salinity habitats, correlating with ongoing land-use changes. This shift coincided with New Zealand's localised Industrial Revolution, which served as a tipping point for widespread ecosystem transf

SUBMITTER: Lilkendey J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11771676 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature