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Socio-ecological models combine ecological systems with human social dynamics in order to better understand human interactions with the environment. To model human behavior, replicator dynamics can be used to model how societal influence and financial costs can change opinions about resource extraction. Previous research on replicator dynamics has shown how evolving opinions on conservation can change how humans interact with their environment and therefore change population dynamics of the harvested species. However, social-ecological models often assume that human societies are homogeneous with no social structure. Building on previous work on social-ecological models, we develop a two-patch socio-ecological model with social hierarchy in order to study the interactions between spatial dynamics and social inequity. We found that fish movement between patches is a major driver of model dynamics, especially when the two patches exhibit different social equality and fishing practices. Further, we found that the societal influence between groups of harvesters was essential to ensuring stable fishery dynamics. Next, we developed a case study of two independently managed fisheries that were connected by fish movement where one human group fishes sustainably while another was over-harvests, resulting in a fishery collapse of both patches. We also found that because in this model, the influence of one human patch on another only communicates the amount of each catch and no fishing strategies were employed, increased social influence decreased the sustainability of the fishery. The findings of this study indicate the importance of including spatial components to socio- ecological models and highlights the importance of understanding species’ movements when making conservation decisions. Further, we demonstrate how incorporating fishing methods from outside sources can result in higher stability of the harvested population, demonstrating the need for effective communication across management regimes. 

Rare, but potentially impactful, extreme events in socio-ecological systems (SES) can trigger significant consequences. The scarcity of theoretical frameworks for such events in SES is due to data limitations and difficulty in parameterizing coupled SES models. We explore the effect of extreme events on coupled socio- ecological systems using two stylized case studies: harvesting of old-growth forests and coral reef fisheries. We found that extreme events alter the long-term and transient dynamics of the systems. We identify counter- intuitive situations where the degradation of forests or coral habitat can prevent extinction through social dynamics feedback. Management outcomes show maximum variability at intermediate disturbance frequencies, complicating predictions of ecological recovery. We also found that initial conditions significantly influence system responses to shocks. Our work lays a foundation for future studies on extreme events in socio-ecological dynamics. Future work could explore more detailed models rooted in the literature, especially related to the modeling of the social dynamics. 

The blue octopus (Octopus cyanea) fishery off the southwest coast of Madagascar is important for coastal com- munities. This fishery is a key economic resource for the local community as blue octopus catch is sold by local fishers to international and local export markets. Thus, it is important to monitor and evaluate the status of octopus to ensure its sustainability. One common octopus management approach is through the use of temporary spatial closures. Models can be a useful support tool to evaluate the status of a population and assess different possible management strategies. To better understand the biology and assess the sustainability of blue octopus, we parameterize a Levkovitch population matrix model using existing catch data. We found that the octopus population was experiencing a 1.8% decline per month at the time of data collection in 2006. However, since 2006, a number of management practices, including temporary closures lasting several weeks to several months have been implemented successfully. In line with these efforts, our model indicates that the fishery has likely been sustained since 2006 due to these annual closures. Our model provides support to the idea that temporary closures have restored this population and that temporary closures provide flexibility in management strategies that local communities can tailor to their economic and social needs. In addition, we were able to estimate several important life history metrics, such as time in each stage, stable stage distribution, reproductive value, and per stage survivability, that can be used in future work. Collectively, our study provides insight into the biology of blue octopus as well as demonstrate how temporary closures can be an effective conservation strategy due to the wide range of implementation options. 

Conservation planning is the process of locating, implementing, and maintaining areas that are managed to promote the persistence of biodiversity, ecosystem function, and human use. In this review, we analyze the ways in which social processes have been integrated into Marxan, a spatially explicit conservation planning tool used as one step in a broader process to select the location and size of protected areas. Drawing on 89 peer-reviewed articles published between 2005 and 2020, we analyzed the ways in which human activity, values, and processes are spatialized in the environment, something we call socialscape ecology. A socialscape ecology approach to conservation planning considers not only the spatial configuration of human activity in a land or seascape but also the underlying drivers of these activities, how resource use rights and access operate in an area, and how resource users contribute to data collection and decision making. Our results show that there has been a small but statistically significant increase in the total number of cost variables into Marxan analysis over time, with uneven performance across seven of the nine categories assessed. One notable area of improvement has been the increase over time in number of studies integrating socio-environmental change (e.g., climate change) in their analysis. Including accurate, context-specific, and detailed accounts of social features and processes within land and seascapes is essential for developing conservation plans that are cost-effective, ecologically sound, socially desirable, and just. 

Poverty reduction and fisheries management in Madagascar have converged on the marine seascape, directed at an unassuming creature: the sea cucumber. In southwestern Madagascar, the enclosure of what was once a common pool resource has led to violence and new gendered seascapes. This form of blue grabbing, promoted by private companies and NGOs alike as an avenue to achieve conservation and develop coastal economies, has fundamentally restructured property relations and who benefits from marine resources. Sea cucumber pens, established in some areas with the input of a narrow local elite and guarded at times by the police have become high risk environments where fishers report injury and death, pointing to important questions about the metrics and means of sustainable production in the marine realm, and whose interests and access to marine resources are prioritized. 

From communities rooted in place to transnational coalitions, this special feature applies concepts of collaborative care rooted in Indigenous knowledge systems to the field of environmental governance. We highlight restorative, liberatory practices rooted in caretaking ethics and reciprocal human-nature relations. Our approach also centers decision-making by those most connected to a given resource and the sustenance it provides. Despite global extraction, dispossession, and other colonial legacies, these efforts build towards collective action and community self- determination, both through formal policy change and informal practices. Three facets of collaborative care in environmental governance are threaded through the special feature: 1) care in place, 2) care in power, and 3) care in commoning. These themes connect both Indigenous-led and allied scholarship from the United States to the Netherlands, Japan to Madagascar, and Aotearoa to Canada. Though diverse in their interests and challenges, the authors and communities featured in this research build towards collective action and community self-determination in caring for the places that are the source of collective abundance.