BLUE Reading 13 is inspired by Zachary Caple's notion of infrastructural cascades - the notion that human infrastructural projects (IC) can be studied as metabolic systems that interact with ecological trophic systems, often causing cascading effects (that in turn necessitates infrastructural adaptation in a downward cycle of biodiversity and landscape quality). This BLUE Reading takes the notion of infrastructural cascading to the sea. We call them Blue infrastructural cascades or BIC. 

Robert Paine's concept of trophic cascades was born in a study of a marine habitat, and there are numerous aquatic examples of trophic cascades associated with overfishing (1), often usually accompanied by secondary invasion (2). This workshop discusses to what extent anthropogenic trophic cascades happen in the same way and along the same pathways in terrestrial and in (different) aquatic domains.

The last IC readings usefully identified "infrastructures" (built human technology like fences) and "organs" (introduced companion metabolic species likes cows) as critical to trophic cascades on land. This BLUE Readings asks in what ways infrastructures and organs are introduced and how they operate in aquatic domains. Are they different in freshwater and saltwater habitats? How are they linked? And how do top-down and bottom-up processes interact? (3)

Ocean-based research also suggests there are BIC mechanisms that might help us think about IC on land such as ecosystem spill-over effects (4) or the role of vira and bacteria as shunts in trophic cascades (5)

Contact us for the Zoom link (bubandt@cas.au.dk)