Temperate coastal ecosystems – home to saltmarshes, seagrass meadows, kelp forests, and shellfish reefs – have been dramatically degraded by centuries of overexploitation, land development, and climate impacts. Key to reversing this decline is coastal restoration, which must account for ecological connectivity across habitats to rebuild trophic complexity and enhance biodiversity.
A recent synthesis provides a comprehensive framework for understanding and applying ecological connectivity to coastal restoration. The framework is rooted in the recognition that these ecosystems function as an interconnected mosaic rather than isolated habitat types. Ecological linkages, including movements of species, sediments, nutrients, and carbon, are all essential to maintaining biodiversity, ecosystem services, and climate resilience.
Preston, J., Debney, A., Gamble, C., Hardy, M.J., Underwood, G.J.C., Garbutt, A., Harley, J., Baker, R., Dunk, R.M., Grigg, M. and Hancock, B.T. 2025. Seascape connectivity: evidence, knowledge gaps and implications for temperate coastal ecosystem restoration practice and policy. npj Ocean Sustainability 4: 33.
This paper emerges amid the momentum of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and Ocean Science, and efforts like the Global Biodiversity Framework’s Target 2, which aims to restore at least 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030 (30×30). It aligns restoration strategies with the broader socio-ecological reality of coastal environments, making a strong case for rethinking how we manage and recover marine systems.
The authors define “seascape connectivity” as the flow of organisms, energy, and materials across coastal habitats via water, highlighting structural (physical layout and habitat configuration) and functional (organism movements, nutrient cycles, energy transfers) dimensions. This connectivity underpins ecological functions such as nursery provisioning, fishery support, carbon sequestration, and pollution mitigation.
For example, adjacent saltmarsh, seagrass, and oyster reefs provide synergistic benefits that individual habitats cannot deliver alone. A healthy oyster reef, for instance, can stabilize sediment, enhance water clarity, and bolster fish populations – but its impact multiplies when positioned within a connected habitat network.
Crucially, the paper emphasizes that effective seascape restoration must go beyond habitat-specific projects to account for these interactions. Restoration and rewilding efforts should aim to restore “whole-system” connectivity to rebuild trophic complexity and ecological resilience. This includes accounting for the movement patterns of fish, larval drift, sediment transport, and nutrient cycling, many of which are disrupted by coastal infrastructure, climate shifts, and habitat loss.
The authors identify key knowledge gaps, particularly in biogeographic regions with limited data, and call for integrating traditional ecological knowledge with modern science to improve outcomes. They provide practical recommendations for managers and policymakers, such as using seascape-scale planning tools and prioritizing restoration actions that enhance both habitat quality and linkages between habitats.
In short, reconnecting the temperate coastal seascape is not just an ecological goal—it is a necessary strategy to meet the intertwined challenges of biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution. For 30×30 to succeed, connectivity must be at the heart of coastal restoration efforts.
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