Pathways to an integrated understanding of marine environments and ecosystems in the Asia-Pacific Region

Hanani Adiwira^1*Sayaka Yasunaka^1,2,3Jamie M Kass^1,4Ayşe H O Açıkbaş⁵Sekar Adiningsih³Emma Gairin⁵Hovaldo B C Ilham³Elisa Lahcene³Yanguo Li³Gaku Nishihira³Paula Peñalver-Pereira⁶Florence M P Sie³Cheryl L Ames^1,7David Armitage⁵Åke Brännström^10,8,9Ulf Dieckmann⁵Toyonobu Fujii^1,7Filip Husnik⁵Michio Kawamiya²Takako Masuda¹¹Charles Plessy⁵Lauren Sallan⁵Teruhisa Shimada¹²S. Lan Smith^13,2Peter Strutton¹⁴Charina Lyn Amedo-Repollo¹⁵Anindya Wirasatriya¹⁶Toshio Suga^1,2,3

• ¹Advanced Institute for Marine Ecosystem Change (WPI-AIMEC), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
• ²Advanced Institute for Marine Ecosystem Change (WPI-AIMEC), JAMSTEC, Yokohama, Japan
• ³Department of Geophysics, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
• ⁴Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
• ⁵Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), Onna, Japan
• ⁶Gijón Oceanography Centre (CSIC), Gijón, Asturias, Spain
• ⁷Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
• ⁸Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
• ⁹Complexity Science and Evolution Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), Onna, Japan
• ¹⁰Advancing Systems Analysis Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Schlossplatz 1, A-2361, Laxenburg, Austria
• ¹¹Fisheries Resources Institute, Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, Shiogama, Japan
• ¹²Graduate School of Science and Technology, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Japan
• ¹³Research Institute for Global Change (RIGC), JAMSTEC, Yokosuka, Japan
• ¹⁴University of Tasmania Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, Hobart, Australia
• ¹⁵University of the Philippines Diliman Marine Science Institute, Quezon City, Philippines
• ¹⁶Universitas Diponegoro Departemen Oseanografi, Semarang, Indonesia

The Asia-Pacific Region (APR) encompasses a vast geographical area rich in marine biodiversity that plays critical roles in global ecological stability and climate regulation, but it also faces daunting challenges in maintaining these roles under global change. Environmental dynamics in the APR manifest regularly over a range of timescales, including storms, earthquakes, floods, and extreme heat events. Further, coastal and marine ecosystems, including extensive commercial fisheries and coral reefs, are under threat from intense resource extraction and increasingly frequent marine heatwaves. Knowledge gaps for understanding these complex systems are aggravated by substantial barriers to cross-national efforts caused by the region's vast diversity of cultures, languages, socioeconomics, politics, and management practices. Effective management of marine resources in the APR will necessitate multidisciplinary research based on continuous, region-wide observations supported by robust collaborations. In 2023, we gathered APR researchers across disciplines to discuss these issues and find solutions during a thematic seminar and workshop program at Tohoku University in Japan. Based on the results of this program, we present a review of the current state of APR marine ecosystems, raise key questions addressable through multidisciplinary approaches, and identify future priorities for the region. We conclude that sustaining biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and climate resilience in the APR will depend on stronger interdisciplinary collaboration, better integration of biological and geophysical data, and broader access to marine observations. These efforts are both urgent and essential for supporting better science-based policy decisions to address the escalating effects of global change on marine systems across the region.