Coastal transitional systems like estuaries and coastal lagoons worldwide provide important ecosystem services and goods to society at several levels. Inevitably its exploitation brings many potential threats and impacts. Although ecologically these systems vary worldwide, its feedbacks to anthropogenic-driven impacts are very similar around the globe. These ecosystems are inhabited by a multiplicity of organisms, making them highly productive and unique in ecological terms. Along with this high diversity, there is also a very large array of scientific approaches focused on the study of transitional ecosystems and their response to human pressures, from biology to hydrodynamics, chemistry, social science, tourism and innumerous others.
The present research topic intends to focus exactly on this myriad of approaches, providing a place to gather and discuss the present status of the knowledge on the anthropogenic impacts in transitional systems, including innovative experimental approaches but also reviews on status of a specific part of such an important problematic. Also, it opens spaces for the discussion of the future perspectives on this matter, especially in which concerns the present challenges imposed by, for example: emerging contaminants, climate change or the ongoing directives and monitoring programs that impel stakeholders and scientists to continually monitor the ecosystems and provide tools for this assessments.
Coastal transitional systems like estuaries and coastal lagoons worldwide provide important ecosystem services and goods to society at several levels. Inevitably its exploitation brings many potential threats and impacts. Although ecologically these systems vary worldwide, its feedbacks to anthropogenic-driven impacts are very similar around the globe. These ecosystems are inhabited by a multiplicity of organisms, making them highly productive and unique in ecological terms. Along with this high diversity, there is also a very large array of scientific approaches focused on the study of transitional ecosystems and their response to human pressures, from biology to hydrodynamics, chemistry, social science, tourism and innumerous others.
The present research topic intends to focus exactly on this myriad of approaches, providing a place to gather and discuss the present status of the knowledge on the anthropogenic impacts in transitional systems, including innovative experimental approaches but also reviews on status of a specific part of such an important problematic. Also, it opens spaces for the discussion of the future perspectives on this matter, especially in which concerns the present challenges imposed by, for example: emerging contaminants, climate change or the ongoing directives and monitoring programs that impel stakeholders and scientists to continually monitor the ecosystems and provide tools for this assessments.
