Social-ecological portfolio effects in ecosystem service provision, the case of commercial Pacific salmon fisheries in Canada
- 1Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- 2Québec Centre for Biodiversity Science, Montreal, Canada
- 3Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network, Montreal, Canada
Abstract
Human societies depend on stable ecosystem services, which are often stabilized by the ecological portfolio effect arising from biodiversity. Yet, whether this ecological stability propagates to the socio-economic dimensions of an ecosystem service is poorly understood. This study provides a social-ecological portfolio analysis of an ecosystem service by examining the provisioning service provided by commercial Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus) fisheries in British Columbia, Canada. We used the Essential Ecosystem Service Variables (EESV) framework to analyze longitudinal monitoring data across multiple ecosystem service dimensions: ecological supply (abundance), use (catch), demand (price), instrumental value (landed value), and anthropogenic contribution (effort). We quantified portfolio strength and synchrony at two scales: a provincial multi-species portfolio (driven by species diversity) and regional species-level portfolio (driven by regional diversity). At the provincial scale, we found that species diversity provided a stabilizing portfolio effect across ecological and socio-economic dimensions. However, the underlying dynamics in species pair synchrony were not uniform. For example, we found high synchronicity in the Chinook–Coho pair for ecological supply, and Coho–Pink for instrumental value. This difference suggests that social and economic processes provide an additional, portfolio buffering effect. At the species-level, regional portfolios varied greatly: Pink was the most stable throughout social-ecological dimensions, whereas Chinook showed a weak, synchronous portfolio in ecological supply, highlighting potential vulnerability. Our findings suggest that, while biodiversity underpins overall social-ecological stability, specific ecological dynamics, such as the synchronicity of Chinook dynamics, may threaten ecosystem service stability. This approach highlights the importance of integrated social-ecological monitoring to identify and manage risk.
Related
- How to recover the provision of ecosystem services after Xylella fastidiosa outbreak
- Dynamic structural equation models for ecosystem-based fisheries management: case studies and a practical guide
- Not All Shrubs are Equal: The Outsized Ecological Consequences of Ericaceous Shrub Encroachment on Communities and Ecosystem Processes
- A few genes modulate the ecological impact of a freshwater fish species on food webs and ecosystem functions
- Environmental variability alters and obscures fisheries-induced evolution
BibTeX
@article{affinito2026socialecological,
title = {{Social-ecological portfolio effects in ecosystem service provision, the case of commercial Pacific salmon fisheries in Canada}},
author = {Flavio Affinito and Marie-Josée Fortin and Andrew Gonzalez},
journal = {PLOS Ecosystems},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pesy.0000029},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pesy.0000029},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Social-ecological portfolio effects in ecosystem service provision, the case of commercial Pacific salmon fisheries in Canada
AU - Flavio Affinito
AU - Marie-Josée Fortin
AU - Andrew Gonzalez
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
JO - PLOS Ecosystems
DO - 10.1371/journal.pesy.0000029
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pesy.0000029
AB - Human societies depend on stable ecosystem services, which are often stabilized by the ecological portfolio effect arising from biodiversity. Yet, whether this ecological stability propagates to the socio-economic dimensions of an ecosystem service is poorly understood. This study provides a social-ecological portfolio analysis of an ecosystem service by examining the provisioning service provided by commercial Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus) fisheries in British Columbia, Canada. We used the Essential Ecosystem Service Variables (EESV) framework to analyze longitudinal monitoring data across multiple ecosystem service dimensions: ecological supply (abundance), use (catch), demand (price), instrumental value (landed value), and anthropogenic contribution (effort). We quantified portfolio strength and synchrony at two scales: a provincial multi-species portfolio (driven by species diversity) and regional species-level portfolio (driven by regional diversity). At the provincial scale, we found that species diversity provided a stabilizing portfolio effect across ecological and socio-economic dimensions. However, the underlying dynamics in species pair synchrony were not uniform. For example, we found high synchronicity in the Chinook–Coho pair for ecological supply, and Coho–Pink for instrumental value. This difference suggests that social and economic processes provide an additional, portfolio buffering effect. At the species-level, regional portfolios varied greatly: Pink was the most stable throughout social-ecological dimensions, whereas Chinook showed a weak, synchronous portfolio in ecological supply, highlighting potential vulnerability. Our findings suggest that, while biodiversity underpins overall social-ecological stability, specific ecological dynamics, such as the synchronicity of Chinook dynamics, may threaten ecosystem service stability. This approach highlights the importance of integrated social-ecological monitoring to identify and manage risk.
SN - 3070-8141
ER -