Vectors of Change in Oceans and Seas Marine Life, Impact on Economic Sectors (VECTORS)

VECTORS aims to improve our understanding of how environmental and man made factors are impacting marine ecosystems now and how they will do so in the future. The project is addressing invasives, outbreaks and changes in fisheries distribution and productivity - in a sea with changing pressures including marine renewables, climate change, ocean acidification, fisheries and shipping. VECTORS will also examine how these changes will affect the range of goods and services provided by the oceans, the ensuing socio-economic impacts and some of the measures that could be developed to mitigate or adapt to these changes.

VECTORS will address a complex array of interests comprising areas of concern for marine life, biodiversity, sectoral interests, regional seas, and academic disciplines as well as the interests of stakeholders. The project will also ensure that the links and interactions between these areas of interest are explored, explained, modelled and communicated effectively to the relevant stakeholders.

The VECTORS consortium is extremely experienced and genuinely multidisciplinary. It includes a mixture of natural scientists, some with knowledge of socio-economic aspects, and social scientists (environmental economists, policy and governance analysts and environmental law specialists) with interests in natural system functioning. VECTORS is therefore fully equipped to deliver the integrated interdisciplinary research required to achieve its objectives with maximal impact in the arenas of science, policy, management and society.