Review of ecological research approaches for the study of extreme events in aquatic ecosystems

Extreme climatic events have increased in frequency globally, with a simultaneous surge in scientific interest about their ecological consequences, particularly in sensitive freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems. In this context, it is imperative that ecologists apply their expertise to understand and predict the ecological impacts of extreme events, and to collaborate across disciplines and sectors to improve socio-ecological resilience to extreme events. However, ecological research on extreme events is often opportunistic and hampered by lack of coordination, among ecologists and among interdisciplinary collaborators. We conducted a literature search to investigate the research approaches that ecologists use to study extreme events in aquatic ecosystems (including freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems), that is, to understand how, when, and where ecologists study these events, and to identify areas to improve research practices. We used keywords related to ecology, aquatic ecosystems, and types of extreme events to identify 215 relevant papers in the literature and we examined these papers to identify 49 studies that met our inclusion criteria of including observations of ecological responses to an extreme event occurring in an aquatic ecosystem. We then extracted information from the 49 included papers, including information on the ecosystem, the extreme event, the spatial and temporal approaches to sampling, the types of response variables sampled, and the magnitude of responses measured. This dataset collates research approaches to the study of extreme events in aquatic ecosystems at a broad scale. Based on this literature review, we identified key areas where aquatic ecologists can improve research practices, including prioritizing pre- and post-event data collection, leveraging long-term and cross-site monitoring networks, and adopting novel approaches to analysis, synthesis, and collaboration.

全球极端气候事件发生频率持续攀升，学界对其生态效应的研究兴趣同步激增，尤其聚焦于敏感的淡水、沿岸及海洋生态系统。
在此背景下，生态学家亟需运用专业知识，理解并预测极端事件的生态影响，同时开展跨学科、跨部门协作，以提升社会-生态韧性（socio-ecological resilience）应对极端事件的能力。
然而，当前极端事件相关的生态研究往往具有机会主义倾向，且受限于生态学家内部及跨学科合作者间的协同不足问题。
本研究通过文献检索，探究生态学家开展水生生态系统（含淡水、沿岸及海洋生态系统）极端事件研究的方法路径，即明确生态学家研究此类事件的方式、时机与空间范围，并梳理可优化研究实践的方向。
本研究采用与生态学、水生生态系统及极端事件类型相关的关键词，在文献库中筛选出215篇相关文献，经进一步筛查后纳入49项符合标准的研究——这些研究需包含水生生态系统中极端事件发生后的生态响应观测数据。
随后，本研究从这49篇纳入文献中提取相关信息，涵盖生态系统类型、极端事件特征、采样的时空方案、响应变量类型及所测得的响应强度。
本数据集系统性汇总了当前全球范围内水生生态系统极端事件研究的方法学相关信息。
基于本次文献综述，本研究明确了水生生态学家可优化研究实践的核心方向，包括优先开展事件前后的数据采集、依托长期跨站点监测网络，以及采用创新的分析、综合与协作方法。