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OOS-17: Coastal indicators of ecological condition: Integration of spatial scales
Endorsed
by the EPA Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP)
Tuesday,
August 9, 8 AM - 11:30 AM, Meeting Rooms 516a and 516b, Level 5, Palais
des congrès de Montréal
Organizers:
Gerald Niemi (gniemi@d.umn.edu),
Hans Paerl, Barbara Levinson
Description:
Coastal
ecosystems are at serious risk. They are the land repositories for nutrients,
pathogens, sediment, and toxic substances. They contain a majority of the human
population, the most productive fisheries, and the most important recreation
areas; have high biological diversity; and provide enormous ecological services.
The development of indicators of ecological condition and change are essential
for society to gauge the best management actions needed to rectify coastal
problems and to assess the effectiveness of actions. This session will report on
the results of efforts to develop ecological indicators of the coastal zones of
the United States and integrate information across local, landscape, and
regional scales. A key element of these efforts was to partition
human-influenced disturbances from natural disturbances and make connections
between disturbance and ecological responses. The responses will cover scales
from genetic and molecular markers; individual organisms, species, and
populations; biotic community attributes; and landscape and watershed
characteristics.
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