|
Home
Table 2. Key spatial and temporal scales and principal elements of a
systems approach to the research
and management of large marine ecosystems. (Source original adapted and
modified from Sherman,
1994; Sherman and Duda, 1999 a&b; Watson et al., 2003).
A. Spatial-temporal scales
| Spatial |
Temporal |
Unit |
| Global (world ocean) |
Millennia - decadal |
Pelagic biogeochemical |
| Regional (exclusive economic zones) |
Decadal- seasonal |
Large marine ecosystems |
| Local |
Seasonal- daily |
Subsystems |
B. Research elements
Spawning strategies
Feeding strategies
Productivity, trophodynamics
Stock fluctuations/recruitment/mortality
Natural variability (hydrography, currents, water masses, climate regime
shifts)
Human perturbations:
(fishing effort, waste disposal, petrogenic hydrocarbon impacts, toxic
runoff effects,
aerosol contaminants, eutrophication effects, pollution effects, viral
disease. vectors)
C. Management elements - Options and Advice - International,
National, Local
Bioenvironmental and socioeconomic models
Adaptive management to optimize sustainable fisheries yields
Mitigation of pollution stress especially in near shore coastal areas
from riverine runoff; improvement of ecosystem ‘health’
D.
Feedback loop
Evaluation of ecosystem ‘health’
Evaluation of fisheries status and trends
Evaluation of management for “best practices”, in addition:
every ecosystem management effort regardless of its specific
definition, should include eight principles (adapted from Christensen
et al; 1996; Hennessey, 1998):
- long-term sustainability as fundamental
value and objective
- clear, operational goals
- sound ecological models and understanding
- understanding complexity
and interconnectedness
- recognition of the dynamic character of
ecosystems
- attention to context and scale
- acknowledgment of humans as ecosystem
components
- commitment to adaptability and accountability
From EPA (2001) measurement
indicators at spatial and temporal scales include:
1. Measures of
community and ecosystem structure and function
- productivity
- abundances and distributions of plants and animals
- diversity
- important attributes of nutrient and chemical cycling
2. Environmental
stressors
- primary stressors of coastal ecosystems (including anthropogenic
sources)
- habitat variables (measures required to interpret natural
variability in rapidly
changing coastal environments)
3. National sampling tier would be stratified
by environmental issue, with a monitoring program associated with
each
stratum
- Habitat degradation
- Fisheries declines
- Harmful algal blooms
- Hypoxia
|