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Terminology and Concepts Ecosystem assessment indicator Technically robust and rigorous metric used by scientists and managers to understand of ecosystem structure and function Improving indicator Indicator that is increasing faster in the short-term but slower in the long-term than an index that capture...

Long lists of indicators can present challenges for drawing inference about overall ecosystem status. A useful way to interpret lists of indicators in aggregate focuses on one of the primary considerations in the set of evaluation criteria introduced above, “the indicator responds predictably and is sufficiently sensitive to a specific ecosystem attribute.” Two of the terms in this ...

Ranking schemes provide a mechanism for narrowing the long list of indicators presented above to a more manageable set that facilitates inference about the status of the Puget Sound ecosystem. Here we suggest that focusing on the specificity and sensitivity of an indicator, in combination with its performance against the “understood by the public and policymakers” criterion introduc...

Alberti, M., D. Booth, K. Hill, B. Coburn, C. Avolio, S. Coe, and D. Spirandelli. 2007. The impact of urban patterns on aquatic ecosystems: An empirical analysis in Puget lowland sub-basins. Landscape and Urban Planning 80:345-361. Allendorf, F.W., et al. 2008. Genetic effects of harvest on wild animal populations. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 23(6):327-337. Arukwe, A. 2008. Ster...

Species, Food Web and Habitat Indicator Evaluations Species, Food Webs and Habitat Spreadsheet Species, Food Webs and Habitats Literature Cited Water Quality and Quantity Indicator Evaluations Water Quality and Quantity Spreadsheet Water Quality Literature Cited Water Quantity Literature Cited  

Ocean stewardship is not simple. Rather than maintaining piecemeal efforts, scientists, managers, conservationists, and policymakers have agreed that restoration and protection of the oceans will require a more integrated approach (National Marine Fisheries Service 2008, Karr 1992, Pauly 1995). A unified appeal for marine ecosystem-based management (EBM) has made the task of develop...

Reference points are precise values of indicators used to provide context for the current status of an indicator. Establishing a reference point requires substantial understanding of an indicator’s properties, but it provides a rigorous way to assess ecosystem status. For some indicators, reference points will have already existed prior to the introduction of EBM. In the case of Pug...

A construct that has been particularly successful in the realm of fisheries management is the distinction between target and limit reference levels (Figure 9). A target is a reference level that signals a desired state, whereas a limit is a reference level pegged to an extreme value beyond which undesired change occurs (Jennings and Dulvy 2005, Caddy 2002). In fisheries and marine...

Baseline reference levels are derived from time periods or locations free from human pressures. We use the term baseline inclusive of the structure and function of an ecosystem (1) prior to substantial human impact (i.e., during some ‘baseline’ time period (Karr 1992, Pauly 1995), (2) inside of areas protected from human impacts (Castilla 1999, Dayton et al. 2000), and (3) in remote...