An integrated assessment approach described in recent publication
A recent article in Environmental Management (
36(5): 757-771) by Francis Pantus and Bill Dennison describes an approach for using a suite of ecosystem health indicators to quantify and evaluate ecosystem health in Moreton Bay, Australia. A conceptual diagram of ecosystem health indicators using
IAN symbol libraries was developed to establish the role of the indicators in key ecological processes. A spatially intensive monitoring program was created to assess indicators using
in situ and remote sensing approaches. Spatial analyses were used to create maps of each ecosystem health indicator (phytoplankton concentrations, nutrient levels, water clarity, seagrass distribution, harmful algal bloom distribution and sewage plumes mapped through stable isotope incorporation into bioindicator organisms). The ecosystem health indicators were then combined into an ecosystem health index map (with associated uncertainty maps) and publicly-disseminated environmental report cards developed from these maps.
