Development of a reef fish biological condition gradient model with quantitative decision rules for the protection and restoration of coral reef ecosystems

MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN

卷:159

Article

Bradley, Patricia¹  Jessup, Ben¹  Pittman, Simon J.²  Jeffrey, Christopher F. G.^3,15  Ault, Jerald S.⁴  Carrubba, Lisamarie⁵  Lilyestrom, Craig⁶  Appeldoorn, Richard S.⁷  Scharer, Michelle T.⁷  Walker, Brian K.⁸  McField, Melanie⁹  Santavy, Deborah L.¹⁰  Smith, Tyler B.¹¹  Garcia-Moliner, Graciela¹²  Smith, Steven G.⁴  Huertas, Evelyn¹³  Gerritsen, Jeroen¹  Oliver, Leah M.¹⁰  Horstmann, Christina^10,16  Jackson, Susan K.¹⁴ 

[1] Tetra Tech Inc, Owings Mills, MD USA

[2] Seascape Analyt Ltd, Plymouth, Devon, England

[3] CSS Inc, Fairfax, VA USA

[4] Univ Miami, Rosenstiel Sch Marine & Atmospher Sci, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149 USA

[5] NOAA, Natl Marine Fisheries Serv, Silver Spring, MD USA

[6] Puerto Rico Dept Nat & Environm Resources, San Juan, PR USA

[7] Univ Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, PR USA

[8] Nova Southeastern Univ, Halmos Coll Nat Sci & Oceanog, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33314 USA

[9] Smithsonian Marine Stn, Ft Pierce, FL USA

[10] US EPA, Off Res & Dev ORD, Ctr Environm Measurement & Modeling CEMM, Gulf Ecosyst Measurement & Modeling Div GEMMD, Gulf Breeze, FL USA

[11] Univ Virgin Isl, St Thomas, VI USA

[12] NOAA, Caribbean Fisheries Management Council, San Juan, PR USA

[13] US EPA, Reg 2, Guaynabo, PR USA

[14] US EPA, Off Water, Washington, DC 20460 USA

[15] NOAA, Natl Ctr Coastal Ocean Sci, Marine Spatial Ecol Div, Biogeog Branch, Silver Spring, MD USA

[16] US EPA, ORD, CEMM, GEMMD, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561 USA

关键词: Biological attributes;    Biocriteria;    Thresholds;    Sustainability;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111387

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Coral reef ecosystems are declining due to multiple interacting stressors. A bioassessment framework focused on stressor-response associations was developed to help organize and communicate complex ecological information to support coral reef conservation. This study applied the Biological Condition Gradient (BCG), initially developed for freshwater ecosystems, to fish assemblages of U.S. Caribbean coral reef ecosystems. The reef fish BCG describes how biological conditions changed incrementally along a gradient of increasing anthropogenic stress. Coupled with physical and chemical water quality data, the BGC forms a scientifically defensible basis to prioritize, protect and restore water bodies containing coral reefs. Through an iterative process, scientists from across the U.S. Caribbean used fishery-independent survey data and expert knowledge to develop quantitative decision rules to describe six levels of coral reef ecosystem condition. The resultant reef fish BCG provides an effective tool for identifying healthy and degraded coral reef ecosystems and has potential for global application.

【 授权许可】

Free