Metrics to assess ecological condition, change, and impacts in sandy beach ecosystems

Thomas Schlacher; David S Schoeman; Alan R Jones; Jenifer E Dugan; David M Hubbard; Omar Defeo; Charles H Peterson; Michael A Weston; Brooke Maslo; Andrew D Olds; Felicita Scapini; Ronel Nel; Linda R Harris; Serena Lucrezi; Mariano Lastra; Chantal M Huijbers; R M Connolly

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.05.036

Back

Metrics to assess ecological condition, change, and impacts in sandy beach ecosystems

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Metrics to assess ecological condition, change, and impacts in sandy beach ecosystems

Thomas Schlacher, David S Schoeman, Alan R Jones, Jenifer E Dugan, David M Hubbard, Omar Defeo, Charles H Peterson, Michael A Weston, Brooke Maslo, Andrew D Olds, …

Journal of Environmental Management, Vol.144, pp.322-335

2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.05.036

PMID: 25014753

Files and links (1)

url

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.05.036View

Published Version

Abstract

sandy beaches

coastal dunes

biological monitoring

ecological indicators

wildlife conservation

environmental values

Complexity is increasingly the hallmark in environmental management practices of sandy shorelines. This arises primarily from meeting growing public demands (e.g., real estate, recreation) whilst reconciling economic demands with expectations of coastal users who have modern conservation ethics. Ideally, shoreline management is underpinned by empirical data, but selecting ecologically-meaningful metrics to accurately measure the condition of systems, and the ecological effects of human activities, is a complex task. Here we construct a framework for metric selection, considering six categories of issues that authorities commonly address: erosion; habitat loss; recreation; fishing; pollution (litter and chemical contaminants); and wildlife conservation. Possible metrics were scored in terms of their ability to reflect environmental change, and against criteria that are widely used for judging the performance of ecological indicators (i.e., sensitivity, practicability, costs, and public appeal). From this analysis, four types of broadly applicable metrics that also performed very well against the indicator criteria emerged: 1.) traits of bird populations and assemblages (e.g., abundance, diversity, distributions, habitat use); 2.) breeding/reproductive performance sensu lato (especially relevant for birds and turtles nesting on beaches and in dunes, but equally applicable to invertebrates and plants); 3.) population parameters and distributions of vertebrates associated primarily with dunes and the supralittoral beach zone (traditionally focused on birds and turtles, but expandable to mammals); 4.) compound measurements of the abundance/cover/biomass of biota (plants, invertebrates, vertebrates) at both the population and assemblage level. Local constraints (i.e., the absence of birds in highly degraded urban settings or lack of dunes on bluff-backed beaches) and particular issues may require alternatives. Metrics - if selected and applied correctly - provide empirical evidence of environmental condition and change, but often do not reflect deeper environmental values per se. Yet, values remain poorly articulated for many beach systems; this calls for a comprehensive identification of environmental values and the development of targeted programs to conserve these values on sandy shorelines globally.

Details

Title: Metrics to assess ecological condition, change, and impacts in sandy beach ecosystems
Authors: Thomas Schlacher (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
David S Schoeman (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Alan R Jones (Author) - Australian Museum
Jenifer E Dugan (Author) - University of California, United States
David M Hubbard (Author) - University of California, United States
Omar Defeo (Author) - UNDECIMAR, Uruguay
Charles H Peterson (Author) - University of North Carolina, United States
Michael A Weston (Author) - Deakin University
Brooke Maslo (Author) - State University of New Jersey, United States
Andrew D Olds (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Felicita Scapini (Author) - University of Florence, Italy
Ronel Nel (Author) - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
Linda R Harris (Author) - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
Serena Lucrezi (Author) - North West University, South Africa
Mariano Lastra (Author) - University of Vigo, Spain
Chantal M Huijbers (Author) - Griffith University
R M Connolly (Author) - Griffith University
Publication details: Journal of Environmental Management, Vol.144, pp.322-335
Publisher: Academic Press
Date published: 2014
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.05.036
ISSN: 0301-4797
PMID: 25014753
Organisation Unit: School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99449943602621
Output Type: Journal article

Metrics

10 File views/ downloads

1015 Record Views

83 Times Cited - Web of Science

See more details

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Environmental Sciences

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

Source: SDGs from InCites