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Biological condition gradient: Applying a framework for determining the biological integrity of coral reefs
Citation:
SANTAVY, D. L., P. BRADLEY, AND W. S. FISHER. Biological condition gradient: Applying a framework for determining the biological integrity of coral reefs . Presented at Ecological Society of America 97th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR, August 05 - 10, 2012.
Impact/Purpose:
Abstract for poster session at Ecological Society of America meeting. Poster will provide platform to provide feedback from academia for the biological condition gradient process.
Description:
The goals of the U.S. Clean Water Act (CWA) are to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of water resources. Although clean water is a goal, another is to safeguard biological communities by defining levels of biological integrity to protect aquatic resources. One tool used for defining biological impairment thresholds is the biological condition gradient (BCG), a conceptual model that describes how biological attributes of aquatic ecosystems change in response to increasing levels of stressors. The BCG has been used successfully in freshwater systems. We are using the BGC as a framework for developing biological criteria for coral reefs, an ecosystem that is in rapid decline. The BCG is divided into multiple tiers of biological condition along a stressor-response curve, defining biological conditions found at no or low levels of stress to those at high levels of stressors. Expert panelists determine which biological attributes are important, such as features of community structure, organism condition, ecosystem function, and connectivity. In a 2012 pilot study, an expert panel evaluated coral data and visual media in a facilitated workshop. The panelists used the information to recommend which coral reef attributes should be considered in the coral reef BCG.