A biological condition gradient for coral reefs in the US Caribbean Territories: Part I. Coral narrative rules

As coral reef condition and sustainability continue to decline worldwide, losses of critical habitat and their ecosystem services have generated an urgency to understand and communicate reef response to management actions, environmental contamination, and natural disasters. Increasingly, coral reef...

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Main Authors: Deborah L Santavy, Susan K. Jackson, Benjamin Jessup, Jeroen Gerritsen, Caroline Rogers, William S. Fisher, Ernesto Weil, Alina Szmant, David Cuevas-Miranda, Brian K. Walker, Christopher Jeffrey, Patricia Bradley, David Ballantine, Loretta Roberson, Hector Ruiz-Torres, Brandi Todd, Tyler Smith, Randy Clark, Ernesto Diaz, Jorge Bauzá-Ortega, Christina Horstmann, Sandy Raimondo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-05-01
Series:Ecological Indicators
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X2200276X
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author Deborah L Santavy
Susan K. Jackson
Benjamin Jessup
Jeroen Gerritsen
Caroline Rogers
William S. Fisher
Ernesto Weil
Alina Szmant
David Cuevas-Miranda
Brian K. Walker
Christopher Jeffrey
Patricia Bradley
David Ballantine
Loretta Roberson
Hector Ruiz-Torres
Brandi Todd
Tyler Smith
Randy Clark
Ernesto Diaz
Jorge Bauzá-Ortega
Christina Horstmann
Sandy Raimondo
author_facet Deborah L Santavy
Susan K. Jackson
Benjamin Jessup
Jeroen Gerritsen
Caroline Rogers
William S. Fisher
Ernesto Weil
Alina Szmant
David Cuevas-Miranda
Brian K. Walker
Christopher Jeffrey
Patricia Bradley
David Ballantine
Loretta Roberson
Hector Ruiz-Torres
Brandi Todd
Tyler Smith
Randy Clark
Ernesto Diaz
Jorge Bauzá-Ortega
Christina Horstmann
Sandy Raimondo
author_sort Deborah L Santavy
collection DOAJ
description As coral reef condition and sustainability continue to decline worldwide, losses of critical habitat and their ecosystem services have generated an urgency to understand and communicate reef response to management actions, environmental contamination, and natural disasters. Increasingly, coral reef protection and restoration programs emphasize the need for robust assessment tools for protecting high-quality waters and establishing conservation goals. Of equal importance is the need to communicate assessment results to stakeholders, beneficiaries, and the public so that environmental consequences of decisions are understood. The Biological Condition (BCG) model provides a structure to evaluate the condition of a coral reef in increments of change along a gradient of human disturbance. Communication of incremental change, regardless of direction, is important for decision makers and the public to better understand what is gained or lost depending on what actions are taken. We developed a narrative (qualitative) Biological Condition Gradient (BCG) from the consensus of a diverse expert panel to provide a framework for coral reefs in US Caribbean Territories. The model uses narrative descriptions of biological attributes for benthic organisms to evaluate reefs relative to undisturbed or minimally disturbed conditions. Using expert elicitation, narrative decision rules were proposed and deliberated to discriminate among six levels of change along a gradient of increasing anthropogenic stress. Narrative rules for each of the BCG levels are presented to facilitate the evaluation of benthic communities in coral reefs and provide specific narrative features to detect changes in coral reef condition and biological integrity. The BCG model can be used in the absence of numeric, or quantitative metrics, to evaluate actions that may encroach on coral reef ecosystems, manage endangered species habitat, and develop and implement management plans for marine protected areas, watersheds, and coastal zones. The narrative BCG model is a defensible model and communication tool that translates scientific results so the nontechnical person can understand and support both regulatory and non-regulatory water quality and natural resource programs.
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spelling doaj.art-a5ff86b792344e2fa372cb2e1d4d791c2022-12-22T02:09:09ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2022-05-01138108805A biological condition gradient for coral reefs in the US Caribbean Territories: Part I. Coral narrative rulesDeborah L Santavy0Susan K. Jackson1Benjamin Jessup2Jeroen Gerritsen3Caroline Rogers4William S. Fisher5Ernesto Weil6Alina Szmant7David Cuevas-Miranda8Brian K. Walker9Christopher Jeffrey10Patricia Bradley11David Ballantine12Loretta Roberson13Hector Ruiz-Torres14Brandi Todd15Tyler Smith16Randy Clark17Ernesto Diaz18Jorge Bauzá-Ortega19Christina Horstmann20Sandy Raimondo21US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Office of Research and Development (ORD), Center for Environmental, Measurement and Modeling (CEMM), Gulf Ecosystem Measurement and Modeling Division (GEMMD), Gulf Breeze, FL 32561, USAUS EPA, Office of Water, Washington, DC, USATetra Tech, Inc., Montpelier, VT, USATetra Tech, Inc., Montpelier, VT, USAU.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, St. John, VI, USAUS Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Office of Research and Development (ORD), Center for Environmental, Measurement and Modeling (CEMM), Gulf Ecosystem Measurement and Modeling Division (GEMMD), Gulf Breeze, FL 32561, USAUniversity of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, PR, USAUniversity of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC, USAUS EPA, Region 2, Guaynabo, PR, USANova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USACSS-Inc., Fairfax, VA, USATetra Tech, Inc., Montpelier, VT, USASmithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Wash. DC, USAUniversity of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, PR, USAUniversity of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, PR, USAUS EPA, Region 6, Dallas, TX, USAUniversity of Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, VI, USANOAA NCCOS, Marine Spatial Ecology Division, Biogeography Branch, Stennis Space Center, MS, USADPNR Puerto Rico, EQB, San Juan, PR, USASan Juan Bay National Estuary Program, San Juan, PR, USAOak Ridge Institute for Science Education Fellow, US EPA, ORD, CEMM, GEMMD, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561 USAUS Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Office of Research and Development (ORD), Center for Environmental, Measurement and Modeling (CEMM), Gulf Ecosystem Measurement and Modeling Division (GEMMD), Gulf Breeze, FL 32561, USA; Corresponding author at: US EPA, ORD, CEMM, GEMMD, 1 Sabine Island Dr., Gulf Breeze, FL. 32561, USA.As coral reef condition and sustainability continue to decline worldwide, losses of critical habitat and their ecosystem services have generated an urgency to understand and communicate reef response to management actions, environmental contamination, and natural disasters. Increasingly, coral reef protection and restoration programs emphasize the need for robust assessment tools for protecting high-quality waters and establishing conservation goals. Of equal importance is the need to communicate assessment results to stakeholders, beneficiaries, and the public so that environmental consequences of decisions are understood. The Biological Condition (BCG) model provides a structure to evaluate the condition of a coral reef in increments of change along a gradient of human disturbance. Communication of incremental change, regardless of direction, is important for decision makers and the public to better understand what is gained or lost depending on what actions are taken. We developed a narrative (qualitative) Biological Condition Gradient (BCG) from the consensus of a diverse expert panel to provide a framework for coral reefs in US Caribbean Territories. The model uses narrative descriptions of biological attributes for benthic organisms to evaluate reefs relative to undisturbed or minimally disturbed conditions. Using expert elicitation, narrative decision rules were proposed and deliberated to discriminate among six levels of change along a gradient of increasing anthropogenic stress. Narrative rules for each of the BCG levels are presented to facilitate the evaluation of benthic communities in coral reefs and provide specific narrative features to detect changes in coral reef condition and biological integrity. The BCG model can be used in the absence of numeric, or quantitative metrics, to evaluate actions that may encroach on coral reef ecosystems, manage endangered species habitat, and develop and implement management plans for marine protected areas, watersheds, and coastal zones. The narrative BCG model is a defensible model and communication tool that translates scientific results so the nontechnical person can understand and support both regulatory and non-regulatory water quality and natural resource programs.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X2200276XCoral reef conditionBiocriteriaBiological integrityBiological Condition Gradient (BCG)Coral reef protectionNarrative rules
spellingShingle Deborah L Santavy
Susan K. Jackson
Benjamin Jessup
Jeroen Gerritsen
Caroline Rogers
William S. Fisher
Ernesto Weil
Alina Szmant
David Cuevas-Miranda
Brian K. Walker
Christopher Jeffrey
Patricia Bradley
David Ballantine
Loretta Roberson
Hector Ruiz-Torres
Brandi Todd
Tyler Smith
Randy Clark
Ernesto Diaz
Jorge Bauzá-Ortega
Christina Horstmann
Sandy Raimondo
A biological condition gradient for coral reefs in the US Caribbean Territories: Part I. Coral narrative rules
Ecological Indicators
Coral reef condition
Biocriteria
Biological integrity
Biological Condition Gradient (BCG)
Coral reef protection
Narrative rules
title A biological condition gradient for coral reefs in the US Caribbean Territories: Part I. Coral narrative rules
title_full A biological condition gradient for coral reefs in the US Caribbean Territories: Part I. Coral narrative rules
title_fullStr A biological condition gradient for coral reefs in the US Caribbean Territories: Part I. Coral narrative rules
title_full_unstemmed A biological condition gradient for coral reefs in the US Caribbean Territories: Part I. Coral narrative rules
title_short A biological condition gradient for coral reefs in the US Caribbean Territories: Part I. Coral narrative rules
title_sort biological condition gradient for coral reefs in the us caribbean territories part i coral narrative rules
topic Coral reef condition
Biocriteria
Biological integrity
Biological Condition Gradient (BCG)
Coral reef protection
Narrative rules
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X2200276X
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