Biological indicatorsīiological indicators are direct measures of the health of the fauna and flora in the waterway. To assess this, we need to assess the biological indicators. For example, is it an organic waste that affects dissolved oxygen, or is it some type of toxicant? Although physico-chemical indicators can identify the cause of the problem, they only provide limited information on the extent that pollutants are actually impacting on fauna and flora. Physico-chemical indicators provide information on what is impacting on the system. They also include measures of toxicants such as insecticides, herbicides and metals. They include dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, salinity and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus). Physico-chemical indicators are the traditional 'water quality' indicators that most people are familiar with. However, for aquatic ecosystems there are a range of generally accepted indicators that are commonly used in most monitoring programs.Īquatic ecosystem health indicators can be broadly divided into four categories: It is highly desirable to put significant effort into selecting indicators. Often, the selected indicators will need to be a compromise between effectiveness and efficiency. This means that some effective indicators cannot be used routinely. The cost and effort to measure them should be reasonable, and preferably not require highly specialised skills. Examples of conceptual models can be viewed at:Īs well as being effective, indicators must also be efficient. Selection of effective indicators is best achieved by developing conceptual models of the ecosystem and using these to pinpoint indicators that provide the required information. An indicator is embedded in a well developed interpretative framework and has meaning beyond the measure it represents.įor an indicator to be effective it must provide a true measure of a component of the ecosystem. Coal seam gas information for community and landholdersĮcosystem health indicators assess how an ecosystem functions.Įnvironmental indicators have been defined as physical, chemical, biological or socio-economic measures that best represent the key elements of a complex ecosystem or environmental issue.Air monitoring programs and investigations.Declared emergency and natural disaster information.Apply, renew or register using Online Services.This means an ecological study can include anything from bacterial cells (3), to gut flora, through to how many generations of aphids can populate a plant, all the way up to how deserts form and maintain a constant balance, and the impact of rainforests and ice fields on the Earth's natural processes or are impacted by planetary fluctuations (2). Some ecosystems can change quickly while some remain constant over longer periods Changes to and movement of, energy and materials through an ecosystem.How and why ecosystems begin or are changed when subject to external pressures. Distribution, abundance and spatial concentration, and biodiversity.The processes that make up biological life including adaptation. It has as much in common with physiology, behavioral sciences and the evolutionary sciences as it has with environmental sciences (2) in concerning time and space. Ecology is about biodiversity in a given environment. It's considered a form of environmentalism and it is usually associated with these sciences, but it also includes aspects of biology, botany, zoology, genetics, bacteriology, chemistry and physics. This includes their interaction with other organisms within that environment - essentially their “interrelatedness” as a functioning network (1, p25). Introduction to Ecology - What It Is, What it Isn'tĮcology studies organic life, examining such elements as spatial distribution (local or general) abundance and their relationship with the environment. That essentially defines what it is - the study of relationships between those who occupy a home. The word “ecology” comes from the Greek and means “house study” or “living relations study”. Although closely associated with environmentalism and conservation today, it does not necessarily follow an ecology can also be human gut flora, how the elements of an urban environment function and the ecology of soil nutrient cycles. Ecology is an environmental science in its most literal sense - the study of environments and the entities within it.
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