Ecological Indicators for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Assessment - A User Guide

Experience demonstrates that none of the available measures for biological and ecological effects of pollution can be considered ideal. The use of a single approach does not seem appropriate due to the complexity inherent in assessing the environmental quality of a system. Rather, this should be evaluated by combining a set of indicators providing complementary information.

A decision key has been built with the aim of helping managers and authorities of coastal areas to select the most suitable ecological indicators, taking into account the type of disturbance and the data available. It includes numerous indicators based on benthic invertebrate fauna information. This allows the monitoring of long-term responses and site-specific impacts in coastal and transitional water ecosystems, because benthic communities integrate environmental conditions and changes in a very effective way. The decision system is based not only on theoretical approaches, but also on results from its application using databases corresponding to various geographical areas.