Indicator Properties of Baltic Zooplankton for Classification of Environmental Status within Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

ABSTRACT: The European Marine Strategy Framework Directive requires the EU Member States to estimate the level of anthropogenic impacts on their marine systems using 11 Descriptors. Assessing food web response to altered habitats is addressed by Descriptor 4 and its indicators, which are being developed for regional seas. However, the development of simple foodweb indicators able to assess the health of ecologically diverse, spatially variable and complex interactions is challenging. Zooplankton is a key element in marine foodwebs and thus comprise an important part of overall ecosystem health. Here, we review work on zooplankton indicator development using long-term data sets across the Baltic Sea and report the main findings. A suite of zooplankton community metrics were evaluated as putative ecol

SUBMITTER: Gorokhova E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4943737 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature