Table 8 Typology of ecological outcomes.
Category | Definition | Examples |
|---|---|---|
Population/species | Outcomes focused on characteristics of or changes in species or populations | Abundance; density; biomass; demography (age, size structure); behavior (time spent hiding; time spent feeding; distance from habitat); recruitment; reproduction (fecundity; spawning aggregations, reproductive individuals); species range and spatial extent; dispersal (migration patterns, natal homing, habitat use), connectivity (measured with genetics, microchemistry), body conditions (disease incidence, parasitism rate, toxin level), adaptability, resilience, resistance, or recovery at species level (genetic diversity, heat resistance, salinity tolerance, other stressor tolerance) |
Community | Outcomes focused on characteristics of or changes in communities | Community composition and species diversity (abundance, richness, evenness); trophic or food web structure (abundance or diversity of organisms within trophic levels, food web redundancy, number of trophic levels); functional redundancy (degree to which species or groups of species generate similar functions); resilience, resistance, or recovery at community level |
Habitat | Outcomes focused on characteristics of or changes in habitats | Habitat quantity (cover and extent—area, volume, height, width, cover; gain or loss in extent); habitat quality (3D complexity, rugosity, fractal dimensions, foundation species density); habitat connectivity or biogeography (degree to which habitats are connected, such as seagrass material in fish gut contents; spillover); upland habitat transition boundary or extent; habitat transgression, migration, or transition |
Biological interactions | Outcomes focused on characteristics of or changes in biological or species interactions like facilitation, competition, predation | Competition; predation; mutualism; commensalism; facilitation; herbivory; omnivory; carnivory; zooplanktivory; water filtration (e.g., shellfish filtering water or vegetation slowing water movement); invasive or non-native species interactions with other organisms |
Spatial functions and processes | Outcomes focused on characteristics of or changes in spatial ecosystem functions and processes | Spatial distribution, including zonation; connectivity (not at species or habitat level, but rather ecosystem level); dispersal; transgression or migration of ecosystem [space] |
Temporal functions and processes | Outcomes focused on characteristics of or changes in temporal ecosystem functions and processes | Succession; colonization; transgression or migration of ecosystem [time]; reaction to pulse or chronic disturbances; resilience, resistance, and recovery |
Ecosystem productivity | Outcomes focused on characteristics of or changes in ecosystem productivity | Primary productivity; secondary productivity; energy flow; photosynthesis; respiration; decomposition |
Nutrient cycling | Outcomes focused on characteristics of or changes in nutrient cycling | Denitrification; nitrification; carbon sequestration; carbon cycling and storage; phosphorus cycling |
Ecosystem health | Outcomes focused on characteristics of or changes in ecosystem health | Turbidity; harmful algal blooms; bacteria, viruses, and fungi; toxins and contaminants; microplastics; debris; bioaccumulation; nutrient levels and pollution; invasive or non-native species ecosystem effects; tipping points and thresholds; resilience, resistance, or recovery at ecosystem level |