Abstract
The “ecosystem approach” to environmental management is viewed by many as being fundamental to the development of appropriate management strategies. While this approach represents a major advance in the way researchers view environmental assessment, the approach in itself does not provide practical information as to what questions to ask and what tools to use in assessing and managing ecosystems. Similarly, the concept of ecosystem health, as it is usually defined, has little practical value for ecosystem managers. We suggest the next stage in environmental assessment will be the development of specific frameworks designed to assess individual ecosystems. Of primary importance is the need to consider the basic structure and function of the ecosystem itself. Such consideration, together with explicit identification of anthropogenic stresses particular to the system, serves to identify those components most at risk and those issues most deserving of attention. Researchers should explore critical linkages between environmental stressors and their observable, measurable and predictable effects on ecological parameters and use this understanding to develop a management strategy that incorporates appropriate ecological indicators. The importance of these considerations will be illustrated using examples from the Northern River Basins Study.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bortone, S. A. & W. P. Davis, 1994. Fish intersexuality as indicator of environmental stress. BioScience 44: 165–172.
Callicott, J. B., 1995. A review of some problems with the concept of ecosystem health. Ecosystem Health 1: 101–112.
Calow, P., 1992. Can ecosystems be healthy? Critical consideration of concepts. J. Aquat. Ecosystem Health 1: 1–15.
Calow, P., 1994. Ecotoxicology: what are we trying to protect? Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 13: 1549.
Calow, P., 1995. Ecosystem health—A critical analyses of concepts. In: Rapport, D. J., Gaudet, C. & Calow, P. (eds),Evaluating and monitoring the health of large-scale ecosystems. pp. 33–42. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Cash, K. J., 1995. Assessing and monitoring aquatic ecosystem health—approaches using individual, population, and community/ecosystem measurements. Northern River Basins Study Project Report No. 45: 68 pp.
Cash, K. J., F. J. Wrona & Wm. D. Gummer, 1995. Summary of ecosystem health and cumulative effects assessment: Northern River Basins Study Planning Meeting/Round-table Discussion (Northern River Basins Study Interim Report). 29 pp.
Christie, W. J., M. Becker, J. W. Cowden & J. R. Vallentyne, 1986. Managing the Great Lakes Basin as a home. J. Grt. Lakes Res. 12: 2–17.
Clemments, W. H. & P. M. Kiffney, 1994. Assessing contaminant effects at higher levels of biological organization. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 13: 357–359.
Colburn, T., F. S. vom Sall & A. M. Soto, 1993. Developmental effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals in wildlife and humans. Environ. Health Perspec. 101: 378–384.
Connell, J. H., 1978. Diversity in tropical rainforests and coral reefs. Science 199: 1302–1310.
Costanza, R., 1992. Toward an operational definition of ecosystem health. In: Costanza, R., B. G. Norton & B. D. Haskell (eds),Ecosystem health: New goals for environmental management. Island Press.
Cotton, P., 1994. Environmental estrogenic agents area of concem. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 271: 414, 416.
Environment Canada & Department of Fisheries and Oceans, 1991.Technical Guidance Manual for Aquatic Environmental Effects Monitoring at Pulp and Paper Mills. Vol. 1. Overview and Study Design. No. 63. 97 pp.
Gagnon, M. M., J. J. Dodson, P. V. Hodson, G. Van Der Krakk & J. H. Carey, 1994. Seasonal effects of bleached kraft mill effluent on reproductive parameters of white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) Populations of the St. Maurice River, Quebec, Canada. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 51: 337–347.
Gibbons, W., K. Munkittrick & W. Taylor, 1995. Suitability of small fish species for monitoring the effects of pulp-mill effluent on fish populations of the Athabasca River. Interim report prepared for the Northern River Basins Study, Edmonton.
Hakkari, L., 1992. Effects of pulp and paper mill effluents on fish populations in Finland. Finn. Fish. Res. 13: 93–106.
Haskell, B. D., B. G. Norton & R. Costanza, 1992. What is ecosystem health and why should we worry about it? In: Costanza, R., B. G. Norton & B. D. Haskell (eds),Ecosystem health: New goals for environmental management. Island Press.
Huckins, J. N., G. K. Manuwerra, J. D. Petty, D. Mackay & J. A. Lebo, 1993. Lipid-containing semipermeable membrane devices for monitoring organic contaminants in water. Environ. Sci. Tech. 27: 2489–2496.
Loeb, S. L., 1994. An ecological context for biological monitoring. In: Loeb, S. L. & A. Spacie (eds),Biological monitoring of aquatic systems. pp. 3–7. Lewis Publishers, Ann Abor.
Lovelock, J. E., 1987.GAIA—A New Look at Life on Earth. Oxford University Press. Oxford, 157 pp.
Marmorek, D. R., T. M. Berry, P. Bunnel, D. P. Bernard, W. A. Kurz, C. L. Murray, K. Paulig & L. Sully, 1992. Towards an ecosystem approach in British Columbia: Results of a work-shop on ecosystem goals objectives, December 7 to 9, 1992. Prepared by ESA Ltd., Vancourver B.C. for Environment Canada, British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, and British Columbia of Forests. Fraser River Action Plan 193-16. 77 pp.
Munkittrick, K. R., C. B. Portt, G. J. Van Der Kraak, I. R. Smith & D. A. Rokosh, 1991. Impact of bleached kraft mill effluent on population characteristcs, liver MFO activity, and serum steroid levels of a Lake Superior white sucker (Catastomus commersoin) population. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 48: 1371–1380.
Munkittrick, K. R., M. R. Servos, M. E. McMaster, G. J. Van Der Kraak, C. B. Portt & M. R. van den Heuvel, 1994. Survey of receiving water environmental impacts associated with discharges from pulp mills. II. Gonad size, liver size, hepatic MFO activity and plasma sex steroid levels in white sucker. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 13: 1089–1101.
R. L. and L. Environmental Sciences Ltd., 1994. A General Fish and Riverine Habitat Inventory: Athabasca River, October 1993. Northernf River Basins Study Project Report No. 40: 129 pp. + App.
Ramonde, F., 1987.Ecotoxicology. John Wiley and Sons. New York.
Ramonde, F., 1995. Qualitative and quantitative criteria defining a “healthy” ecosystem. In: Rapport, D. J., C. Gaudet & P. Calow (eds),Proceedings of the NATO advanced research workshop “Evaluating and Monitoring the Health of Large-Scale Ecosystems”. pp. 43–61. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Rapport, D. J., 1989. What constitutes ecosystem health?. Perspec. Biol. Med. 33: 120–132.
Rapport, D. J., 1992a. Evaluating ecosystem health. J. Aquat. Ecosystem Health 1: 15–24.
Rapport, D. J., 1992b. Evolution of indicators of ecosystem health. In: McKenzie, D. H., D. E. Hyatt & V. J. Mcdonald (eds),Ecological indicators. Elsevier Applied Science, London.
Rapport, D. J., 1995. Ecosystem health: and emerging integrative science. In: Rapport, D. J., C. Gaudt & P. Calow (eds),Proceedings of the NATO advanced research workshop “Evaluating and Monitoring the Health of Large-Scale Ecosystems”. pp. 5–31. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Resh, V. H., A. V. Brown, A. P. Covich, M. E. Gurtz, H. W. Li, G. W. Marshall, S. R. Rice, A. L. Sheldon, J. B. Wallace & R. C. Wissmar, 1988. The role of disturbance in stream ecology. J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc. 7: 433–455.
Reynoldson, T. B. & J. L. Metcalfe-Smith, 1992. An overview of the assessment of aquatic ecosystem health using benthic invertebrates. J. Aquat. Ecosystem Health. 1:295–308.
Sousa, W. P., 1979. Disturbance in marine intertidal boulder fields: The nonequilibrium maintenance of species diversity. Ecology 60: 1225–1239.
Suter, G. W.II., 1993a. A critique of ecosystem health concepts and indexes. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 12: 1533–1539.
Turner, R. K., D. Pearce & I. Bateman, 1993.Environmental Economics: An Elementary Introduction. John Hopkins University Press. Baltimore, Maryland.
Wicklum, D. & R. W. Davies, 1995. Ecosystem health and integrity? Can. J. Bot. 73: 997–1000.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wrona, F.J., Cash, K.J. The ecosystem approach to environmental assessment: moving from theory to practice. Journal of Aquatic Ecosystem Health 5, 89–97 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00662797
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00662797