Publication Abstract

Developing effective environmental indicators - does a new dog need old tricks?

M. Nicholson and R. Fryer

Environmental indicators are being increasingly used to emphasise the relevance of monitoring. However, indicators must also be effective. In particular, they must be able to answer management questions, be accessible to the target audience and be sufficiently precise. Here, we use a time series of mercury levels in plaice from Liverpool Bay to illustrate how specific management questions can be formulated, answered, and the precision of the answers assessed. We also show how a programme design can incorporate a series of management questions that are likely to arise over time in response to observed changes in a time series.

Reference:

M. Nicholson* and R. Fryer  (2002) Developing effective environmental indicators - does a new dog need old tricks? Marine Pollution Bulletin, 45(1-12): 53-61