A conceptual framework of ecosystem-based approaches to coastal habitat evaluation

Abstract

It is an urgent need to establish ecosystem-based approaches to the evaluation of coastal habitat values for habitat conservation/restoration and sustainable utilization of coastal fishery resources. In this paper, recent research activities related to the above-mentioned task are reviewed and re-organized in light of major functions of the coastal ecosystem. It is proposed that habitat values should be evaluated in two directions: ecosystem stability depending on the species diversity and smoothness of material circulation, the latter of which directly links with material removal/recycle. In addition, reproductive capacity as a nursery for fishery resources should be included in the evaluation. For further development of the ecosystem-based approach, it is of great importance to accumulate long-term records of biological and ecological changes in the coastal water. In such context, newly emerged concept on the health examination of marine coastal environment is also discussed. © 2002, The Japanese Society of Fisheries Science. All rights reserved.