Nemati H, Shokri MR, Ramezanpour Z, Ebrahimi Pour GH, Muxika I, Borja Á. Sensitivity of indicators matters when using
aggregation methods to assess marine environmental status.
Mar Pollut Bull 2018;
128:234-239. [PMID:
29571368 DOI:
10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.01.031]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2017] [Revised: 01/10/2018] [Accepted: 01/16/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The sensitivity of the 15 indicators included in a complex aggregation method (Nested Environmental status Assessment Tool), applied to a case study in the Caspian Sea in Iran, has been studied to discriminate between areas impacted and non-impacted by bathing activities. Two methods were used: (i) the 15 indicators were grouped into four groups (physicochemical, bacteria, plankton, and benthos) and each group was investigated separately (one-way sensitivity analysis), calculating NEAT values after omitting each group independently; and (ii) indicators were selected randomly, using 1000 Monte Carlo iterations, and removing from 1 to 14 indicators at each iteration. The results revealed that the abundance of Pontogammarus was the single indicator that made the difference in assessing the status among locations, differentiating bathing and non-bathing areas. Hence, this indicator is regarded as a monitoring element detecting the impacts produced by a management measure (beach nourishment) taken by the authorities to maintain the bathing activity.
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