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CRAMP Rapid Assessment. Selection Criteria for Indicator Organisms

Organisms used as indicators of environmental stress must be able to provide a detectable early warning of deteriorating conditions. Indicators that respond to a wide range of impacts can be used in conjunction with diagnostic measures to determine overall levels of habitat stress. In addition, organisms with a particular sensitivity to a given stress can be useful indicators of specific stress mechanisms. In order to be useful, these indicators must respond consistently to stressors in the environment and exhibit quantifiable levels of variability.

Reef corals, reef fishes, and benthic algae are useful bioindicators in defining the biological status of coral reef communities. These biota meet all the criteria described by Jameson et al. (1998) for dependable bioindicator organisms:

• Primary habitat forming organisms (corals and algae)

• Narrow environmental tolerances (corals)

• Respond to a variety of anthropogenic stressors (corals, algae, reef fishes)

• Sessile, benthic organisms that remain in place and are continually exposed to stress (corals and algae)

• Long-lived organisms that provide an integrated signal of prevailing stresses while large individuals can indicate excellent environmental condition (corals)

• Abundant throughout the assessment area (corals, algae, fishes)

• Organisms easy to sample objectively (corals, algae, fishes)

• Not subject to human exploitation (corals)

• Stable taxonomy (corals, fishes)

• Easily taught to non-specialists (corals, fishes)

An extensive review of indicators by Jameson and Kelty (2004) acknowledges the need for an integrated approach to diagnostic monitoring and assessment of coral reefs.

Characteristics indicative of a general response to environmental stress include declines in species abundance, species size, community diversity, shifts in dominance levels, and species composition. A wide variety of other stressor, exposure, and response indicators have been used to identify specific and cumulative impacts.

New potential assessment tools for use in marine environments have recently been introduced. On a cellular level, biomarkers such as heat shock proteins (Smith et al. 2004), antioxidant enzymes, and changes in gene expression (Brogdon et al. 2004) are currently being explored to identify stress in corals. Pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) has been tested with algae to detect environmental stress (Runcie 2002). Yet, many of these molecular techniques are cost restrictive and involve highly specialized skills.

Some attributes of stenoecious marine species, characterized by high sensitivity and narrow environmental tolerances, have been used to detect specific influences. For example:

• Benthic infauna and macroinvertebrates have been used successfully to assess environmental quality and sediment contamination (Lenat et al. 1980; Faith 1990; Rogers 1990; Rosenberg and Resh 1993; Erdman and Caldwell 1997).

• Tissue analysis and ecotoxicology research has revealed bioaccumulation of metals, pesticides, and other contaminants in both vertebrates and invertebrates (Ashanullah 1976; Hungpreng and Yuangthong 1984; deKock and Kramer 1994; Phillips 1994).

• Fish otolith examination provided a temporal record of exposure to toxic substances (Secor et al. 1995).

Neither single species laboratory tests nor the typical approach of conducting a battery of toxicity tests, can be predictably transferred to the ecosystem level where complex interactions prevent reliable interchange. Laboratory toxicity tests on single species may overstate effects, while opposite results have been demonstrated where toxins determined to be relatively safe in the lab have exhibited adverse effects on populations in the field.

References:

Brogdon S.E., Snell T.W., Morgan M.B. 2004. Detecting coral response to environmental stress in the field using a cDNA array. Abstracts Tenth International Coral Reef Symposium, Okinawa, Japan, 125 pp.

Jameson S.C., and Kelty, R. A. A review of indicators of land-based pollution stress on coral reefs. Aug 31-Sept. 2, 2004. Joint EPA/NOAA/USGS/DOI workshop: Assessing pollution stress on coral reefs. Honolulu, Hawaii.

Jameson S.C., Erdmann M.V., Gibson G.R., Potts K.W. 1998. Development of biological criteria for coral reef ecosystem assessment. Atoll Research Bulletin, September 1998, No. 450, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 102 pp.

Runcie, J. 2002. Nutrient dynamics in coastal ecosystems – linking physical and biological processes. Ocean Sciences Meeting. American Society of Limnology and Oceanography.

Smith, C.R., Dove, S.G., Van Oppen, M., Hoegh-Guldberg, O. 2004. Cellular stress responses and their applications as early warning signals of coral bleaching: a Great Barrier Reef test case. Abstracts Tenth International Coral Reef Symposium, Okinawa, Japan, 125 pp.

Last Update: 04/21/2008

By: Lea Hollingsworth

Hawai‘i Coral Reef Assessment & Monitoring Program

Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology

P.O. Box 1346

Kāne‘ohe, HI 96744

808-236-7440 phone

808-236-7443 fax

email: jokiel@hawaii.edu