Ecological indicators are physical, chemical or biological measures that represent the key elements of an ecosystem and are used to describe the overall state of the ecosystem and how it may be changing due to human and other pressures.
“The workshop is designed to focus on the ecology of Narragansett Bay and our coastal ponds to develop a framework for creating indicators of their ecological integrity,” said Veronica M. Berounsky, a marine research associate at URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography. “Some of the biggest names in the field of ecological indicators will be participating.”
Among the speakers will be Hans Paerl from the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Richard Batiuk, associate director for science in the Chesapeake Bay office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and James Karr, professor of aquatic and fishery sciences at the University of Washington. They will be joined in a panel discussion by Scott Nixon, professor of oceanography at URI.
Sponsors of the event include the Partnership for Narragansett Bay, the URI Coastal Institute, the R.I. Sea Grant Program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the R.I. Department of Environmental Management, the Rhode Island Natural History Survey, the URI Department of Natural Resources Science, the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, and the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
For more information, see the workshop web page www.ci.uri.edu/projects/mon_ind or call 401-222-3961, extension 7271 or email vberounsky@gso.uri.edu.