Applying Principles from Economics to Improve the
Transfer of Ecological Estimates
A Case Study in Habitat-Fisheries
Ecosystem Services
Melissa Errend1,2, Ted DeWitt2 and Jessica Moon3
1.M.S. Candidate, Marine Resource Management, Oregon State University
2. U.S. EPA, NHEERL, Western Ecology Division, Newport, OR
3. ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow, In residence at: U.S. EPA, NHEERL, Western Ecology Division, Newport, OR
Ecosystem services are the components of nature humans use and enjoy
Daily et al. 2009
Key in Ecosystem-Based Management frameworks: Holistic consideration of market and nonmarket services and the importance of ecological systems that produce them
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What is a Transfer?
Benefit Transfer vs. Ecological Estimate Transfer
Study site
$
Policy site
?
Our research concerns the transfer of ecological estimates in
ecosystem service research and valuation
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Example:“The Value of the World’s Ecosystems and Natural Capital”
Costanza et al. (1997) utilized benefit transfers and ecological transfers in their study
10 estimates of primary
production in U.S. Estuaries…
Ten estimates of estuarine primary production were
averaged as a global estimate
NOAA (2013)
Ecological transfers have lacked transparency and consistent evaluation
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Improving the transparency and assessment of ecological transfers
Study Objective:
• Benefit transfer frameworks  Ecological transfer framework
• Ecological transfer framework  Case studies in habitat-fisheries studies.
Talk Outline:
1. Examples of transfers in habitat-fisheries studies
2. Sources of transfer error: Context dissimilarity
3. Defining context
4. Preliminary results: Investigating context differences
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Point Estimate Transfers in Habitat-Fisheries Studies
1. Parameters: e.g., Natural mortality rate,
Primary production rate
2. Services Production: e.g., Fish production/unit area, Habitat type
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What can we learn from benefit transfer?
Variability in estimates between primary studies is due to:1
1. Primary Study Error
Due to measurement or estimation variance
2. Site Correspondence Error
Due to differences in context
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1
Rosenberger and Stanley (2006)
Generalization Error
What can we learn from benefit transfer?
Context Similarity
Policy sites
Study site
Generalization error is inversely related to context similarity2
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2 Rosenberger
and Phipps (2007)
But…What is Context?
MEOW Provinces
MEOW Ecoregions
Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) Classification
Australian Seascape Classification
Classifications are not based ecosystem services, instead mostly on biophysical and structural elements
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What is Context?
Contextual Dimensions: Descriptors for differences in context which affect ecological
structure, process & function
Spatial: Area,Volume, Scale, Grain, Extent, Density
Geographic: Location, Latitude, Longitude, Altitude, Depth
Temporal: Period, Frequency, Scale
Ecological & Biophysical: Disturbance regime, Phylogeny, Guild,
Community, Temperature, Climate, Salinity
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How can we explore the variability of ecological estimates across context dimensions?
Case Study: Benthic Microalgal Production Estimates
Context dimensions reported: Depth, latitude and location
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Metadata from Cahoon (1999)
StDev of Benthic Production Estimates (g C · m-2 · yr-1)
Global Variability in Annual Benthic Production Rates:
Depth
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
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Difference in Depth (m)
On a global scale, estimates at the same depth are roughly just
as variable as estimates from shallower or deeper locations
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StDev of Benthic Production Estimates (g C · m-2 · yr-1)
Global Variability in Annual Benthic Production Rates:
Absolute Latitude
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0
10
20
30
40
Difference in Absolute Latitude (°)
As you compare estimates from locations that are farther away,
variability increases, therefore transfer reliability decreases
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StDev of Benthic Production Estimates (g C · m-2 · yr-1)
Global Variability in Annual Benthic Production Rates:
Geographic location
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
Difference in Distance (km)
As you compare estimates from locations that are farther away,
variability increases, therefore confidence in transfers decreases
Conclusions
• Transparency and assessment of ecological transfers is needed
• Empirical variograms can help illustrate trends along context dimensions
• Next Steps: Multi-metric analyses and comparison of classification schemes
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Questions?
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