Ecosystem health synthesis: can we get there from here?

Abstract

This paper provides a synthesis of the presentations made by participants at the International Symposium on Aquatic Ecosystem Health (July 23–26, 1990, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada). A working definition of the ecosystem concept and a framework for defining ecosystem health, are proposed, based on both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ science. Assessment of ecosystem health can be approached either from the bottom up (reductionist approach) or from the top down (holistic approach). The Symposium clearly followed the former approach; present approaches to science and management are also generally reductionist. It is argued that realistic solutions require primarily holistic approaches; such are often claimed but rarely attained. Reductionist approaches are useful for diagnosis and prediction (i.e., warning of potential problems), provided that they are based on appropriate statistical, biological, and societal levels of significance.