An epidemiological approach to the analysis of indicators and reference points of ecosystem and population health

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Fisheries and ecosystem scientists are often given the role of determining whether a population or ecosystem is healthy for input into conservation and management decisions such as endangered species listings, setting fishing regulations, or permitting for activities such as mining or forestry. For populations, we rely on indicators such as abundance and mortality rates. We could also include factors such as disease prevalence and toxic chemical concentrations. With ecosystems, there are numerous potential indicators such as species richness, food-web complexity, and productivity. However, there is little guidance as to the correct cut-off between healthy and unhealthy for each indicator or how to combine results from multiple indicators.