Evaluation Sourcebook (.pdf) - School of Natural Resources and ...

ECOLOGICALOBJECTIVESIntroductionDifferent focal species are useful in differentways. For example:• To motivate action you could useflagship, game or special status species• To set project goals and managementactions you may focus on keystone andrepresentative species• To measure progress toward ecologicalobjectives you would use indicatorspecies, which may include umbrella ornon-native invasive speciesMANAGED SPECIESIndicator species are diagnostic tools.They tell you about the health of anecosystem, but they do not usuallyproduce health. This means that specieswhose presence depends on activemanagement are not good indicators ofthe health of the system. For example,the presence or abundance of speciesmaintained by reintroduction orsupplementation programs or those thatare regularly removed tell you moreabout human actions than they do aboutthe state of the system.Keep in mind that whatever species you focus on, no one species is sufficient to measure orproduce ecosystem health or integrity.WHAT MAKES A GOOD INDICATOR SPECIES?Having economic importance or even being a keystone species does not necessarily make aspecies a good indicator. Useful indicator species should be meet ALL of the below:• Sensitive to the physical, chemical or biological change of interest, which often requiresa short generation time• Practical and inexpensive to monitor or survey• Easy to identify and distinguish from other species• Has a well studied biology and natural historyEcosystem Management Initiative 26