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Major Marine Ecological Disturbance Types


disturbancetypes


Major Marine Ecological Disturbance Types

Learn More About MMED Disturbances

An Example of Ecosystem Health MMED Trajectory/Regime Assessment for Passamaquoddy Bay Maine - USA - Northeast Continental Shelf Ecosystem
Biotoxin/Exposure
Anoxic/Hypoxic
Trophic Magnification
Mass Lethal
Climate Forcing
Disease
New Novel Invasive
Keystone Chronic
147 Occurrence Types vs.

8 Disturbance Types

Anoxic

Chronic

Climate

Disease

Biotoxin

Exposure

Mortality

Toxic

Trophic

algae macroalgae overgrowth

  

           

algal bloom

          

   

algal bloom (anoxic)

             

algal bloom (anoxic?)

             

algal bloom (red tide)

            

 

algal bloom (shading)

  

           

algal bloom (shading/wasting)

  

           

algal bloom (toxic)

            

 

algal bloom (toxic?)

            

 

algal bloom (toxicity unknown)

            

 

algal bloom (unusual red tide)

            

 

algal bloom (wasting)

  

           

algal cyanobacteria bloom

            

 

algal diatom bloom

            

 

algal diatom bloom (anoxic?)

             

algal diatom bloom (toxic)

            

 

algal mortality

      

       

bird disease (plague)

      

       

bird disease NSP

              

bird kill

          

   

bird mortality

          

   

bird mortality ASP

        

     

bird mortality NSP

        

     

bird mortality PSP

              

bird reproductive failure

  

           

coral black band disease

      

       

coral bleaching

    

         

coral destruction

          

   

coral disappearance

  

           

coral mass mortality

          

   

coral mortality

          

   

coral neoplasia

  

           

coral rapid wasting disease

      

       

coral ridge mortality

          

   

coral shut down reaction

    

         

coral sponge bleaching

    

         

coral sponge destruction

          

   

coral sponge mortality

          

   

coral white band disease

      

       

coral white band disease (similar)

      

       

coral white plague type I

      

       

coral white plague type II

      

       

coral white pox

      

       

coral yellow blotch disease

      

       

fish cold kill

    

         

fish disease

      

       

fish disease (toxic)

      

       

fish kill

          

   

fish kill (anoxic)

             

fish kill (anoxic?)

             

fish kill (toxic)

            

 

fish kill (toxic?)

            

 

fish lesions

        

     

fish mass mortality

          

   

fish PSP

              

fish toxicity ASP

        

     

fish toxicity PSP

              

human ASP

              

human beach closing

  

           

human cholera

              

human ciguatera poisoning

            

 

human disease

              

human DSP

              

human eye irritation

        

     

human fisheries ban

  

           

human gastroenteritis

              

human Hepatitis A

              

human memory loss

        

     

human neurological damage

        

     

human NSP

              

human PSP

              

human respiratory irritation

        

     

human river closing

  

           

human seabather's eruption

        

     

human shellfish poisoning

              

human skin irritation

        

     

human swimmer's itch

        

     

human vibrio class=SpellE>vulnificus

              

invertebrate cold kill

    

         

invertebrate crustacean disease

      

       

invertebrate crustacean kill (anoxic)

             

invertebrate

             

invertebrate crustacean kill (toxic)

            

 

invertebrate

            

 

invertebrate crustacean kill (unknown etiology)

          

   

invertebrate crustacean shell disease

      

       

invertebrate decline

  

           

invertebrate illness

      

       

invertebrate kill

          

   

invertebrate kill (anoxic

             

invertebrate kill (toxic)

            

 

invertebrate mass mortality

          

   

invertebrate mortality

          

   

mammal cetacean cold kill

    

         

mammal cetacean mass mortality

          

   

mammal cetacean mass stranding

          

   

mammal cetacean mortality

          

   

mammal

            

 

mammal cetacean PSP

              

mammal cetacean stranding

          

   

mammal dog illness

      

       

mammal kill

          

   

mammal pinniped distemper

      

       

mammal pinniped influenza

      

       

mammal pinniped stranding

          

   

mammal sirenian mass mortality

          

   

mammal sirenian mortality

          

   

mammal sirenian virus

      

       

mollusc

      

       

molluscneoplasia

      

       

mollusc

  

           

mollusc

      

       

mollusc

          

   

mollusc

             

mollusc

            

 

           

 

mollusc

          

   

mollusc

          

   

mollusc

  

           

molluscdermo epizootic

      

       

mollusc

  

           

mollusc

    

         

mollusc

      

       

mollusc

          

   

mollusc

  

           

mollusc

  

           

mollusc

  

           

mollusc

              

mollusc

              

mollusc

              

mollusc

              

mollusc

            

 

mollusc

              

mollusc

              

mollusc

              

mollusc

              

sea turtle cold kill

    

         

sea turtle cold stunning

    

         

sea turtle egg destruction

    

         

sea turtle encephalitis

      

       

sea turtle fibropapillomas

  

           

sea turtle mortality

          

   

seagrass decline

  

           

seagrass decline (shading)

  

           

seagrass disease

      

       

seagrass mortality

          

   

(blank)

                

Grand Total

The eight marine disturbance types represent events that are acute, occurring within a short-time span, (e.g. biotoxin exposure), protracted (evolving over time, as when fungi infect coral reefs and seagrasses), or chronic conditions (e.g., tumor development, eutrophication). Other categories have specific correspondence to forcing factors (e.g. coral bleaching events and sea surface temperatures; population declines from climate variability and altered ecosystem dynamics). The majority of disturbance reports, however, involve harmful algae blooms (HABs) as the indirect cause of morbidity (illness) and mortality. Because HABs can affect a wide variety of living marine resources and dramatically alter ecological relationships among species, they are a leading indicator of marine disturbance.



Whether bio-deposition changes the character of the sea floor through anoxia or biotoxins lead to tumor development in exposed wildlife, the aggregated disturbance indicators (MMEDs) may be used to rapidly survey marine ecosystems and the eight general types of disturbance may provide a first approximation of the comparative health of coastal marine ecosystems.

 

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