Assessing the impacts of climate change to estuary ecosystems
Click here to view or download Module-4.
In a climate change risk assessment, an estimate of likely changes in the physical and chemical estuarine environment is typically followed by an assessment of estuarine ecohealth. Module-4 provides an overview of the ecological significance of estuaries and their most abundant ecological communities. The Module summarizes likely ecological responses of ecological communities to climate change stressors and provides a qualitative rating of climate change risks for each type of estuary found in NSW.
Module-4 addresses the following questions:
- What is the ecological significance of estuarine habitats in NSW?
- Which ecological estuarine communities are found in NSW estuaries?
- How might estuarine organisms respond to environmental stressors due to climate change?
- How does the type of estuary influence the level of exposure to climate change stressors and which communities are most sensitive?
- What is the likely climate change impact on NSW estuarine species?
