Module-7

Thresholds and ecological responses of estuarine species: Calculating eco-thresholds for baseline climate change risk assessments

Click here to view or download Module-7. 

Understanding how organisms respond to environmental stressors is paramount in evaluating the ecological impacts of climate change on estuarine communities. The sensitivity and resilience of species to stressors depends on their physiological tolerance and their behavioral responses.

This module presents  a comprehensive review of published data on physiological thresholds of key estuarine species to climate change driven stressors.  A total of 50 NSW estuarine species and more than 300 publications are reviewed and collated into a unique database of physiological tolerance thresholds.

Module-5 also provides the conceptual basis for generating the table of estuarine ecological community sensitivities presented in Module-4.