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The Ecological State of the Waddensea. An Assessment
Author(s) -
Höpner Thomas
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
internationale revue der gesamten hydrobiologie und hydrographie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1522-2632
pISSN - 0020-9309
DOI - 10.1002/iroh.19910760304
Subject(s) - ecosystem , environmental science , north sea , environmental quality , ecology , marine ecosystem , state (computer science) , quality (philosophy) , fishery , oceanography , geology , biology , computer science , philosophy , epistemology , algorithm
Since the present quality state of the Wadden Sea is judged more discordantly than that of the North Sea, it is examined whether the Wadden Sea is a separate ecosystem. The nutrient load into the Wadden Sea and the trend of the load are assessed. Biological indicators of the ecological state of the Wadden Sea are examined with the result that there are signs of a bad as well as of a good state. This contradiction is assigned to the fact that quality standards are absent. Self‐protection mechanisms of the Wadden Sea are discussed with respect to their responsibility for the relatively good state. A qualitative model is proposed to explain the long‐term behaviour of the ecosystem.