Science Advisory Report  2014/025

Assessment of freshwater Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSA) and Ecologically Significant Species (ESS) criteria

Summary

Identification and designation of Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSA) and Ecologically Significant Species (ESS) is recognized both nationally and internationally as a potentially useful tool for aquatic resource conservation, management and planning.

• The establishment of EBSAs under Canada’s Ocean’s Act is well-established in marine areas of Canada, and has been highlighted as a potential tool for the Fisheries Protection Program when implementing the 2012 amendments to the Fisheries Act.
• For identifying potential EBSAs in marine ecosystems, three primary criteria (uniqueness, aggregation and fitness consequences) and two qualifiers (resilience and naturalness), are judged in the context of ecological functions and structural features. For identifying ESS, four species or community properties (trophodynamics, 3-dimensional structure, threats, and sensitivity) are used.
• The objectives of this review were to assess feasibility for applying these criteria in a freshwater context (using the Bay of Quinte as a case study), document lessons learned from the application of the criteria, summarize knowledge gaps, assess feasibility of applying the criteria in other freshwater systems, and list key conclusions and advice for applying EBSA/ESS criteria in freshwater systems.
• It was concluded that both the EBSA and ESS criteria could be feasibly applied to the Great Lakes and other large lake systems in Canada; however, application would be challenging in data-poor systems. To identify EBSAs, general ecological or experiential knowledge could provide the basis for applying the criteria in freshwater, but site-specific data would be required to validate criteria and determine boundaries. When determining ESSs, additional sampling may be needed to characterize community composition, detect rare species, and describe the geographic distribution of species.
• Central knowledge gaps included the applicability of criteria to data-poor areas (e.g., northern Canada), and the ability to determine the best spatial scale for application of the criteria.
• Specific knowledge gaps and concerns included a lack of quantitative information linking habitat features to vital rates (to inform the ‘fitness consequence’ criteria), and a need for a greater understanding of trophic interactions as well as relative abundance estimates (to inform the ESS criteria). Further consideration should be given to the limitations of relying on expert opinion to inform the criteria.
• Overall, it was determined that the Oceans Action Plan definition of ecological ‘significance’ applies equally to freshwater ecosystems and species, and the EBSA and ESS criteria can be applied and measured in freshwater ecosystems. However, the use of EBSA and ESS in freshwater is scale dependent. Determining the appropriate spatial scale for significant areas requires further research.
• EBSA and ESS criteria developed for marine areas under the Oceans Act provide a scientifically defensible starting point for determining Ecologically Significant Areas identified in the 2012 amendments to the Fisheries Act.

This Science Advisory Report is from the 19-20 November 2013, Freshwater Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSA) / Ecologically Significant Species (ESS) Criteria Assessment meeting. Additional publications from this meeting will be posted on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science Advisory Schedule as they become available.

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