WISER - Deliverable D4.3-1: Manuscript on the responses of existing indicators to different pressures

This report compares single metrics and multimetric benthic macroinvertebrate assessment methods along human pressure gradients in five European coastal and transitional environments. It evaluates indicator responses in bays, lagoons, estuaries and fjords and discusses differences between methods and water categories. The findings highlight the importance of monitoring design and appropriate reference conditions for ecological status assessment under the Water Framework Directive.

Angel Borja, Enrico Barbone, Alberto Basset, Gunhild Borgersen, Marijana Brkljacic, Joxe Mikel Garmendia, João Carlos Marques, Krysia Mazik, Iñigo Muxika, João Magalhães Neto, Karl Norling, J. Germán Rodríguez, Ilaria Rosati, Brage Rygg, Heliana Teixeira, Antoaneta Trayanova

WISER (Water bodies in Europe: Integrative Systems to assess Ecological status and Recovery) was funded by the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), grant agreement 226273.