New Calculator Helps Oyster Growers Measure the Water Quality Benefits of Farms
When it comes to removing excess nutrients from waterways, shellfish are a powerhouse. The NOAA Milford Lab in Connecticut studies the environmental benefits—also called ecosystem services—that shellfish provide. Nutrient removal is a particularly valuable ecosystem service. Nutrients like nitrogen are essential to life, but often excess nutrients end...
From fish to clean water, the ocean matters and here’s how to quantify the benefits
Nature protection, conservation and restoration is “not a trivial matter but key to human survival,” according to scientists quoted in a 2005 UN report. To demonstrate this, they developed the concept of “ecosystem services” – the benefits that people derive from nature. Over the next 20 years, this concept has been in constant development to reflect our growing understanding of how ecosystems work and how we benefit from them.