ID: 23
Presenting Author: Alexandra Tekatch
Status: pending
This poster introduces the Cumulative Effects Model for Prioritizing Recovery Actions, a tool for assessing cumulative effects at multiple scales, both in data-poor and data-rich systems.
The Cumulative Effects Model for Prioritizing Recovery Actions (CEMPRA) is an integrative modelling framework. The CEMPRA toolbox uses a series of standardized stressor-response functions to link environmental attributes to the system capacity of a target species/system. This framework design is as generalizable, simple, and versatile as possible so that users can apply the model to various geographic regions, contexts, systems, and species. As the name suggests, CEMPRA helps prioritize recovery actions for data-limited species and species-at-risk, with the flexibility to accommodate both data-rich and data-poor study systems. We will explore applications of CEMPRA for scenario modelling and decision-making. Previous and current applications include: restoration scenario modelling for the recovery of spring-run Chinook salmon in the Nanaimo River; comparing the effectiveness of restoration actions for Nooksack Dace and Salish Sucker under future climate change and land use change scenarios in southern BC; and the development of a flexible framework for assessing cost-benefit tradeoffs for restoration and offsetting of hydro impacts in BC. We will outline the full range of abilities and limitations of CEMPRA, as well as future directions for its application as a tool for adaptive management and cumulative effects assessment.
Alexandra Tekatch is a Systems Ecologist at ESSA Technologies Ltd. who has worked with collaborators at MJBA, ESSA, UBC, and Alberta Parks to develop and distribute the CEMPRA tool.