Welcome to the "Ecological Evaluation Index" site
A biotic index for the implementation of WFD in rocky coastal and sedimentary transitional Mediterranean waters developed by Dr. Sotiris Orfanidis.
The concept:
The concept of the EEI is based on the obvious and universal pattern that "anthropogenic disturbance, e.g. pollution-eutrophication, shifts the ecosystem from pristine where late-successional species is dominant to degraded state, where opportunistic species is dominant". Marine benthic macrophytes (seaweeds, angiosperms) were used as bio-indicators of ecosystem shifts, from the pristine state with late-successional species (Ecological State Group I) to the degraded state with opportunistic species (ESG II). In moderately impacted coasts slow growing, shade-adapted calcareous species (ESG IC) and opportunistic macroalgae often co-dominate. Read more