Figure 4

Examples of modelled ecosystem sensitivity to parameters such as temperature (°C), filtered reactive PO ₄ (μg/L) and turbidity (NTU). The solid line is overall ecosystem health index (OEHI), dashed line is overall water quality health index (WQHI), dotted line is pressure for remedial action due to monitored ecosystem parameters, dash-dot line is aesthetic satisfaction index and the dash-dot-dot line is the pressure for remedial action due to aesthetics. Note that undesirable levels for water quality parameters such as temperature and phosphate does not invoke community dissatisfaction due to their invisible nature, but do trigger a need for remedial action through the monitoring program. Turbidity, on the other hand, triggers a decrease in aesthetic satisfaction that does not necessarily reflect the actual ecosystem health and quickly results in the necessity for remedial action (driven by simulated anticipation of community complaint).