AEI Aquaculture Environment Interactions Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections AEI 4:117-133 (2013) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/aei00078 Ecosystem modelling for ecosystem-based management of bivalve aquaculture sites in data‑poor environments R. Filgueira1,3,*, J. Grant1, R. Stuart2, M. S. Brown1 1Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada 2PO Box 60, Englishtown, Nova Scotia B0C 1H0, Canada 3Present address: Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Gulf Fisheries Centre, Science Branch, PO Box 5030, Moncton, New Brunswick E1C 9B6, Canada *Email: ramonf@dal.ca ABSTRACT: Although models of carrying capacity have been around for some time, their use in aquaculture management has been limited. This is partially due to the cost involved in generating and testing the models. However, the use of more generic and flexible models could facilitate the implementation of modelling in management. We have built a generic core for coupling biogeochemical and hydrodynamic models using Simile (www.simulistics.com), a visual simulation environment software that is well-suited to accommodate fully spatial models. Specifically, Simile integrates PEST (model-independent parameter estimation, Watermark Numerical Computing, www.pesthomepage.org), an optimization tool that uses the Gauss-Marquardt-Levenberg algorithm and can be used to estimate the value of a parameter, or set of parameters, in order to minimize the discrepancies between the model results and a dataset chosen by the user. The other critical aspect of modelling exercises is the large amount of data necessary to set up, tune and groundtruth the ecosystem model. However, ecoinformatics and improvements in remote sensing procedures have facilitated acquisition of these datasets, even in data-poor environments. In this paper we describe the required datasets and stages of model development necessary to build a biogeochemical model that can be used as a decision-making tool for bivalve aquaculture management in data-poor environments. KEY WORDS: Aquaculture · Carrying capacity · Ecological modelling · Ecosystem-based management · Fully spatial model · Marine spatial planning Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Filgueira R, Grant J, Stuart R, Brown MS (2013) Ecosystem modelling for ecosystem-based management of bivalve aquaculture sites in data‑poor environments. Aquacult Environ Interact 4:117-133. https://doi.org/10.3354/aei00078 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in AEI Vol. 4, No. 2. Online publication date: July 18, 2013 Print ISSN: 1869-215X; Online ISSN: 1869-7534 Copyright © 2013 Inter-Research.