Definition
Adaptive management is a decision-making process centered upon learning from the outcomes of management
actions. Information from monitoring and research is systematically incorporated into future decisions to improve
the effectiveness of management.
Description
Adaptive management (AM) is recommended when
resource management decisions must be made despite significant uncertainty. AM programs collect information
about a system while implementing management actions
and apply that information to reduce uncertainty and
improve future decisions. AM frameworks typically
include monitoring, research, and conceptual and numerical modeling to collect and organize knowledge about
a system and incorporate it into future decisions
(Williams et al., 2009).
Structured decision making is recommended for the
development and ongoing operation of AM programs.
Structured decision making is a process in which problems, objectives, management alternatives, and key uncertainties are systematically identified (Gregory et al.,
2012). The process includes projecting the consequences
of alternative actions into the future to determine the range
of likely outcomes and trade-offs while identifying acceptable levels of risk. As resource management has political,
social, and economic considerations, formal engagement
with stakeholders in the structured decision making process and the development and implementation of an AM
program increases the chances that the program will
succeed.
AM approaches can be categorized as active or passive.
Practitioners of active approaches seek to optimize learning through management experiments, assigning higher
value to management actions that will provide the most
useful information. Passive approaches use information
gained through monitoring of actions and outcomes; however, they generally do not choose actions based on their
potential for increasing knowledge. While passive
approaches gather information more slowly, they may be
beneficial in cases where experimentation is impractical
or impossible. Both approaches follow a cyclical pattern
of action and assessment. Such a cycle might consist of
(1) a planning phase to develop conceptual models, objectives, and management alternatives; (2) a design phase to
choose and develop specific actions; (3) an action implementation and monitoring phase; (4) an assessment
phase, in which new information is combined with
existing information to evaluate the outcomes of actions
relative to the objectives; and (5) an adjustment phase to
make changes to actions as necessary to improve outcomes. Assessment and adjustment may apply to the current action, returning the cycle to the design phase. Less
frequently, managers may use the assessment and adjustment phases to evaluate the AM program itself and revisit
the planning phase.
Bibliography
Gregory, R., Failing, L., Harstone, M., Long, G., McDaniels, T., and
Ohlson, D., 2012. Structured Decision Making: A Practical
Guide to Environmental Management Choices. Sussex: John
Wiley & Sons.
Williams, B. K., Szaro, R. C., and Shapiro, C. D., 2009. Adaptive
Management. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior
Technical Guide.
Cross-references
Adaptive Governance
AEROBIC ENVIRONMENTS
Ayman A. Elgamal
Marine Geology Department, Coastal Research Institute,
National Water Research Center, Alexandria, Egypt
Synonyms
Aerial environment
Definition
An aerobic environment is one characterized by the
presence of free oxygen (O 2 ), in contrast to an anaerobic
environment which is one devoid of free oxygen
(WKU, 2013). Aerobic organisms grow or metabolize
only in the presence of molecular oxygen (Mekone and
Kandel, 1986; Talaro and Talaro, 1993), such as in the
upper few centimeters of estuarine bottom sediments
where concentrations of free oxygen are significant and
chemically oxidizing processes prevail (EPA, 1990). In
this environment, aerobic bacteria readily decompose
organic matter, breaking down the organic molecules to
simple inorganic constituents (Talaro and Talaro, 1993).
These organisms require oxygen as their terminal electron
acceptor. Anaerobes (anaerobic bacteria), however, grow
or metabolize only in the absence of molecular oxygen,
such as in the deeper sediment layers of estuarine and
marine environments (EPA, 1990).
Bibliography
EPA, 1990. Estuaries and Waste Load Allocation Models. Part 1 in
Book III Estuaries, Technical Guidance Manual for Performing
Waste Load Allocations. Washington, DC: United States,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Water.
Mekone, L., and Kandel, J., 1986. Microbiology, Essentials and
Applications. New York: McGraw-Hill Book.
Talaro, K., and Talaro, A., 1993. Foundations in Microbiology.
St. Louis: Wm. C. Brown Publishers (WCB).
WKU, 2013. Physiological Requirements of Oxygen. 208 Microbiology, Section 3, Laboratory Week 11, Western Kentucky University (WKU), http://bioweb.wku.edu/courses/Biol208/Lab_
Manual/208%20week%2011.pdf
Cross-references
Anaerobic Environments
2
AEROBIC ENVIRONMENTS
Adaptive management is a decision-making process centered upon learning from the outcomes of management
actions. Information from monitoring and research is systematically incorporated into future decisions to improve
the effectiveness of management.
Description
Adaptive management (AM) is recommended when
resource management decisions must be made despite significant uncertainty. AM programs collect information
about a system while implementing management actions
and apply that information to reduce uncertainty and
improve future decisions. AM frameworks typically
include monitoring, research, and conceptual and numerical modeling to collect and organize knowledge about
a system and incorporate it into future decisions
(Williams et al., 2009).
Structured decision making is recommended for the
development and ongoing operation of AM programs.
Structured decision making is a process in which problems, objectives, management alternatives, and key uncertainties are systematically identified (Gregory et al.,
2012). The process includes projecting the consequences
of alternative actions into the future to determine the range
of likely outcomes and trade-offs while identifying acceptable levels of risk. As resource management has political,
social, and economic considerations, formal engagement
with stakeholders in the structured decision making process and the development and implementation of an AM
program increases the chances that the program will
succeed.
AM approaches can be categorized as active or passive.
Practitioners of active approaches seek to optimize learning through management experiments, assigning higher
value to management actions that will provide the most
useful information. Passive approaches use information
gained through monitoring of actions and outcomes; however, they generally do not choose actions based on their
potential for increasing knowledge. While passive
approaches gather information more slowly, they may be
beneficial in cases where experimentation is impractical
or impossible. Both approaches follow a cyclical pattern
of action and assessment. Such a cycle might consist of
(1) a planning phase to develop conceptual models, objectives, and management alternatives; (2) a design phase to
choose and develop specific actions; (3) an action implementation and monitoring phase; (4) an assessment
phase, in which new information is combined with
existing information to evaluate the outcomes of actions
relative to the objectives; and (5) an adjustment phase to
make changes to actions as necessary to improve outcomes. Assessment and adjustment may apply to the current action, returning the cycle to the design phase. Less
frequently, managers may use the assessment and adjustment phases to evaluate the AM program itself and revisit
the planning phase.
Bibliography
Gregory, R., Failing, L., Harstone, M., Long, G., McDaniels, T., and
Ohlson, D., 2012. Structured Decision Making: A Practical
Guide to Environmental Management Choices. Sussex: John
Wiley & Sons.
Williams, B. K., Szaro, R. C., and Shapiro, C. D., 2009. Adaptive
Management. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior
Technical Guide.
Cross-references
Adaptive Governance
AEROBIC ENVIRONMENTS
Ayman A. Elgamal
Marine Geology Department, Coastal Research Institute,
National Water Research Center, Alexandria, Egypt
Synonyms
Aerial environment
Definition
An aerobic environment is one characterized by the
presence of free oxygen (O 2 ), in contrast to an anaerobic
environment which is one devoid of free oxygen
(WKU, 2013). Aerobic organisms grow or metabolize
only in the presence of molecular oxygen (Mekone and
Kandel, 1986; Talaro and Talaro, 1993), such as in the
upper few centimeters of estuarine bottom sediments
where concentrations of free oxygen are significant and
chemically oxidizing processes prevail (EPA, 1990). In
this environment, aerobic bacteria readily decompose
organic matter, breaking down the organic molecules to
simple inorganic constituents (Talaro and Talaro, 1993).
These organisms require oxygen as their terminal electron
acceptor. Anaerobes (anaerobic bacteria), however, grow
or metabolize only in the absence of molecular oxygen,
such as in the deeper sediment layers of estuarine and
marine environments (EPA, 1990).
Bibliography
EPA, 1990. Estuaries and Waste Load Allocation Models. Part 1 in
Book III Estuaries, Technical Guidance Manual for Performing
Waste Load Allocations. Washington, DC: United States,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Water.
Mekone, L., and Kandel, J., 1986. Microbiology, Essentials and
Applications. New York: McGraw-Hill Book.
Talaro, K., and Talaro, A., 1993. Foundations in Microbiology.
St. Louis: Wm. C. Brown Publishers (WCB).
WKU, 2013. Physiological Requirements of Oxygen. 208 Microbiology, Section 3, Laboratory Week 11, Western Kentucky University (WKU), http://bioweb.wku.edu/courses/Biol208/Lab_
Manual/208%20week%2011.pdf
Cross-references
Anaerobic Environments
2
AEROBIC ENVIRONMENTS