Action: 4.3 Evaluate whether the impacts will cause a trophic cascade in the system

Negative impacts to basal prey and top predators, in particular, can cause a domino effect that reverberates through the food web. For instance, the loss of basal prey species reduces the amount of available food, causing population declines throughout the foodweb.

Applying ecological principles

Ecological principles represent the core attributes of natural systems that must be maintained or restored in order to support healthy marine and coastal ecosystems, and include maintaining, restoring, or accounting for:

These principles are explained in a reference guide for agencies in California, called the Ecological Principles Guide . This guide also includes a series of case studies and checklists that demonstrate how the principles can be applied to day-to-day decision making.

The EcoPrinciples Connect tool provides a way for coastal managers to improve the effectiveness of planning decisions regarding the ecosystems they are mandated to protect. Using this tool will help coastal managers identify and apply ecological data to link relevant plans and policies to key ecological principles.

State GeoPortal

The EcoPrinciples Connect tool links to data from the California Geoportal, which offers an easy and convenient way to search, discover and use authoritative geospatial data resources. This one-stop geospatial shop is helping to improve access to California’s geographic data portfolio and expand the use of those data resources in decision making processes.