Ecopath

Ecopath with Ecosim

Developer(s)	Ecopath Research and Development Consortium
Initial release	1992
Stable release	6.4.4 / 1 August 2015
Preview release	6.4 Beta release 2 / 15 October 2013
Development status	Released, active
Written in	Visual Basic.NET, C#
Operating system	Windows (EwE desktop version), Unix and Linux (EwE core via Mono)
Platform	.NET Framework 4
Available in	English
Type	Ecosystem modeling
License	GPL v2
Website	http://www.ecopath.org

Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) is a free ecosystem modelling software suite, initially started at NOAA by Jeffrey Polovina, but has since primarily been developed at the UBC Fisheries Centre of the University of British Columbia. In 2007, it was named as one of the ten biggest scientific breakthroughs in NOAA’s 200-year history. The NOAA citation states that Ecopath “revolutionized scientists’ ability worldwide to understand complex marine ecosystems”.^[1] Behind this lie more than two decades of development work in association with Villy Christensen, Carl Walters, Daniel Pauly, and other fisheries scientists,^[2] followed with the provision of user support, training and co-development collaborations. Per January 2012 there are 6000+ registered users in 150+ countries.

Components

EwE has three main components:

Ecopath – a static, mass-balanced snapshot of the system^[3]
Ecosim – a time dynamic simulation module for policy exploration^[4]
Ecospace – a spatial and temporal dynamic module primarily designed for exploring impact and placement of protected areas.^[5]

Capabilities

The Ecopath software package can be used to:

address ecological questions^[6]
evaluate ecosystem effects of fishing^[7]
explore management policy options^[8]
analyze impact and placement of marine protected areas^[9]
predict movement and accumulation of contaminants and tracers (Ecotracer)^[10]
model effect of environmental changes,^[11]^[12]
facilitate end-to-end ecosystem model construction^[13]

The desktop version of Ecopath with Ecosim runs only on Windows and requires Microsoft Access database drivers version 2007 or newer. The computational core of Ecopath with Ecosim can be executed on other operating systems such as Unix or Linux using the Mono common language runtime^[14]

Development Ecopath version 6^[15] received support from the Lenfest Ocean Program and the Pew Charitable trusts. In 2011 the Ecopath Research and Development Consortium was founded to share the responsibility of maintaining and further developing the approach with institutions around the world.

References

↑ NOAA, 2007. ECOPATH Modeling: Precursor to an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management [WWW Document]. URL http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/breakthroughs/ecopath/welcome.html (accessed 8.26.12).
↑ Smikle, S.G., V. Christensen and K.A. Aiken (2010). "A review of caribbean ecosystems and fishery resources using ECOPATH models". Revue Etudes Caribéennes, n°15, https://etudescaribeennes.revues.org/4529
↑ Christensen, V. and Pauly, D., 1992. Ecopath II - a software for balancing steady-state ecosystem models and calculating network characteristics. Ecological Modelling, 61:169-185.
↑ Walters, C., Christensen, V. and Pauly, D., 1997. Structuring dynamic models of exploited ecosystems from trophic mass-balance assessments. Rev Fish Biol Fish, 7:139-172
↑ Walters, C., Pauly, D. and Christensen, V., 1999. Ecospace: Prediction of mesoscale spatial patterns in trophic relationships of exploited ecosystems, with emphasis on the impacts of marine protected areas. Ecosystems, 2:539-554.
↑ Christensen, V. and Pauly, D. (Editors), 1993. Trophic Models of Aquatic Ecosystems. ICLARM Conference Proceedings 26, Manila, 390 p.
↑ Walters, C.J., Christensen, V., Martell, S.J. and Kitchell, J.F., 2005. Possible ecosystem impacts of applying MSY policies from single-species assessment. ICES J Mar Sci, 62:558-568.
↑ Christensen, V. and Walters, C.J., 2004. Trade-offs in ecosystem-scale optimization of fisheries management policies. Bull Mar Sci, 74:549-562
↑ Walters, C.J. and Martell, S.J.D., 2004. Fisheries Ecology and Management. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 399 p.
↑ Christensen, V. and Booth, S., 2006. Ecosystem modeling of dioxin distribution patterns in the marine environment. Chapter 6. In: J. Alder and D. Pauly (Editor), On the multiple uses of small pelagic fishes: from ecosystems to markets. UBC Fisheries Centre Research Reports 14(3). Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia [ISSN 1198-6727], Vancouver
↑ Guénette, S., Heymans, J.J., Christensen, V. and Trites, A.W., 2006. Ecosystem models show combined effects of fishing, predation, competition, and ocean productivity on Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in Alaska. Can J Fish Aquat Sci, 63:2495-2517.
↑ Christensen, V., Coll, M., Steenbeek, J., Buszowski, J., Chagaris, D., and Walters, C.J., 2014. Representing Variable Habitat Quality in a Spatial Food Web Model. Ecosystems 17, 1397–1412.
↑ Steenbeek, J., Coll, M., Gurney, L., Mélin, F., Hoepffner, N., Buszowski, J., and Christensen, V., 2013. Bridging the gap between ecosystem modelling tools using geographic information systems: driving a food-web model with spatial-temporal primary production data. Ecological Modelling 263, 139–151.
↑ Ecopath with Ecosim Website Downloads Retrieved 20 January 2015.
↑ Christensen, V. and Lai, S., 2007. Ecopath with Ecosim 6: the sequel. The Sea Around Us Project Newsletter, 43:1-4 (September–October).

External links

Modelling ecosystems – trophic components

General	Abiotic component Abiotic stress Behaviour Biogeochemical cycle Biomass Biotic component Biotic stress Carrying capacity Competition Ecosystem Ecosystem ecology Ecosystem model Keystone species List of feeding behaviours Metabolic theory of ecology Productivity Resource

Producers	Autotrophs Chemosynthesis Chemotrophs Foundation species Mixotrophs Myco-heterotrophy Mycotroph Organotrophs Photoheterotrophs Photosynthesis Photosynthetic efficiency Phototrophs Primary nutritional groups Primary production

Consumers	Apex predator Bacterivore Carnivores Chemoorganotroph Foraging Generalist and specialist species Intraguild predation Herbivores Heterotroph Heterotrophic nutrition Insectivore Mesopredator release hypothesis Omnivores Optimal foraging theory Predation Prey switching

Decomposers	Chemoorganoheterotrophy Decomposition Detritivores Detritus

Microorganisms	Archaea Bacteriophage Environmental microbiology Lithoautotroph Lithotrophy Microbial cooperation Microbial ecology Microbial food web Microbial intelligence Microbial loop Microbial mat Microbial metabolism Phage ecology

Food webs	Biomagnification Ecological efficiency Ecological pyramid Energy flow Food chain Trophic level

Example webs	Cold seeps Hydrothermal vents Intertidal Kelp forests Lakes North Pacific Subtropical Gyre Rivers San Francisco Estuary Soil Tide pool

Processes	Ascendency Bioaccumulation Cascade effect Climax community Competitive exclusion principle Consumer-resource systems Copiotrophs Dominance Ecological network Ecological succession Energy quality Energy Systems Language f-ratio Feed conversion ratio Feeding frenzy Mesotrophic soil Nutrient cycle Oligotroph Paradox of the plankton Trophic cascade Trophic mutualism Trophic state index

Defense/counter	Animal coloration Antipredator adaptations Camouflage Deimatic behaviour Herbivore adaptations to plant defense Mimicry Plant defense against herbivory Predator avoidance in schooling fish

Modelling ecosystems – other components

Population ecology	Abundance Allee effect Depensation Ecological yield Effective population size Intraspecific competition Logistic function Malthusian growth model Maximum sustainable yield Overpopulation in wild animals Overexploitation Population cycle Population dynamics Population modeling Population size Predator–prey (Lotka–Volterra) equations Recruitment Resilience Small population size Stability

Species	Biodiversity Density-dependent inhibition Ecological effects of biodiversity Ecological extinction Endemic species Flagship species Gradient analysis Indicator species Introduced species Invasive species Latitudinal gradients in species diversity Minimum viable population Neutral theory Occupancy-abundance relationship Population viability analysis Priority effect Rapoport's rule Relative abundance distribution Relative species abundance Species diversity Species homogeneity Species richness Species distribution Species-area curve Umbrella species

Species interaction	Antibiosis Biological interaction Commensalism Community ecology Ecological facilitation Interspecific competition Mutualism Storage effect

Spatial ecology	Biogeography Cross-boundary subsidy Ecocline Ecotone Ecotype Disturbance Edge effects Foster's rule Habitat fragmentation Ideal free distribution Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis Island biogeography Landscape ecology Landscape epidemiology Landscape limnology Metapopulation Patch dynamics r/K selection theory Source–sink dynamics

Niche	Ecological niche Ecological trap Ecosystem engineer Environmental niche modelling Guild Habitat Marine habitats Limiting similarity Niche apportionment models Niche construction Niche differentiation

Other networks	Assembly rules Bateman's principle Bioluminescence Ecological collapse Ecological debt Ecological deficit Ecological energetics Ecological indicator Ecological threshold Ecosystem diversity Emergence Extinction debt Kleiber's law Liebig's law of the minimum Marginal value theorem Thorson's rule Xerosere

Other	Allometry Alternative stable state Balance of nature Biological data visualization Constructal theory Ecocline Ecological economics Ecological footprint Ecological forecasting Ecological humanities Ecological stoichiometry Ecopath Ecosystem based fisheries Endolith Evolutionary ecology Functional ecology Industrial ecology Macroecology Microecosystem Natural environment Regime shift Systems ecology Theoretical ecology

List of ecology topics

Fisheries science and wild fisheries

Fisheries science	Population dynamics of fisheries Shifting baseline Fish stock Fish mortality Condition index Stock assessment Fish measurement Standard weight in fish Fish counter Data storage tag Catch per unit effort Otolith microchemical analysis Biomass Fisheries acoustics Acoustic tag Coded wire tag GIS and aquatic science Pop-up satellite archival tag EcoSCOPE Age class structure Trophic level Trophic cascades Match/mismatch hypothesis Fisheries and climate change Marine biology Aquatic ecosystems Bioeconomics EconMult Ecopath FishBase Census of Marine Life OSTM Fisheries databases Institutes Fisheries scientists

Wild fisheries	Ocean fisheries Diversity of fish Coastal fish Coral reef fish Demersal fish Forage fish Pelagic fish Cod fisheries Crab fisheries Eel fisheries Krill fisheries Kelp fisheries Lobster fisheries Shrimp fishery Eel ladder Fish ladder Fish screen Migration Salmon run Sardine run Shoaling and schooling Marine habitats Marine snow Water column Upwelling Humboldt current Algal blooms Dead zones Fish kill

Fisheries management, sustainability and conservation

Management	Fisheries management Fisheries law Monitoring control and surveillance Vessel monitoring system Fishery Resources Monitoring System Catch reporting Fisheries observer Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing Magnuson–Stevens Act Pulse fishing Fisheries organizations

Quotas	Catch share Individual fishing quota Minimum landing size Slot limit Bycatch Discards Incidental catch Cetacean bycatch Turtle excluder device Shrimp-Turtle case EU quotas EU MLS Exclusive economic zone

Sustainability	Sustainable fisheries Maximum sustainable yield List of harvested aquatic animals by weight Sustainable seafood Overfishing Environmental effects of fishing Fishing down the food web Destructive fishing practices Future of Marine Animal Populations The Sunken Billions The End of the Line

Conservation	Marine Protected Area Marine reserve Marine conservation Marine conservation activism Salmon conservation Grey nurse shark conservation Shark sanctuary

Organisations	The Black Fish Marine Stewardship Council Friend of the Sea SeaChoice Seafood Watch Ocean Conservancy Oceana Sea Around Us Project WorldFish Center Defying Ocean's End HERMIONE PROFISH International Seafood Sustainability Foundation Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Greenpeace

Related issues	CalCOFI Fish slaughter Marine pollution Mercury in fish Shark finning Threatened sharks Threatened rays

List of fishing topics by subject Index of fishing articles Fisheries glossary

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