• Sean Luis

    Sean Luis
    Univ. of Washington
    Conducted an evaluation of scientific literature focused on providing information for ecosystem management.

    Ultimately, management of our use of ecosystems falls on the shoulders of a management body. They may be any group of officials who draft laws and regulations and approve or reject human intervention. They are the ones who sign the forms, contracts and checks. But these officials are not, for the most part, experts in science. They have degrees in public policy, law and political science rather than biology or ecology. They rely on information from scientists.

    The problem we face lies in the disconnect between scientists and managers. There are so many issues at stake, be they ecological, evolutionary, economic, political or social, that it is almost impossible to achieve harmony between the two. Ideally, the literature published by scientists should pose a management question and present matching data to avoid misinterpretation by managers. The management question would sound something like this: "How many walleye pollock should we be harvesting from the Bering Sea?" This question would define the kind of data presented in the paper - consumption of pollock by other species. Perhaps variation in the data is explained by temporal variation in weather, predation by other species, or trophic level. All of these factors need to be taken into account when making the decision. Humans need to be recognized as a part of the whole. We are not a separate entity. We are just as much a part of the ecosystem as the pollock, sea lions, shrimp, phytoplankton or even the water itself.

    This study, conducted under the mentorship of Chuck Fowler of the AFSC's Systemic Management Studies Program consisted of randomly selecting articles from the literature in which studies are

  • Figure 2

    Figure 1
    Number of randomly sampled papers (N=73).

    published for use in management as it involves other species and ecosystems. I began by selecting six journals presumably containing information managers could use to make management decisions. These journals were: Conservation Biology, Ecological Applications, Ecology of Freshwater Fish, Ecological Management and Restoration, Fisheries Management and Ecology, and the Journal of Applied Ecology. I then used Microsoft Excel to generate a random number between zero and one. This was multiplied by the page range within each journal issue (excluding editorials and other subjective material) to select a page. I then selected the article containing that page. I have collected and evaluated 73 papers thus far.

    After collecting and cataloguing the papers, I evaluated them in two ways. First I placed them in eight different categories by assigning each paper to any, or all, categories depending on what was treated in the paper: Ecological Relationships, Human Intervention, Critique

  • Figure 2

    Figure 2
    Seventy-three papers as they are distributed according to the extent to which there was evidence of a management question in the minds of the authors.


    of Methodology, Critique of Question Framework, Explanation of a Particular Phenomenon, Discoveries, Characterization and Prediction (Figure 1). Secondly, I evaluated the same papers by placing them in four other categories depending on 1) whether a management question was asked, 2) almost asked, 3) implied or 4) lacking. Our null hypothesis was that all papers would directly state a management question. None did (Figure 2).

    This has proven to be an invaluable experience for me. I have gained a lot of experience during my time at NOAA. My project was very unique and unprecedented so I had to learn a lot of things quickly and exercise independence. After thinking and talking about these ideas with my mentor and my fellow interns, I have gained a new sense of what 'science' really is. It is not an exercise in isolation from practical application. It is part of a larger process of discovery and problem solving. I also have a clearer idea of where I want my career to go. I am interested in science writing and journalism and I feel like this internship has set me on the right path, particularly in regard to the interface between science and management.