This report, deliverable 4.6 (D4.6), is a deliverable of Work Package 4 (WP4 – Ecosystem models and assessment models) of the FP7 MareFrame research project. The aim of the MareFrame project is to identify management strategies which will achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) by applying a minimum of two ecosystem models on each of eight different case studies across Europe. These eight case studies are: West of Scotland, the Baltic Sea, Iceland, the Strait of Sicily, the North Sea, South western waters, the Chatham rise, and the Black Sea. This report describes the (main) alternative ecosystem models that have been applied to each of the Mareframe case studies. All of the case studies have tested at least two ecosystem models and some have tested a variety of different models, selecting a primary and a secondary from the list. The primary model chosen in each case has been reported in other deliverables of WP4. During the project planning phase it was envisaged that the alternative model would be set up to also produce all the same outputs as the primary model. During the model development and testing phase more important issues and considerations emerged, both scientifically and in relation to the co-creation process with stakeholders. These new considerations include:
- support for a model framework reduced so the focus was instead placed on newer methods of statistical estimation (eg WoS, Gadget)
- results from more comprehensive model becoming available sooner than expected (eg Atlantis in Icelandic waters)
- increased emphasis on knowledge transfer rather than a complex model applied to a data-poor situation (Black Sea)
- overwhelming support for a much wider application of a single model (Green model, North Sea and others)
- developments in methods to synthesis outputs from ecosystem models (through the Green model, originally developed for the NS only)
The results show point estimation and, where available, uncertainty estimates, measures of GES and economic indicators. Additionally, comparisons between different ecosystem models are provided in a some cases, though this is more a task for other deliverables such as D7.2 and D5.3.