Combining best professional judgement and quantile regression splines to improve characterisation of macrofaunal responses to enrichment

Many benthic quality indices rely on categorising impacts by assigning species to ecological-groups (EGs) that reflect their tolerance to pollution. This is usually based on best professional judgement (BPJ) by experts with access to relevant ecological and taxonomic information. However, international applicability of such indices is restricted in areas where the species taxonomy, biology and response to pollution are poorly understood. In this...