Coastal zone planning: a geophysical classification of inlets to define ecological representation MICHELLE E. GREENLAW a, * , JOHN C. ROFF b , ANNA M. REDDEN b and KAREL A. ALLARD c a Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Biological Station, St Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada, E5B 2L9 b Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, B4P 2R6 c Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada, E4L 4N1 ABSTRACT Selection of candidate sites for designation as Marine Protected Areas in coastal waters still involves many arbitrary choices. Analysis of candidate sites, according to a combination of geophysical and ecological criteria, can lead to the recognition of representative coastal areas, and can potentially reduce the arbitrary nature of these decisions. In coastal areas, estuaries have long been classified according to their geophysical properties. Bays and coves are at least as diverse in character, yet existing classifications are dependent largely upon description of the benthic communities themselves and take little advantage of existing hydrographic and digital information. The classification of coastal inlets proposed here differs significantly from others previously published. It is based on a fully quantified description and analysis of the basic geomorphological and hydrographic features of the coastal environment, and is designed to represent specific community types including α‐diversity and β‐diversity patterns. The classification, which should be globally applicable, was first applied to Nova Scotia’s Atlantic shoreline where inlets fall into 11 recognizable types that are related to selected biological community types. Of these inlet types, only one is sufficiently protected, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s conservation target of at least 10%. Copyright # 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Received 4 November 2010; Revised 29 April 2011; Accepted 26 May 2011 KEY WORDS: representative areas; conservation planning; coastal classification; GIS; bays; inlets; biodiversity prediction; topographic complexity INTRODUCTION Ecosystem‐based conservation is becoming increasingly necessary as growing human populations and resulting pressures are leading to unprecedented declines in global marine biodiversity and ecosystem functions (Duarte et al., 2008; Boyce et al., 2010). Unfortunately, contemporary conservation efforts in the marine environment are scattered, in‐part due to emphases on single species conservation practices (Shaffer, 1981; Lubchenco et al., 2003). Moreover, public awareness of marine ecosystem changes is mainly limited to depleted fisheries stocks (Botsford et al., 1997) and declining charismatic focal species (Zacharias and Roff, 2001b). Such conservation practices divert effort from management of ecosystems in general. To promote ecosystem‐based conservation, emerging tools for conservation and management emphasize protection of habitats and geographical areas rather than assessment and protection of single species. One of the most common geographic conservation tools in use today is the Marine Protected Area (MPA). MPAs are a strategy used to protect geographic areas of the ocean from various human activities (Cote and Finney, 2006). They can be established using a diverse suite of legislative tools, having different mandates and sets of enforced restrictions. In reality, one large MPA in a region is not sufficient to protect a representative sample of the regional biodiversity or to ensure connectivity among populations. A network of MPAs within a biogeographic region would act to protect different aspects of biodiversity, and would connect MPAs by larval dispersal and juvenile or adult migration (International Union *Correspondence to: Michelle Greenlaw, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Biological Station, St Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada, E5B 2L9. E‐mail: michelle.greenlaw@mar.dfo‐mpo.gc.ca Copyright # 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. AQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS Aquatic Conserv: Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. 21: 448–461 (2011) Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/aqc.1200