Bioassessment of Freshwater Ecosystems : Using the Reference Condition Approach
- Book Review,
by Robert Bailey, et al
From Book News, Inc.
It was when Bailey (biology, U. of Western Ontario), Richard H. Norris (freshwater ecology, U. of Canberra), and Trefor B. Trynoldson (Arcadia Center for Estuarine Research, Nova Scotia) were collaborating, along with others, on an environmental assessment of the Great Lakes that they got the idea of explaining the concept of natural variability, and how it can be accepted and used to enhance rather than detract from environmental assessments. That project is one of the case studies they cite. After detailing the steps and procedures, they set out the approach in a succinct conclusion.Copyright © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Book Description
Aquatic ecosystem assessment is a rapidly developing field, and one of the newer approaches to assessing the condition of rivers and lakes is the Reference Condition Approach. This is a significant advancement in biomonitoring because it solves the problem of trying to locate nearby control or reference sites when studying an ecosystem that may be degraded, a problem that bedevils traditional approaches. Rather than using upstream reference sites in a river system or next-bay-over reference sites in a lake, an array of ecologically similar, least-exposed to stress sites scattered throughout a catchment or region is used. Once the reference condition has been established, any site suspected of being impacted can be assessed by comparison to the reference sites, and its status determined. The Reference Condition database, once formed, can be used repeatedly. The Reference Condition is established by standardized sampling of both the biota and its environment at a number of reference sites. A variety of environmental variables is measured in conjunction with sampling the biota (usually benthic invertebrates). In this book, we describe the basic methods involved in selecting and sampling appropriate reference sites, comparing test sites to appropriate reference sites using predictive modeling, and determining whether or not test sites are in the reference condition. This provides a rapid assessment method that can deal with everything from large-scale, national issues to local-scale problems with the same approach, and often parts of the same database.
Book Info
Text describes the basic methods involved in selecting and sampling appropriate reference sites using predictive modeling, and determining whether or not text sites are in the reference condition. For researchers and practitioners. Includes references and index.
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