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DEVELOPMENT OF LARGE RIVER BIOASSESSMENT PROTOCOLS (LR-BP) FOR BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATES IN EPA REGION 5
Citation:
JOHNSON, B. R., K. A. BLOCKSOM, AND J. E. FLOTEMERSCH. DEVELOPMENT OF LARGE RIVER BIOASSESSMENT PROTOCOLS (LR-BP) FOR BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATES IN EPA REGION 5. Presented at Mid-Atlantic Aquatic Biologists Workshop, Berkeley Springs, WV, March 24 - 25, 2005.
Impact/Purpose:
The goal of this research is to develop methods and indicators that are useful for evaluating the condition of aquatic communities, for assessing the restoration of aquatic communities in response to mitigation and best management practices, and for determining the exposure of aquatic communities to different classes of stressors (i.e., pesticides, sedimentation, habitat alteration).
Description:
Since passage of the Clean Water Act, government agencies have made extensive use of biomonitoring protocols to report on the quality of wadeable streams and rivers. Non-wadeable systems have been largely overlooked because of
sampling difficulties and a lack of appropriate methods and biological indicators. Yet large rivers are critical natural, commercial, and aesthetic resources, and the need for assessment has risen along with increasing awareness of
cumulative stressor effects and observed degradation in coastal zones. Development of standardized sampling methods and identification of appropriate indicators is the first step towards developing biocriteria for these vital resources.