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COMPARISON OF BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT TOOLS AND BIOCRITERIA USED BY STATES IN THE NEW ENGLAND AND MID-ATLANTIC REGIONS
Citation:
SHELTON, A., D. KLEMM, K. A. BLOCKSOM, AND B. C. AUTREY. COMPARISON OF BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT TOOLS AND BIOCRITERIA USED BY STATES IN THE NEW ENGLAND AND MID-ATLANTIC REGIONS. Presented at North American Benthological Society, Anchorage, AK, June 04 - 09, 2006.
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:
This poster is an overview of biological assessment programs for wadeable streams within states in USEPA Regions 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) and 3 (Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia). Specifically, we provide details on target assemblages (i.e., benthic macroinvertebrates, periphyton and/or fish) and the specific methods used by each state to determine whether biocriteria set for aquatic life use (ALU) are met in wadeable streams and rivers. Since geography spans state boundaries, protocols are often shared and regional approaches to bioassessment are useful. However, differences in biota due to ecoregional differences (e.g., topography, stream gradients, etc.) have made it necessary for states to adjust their monitoring and assessment programs, as well as the analysis of data and biocriteria development. There are many differences among state programs with variations in index periods, indicator assemblages, reference conditions, sampling protocols, laboratory methods, taxonomic resolution, metric evaluation and/or index development. Differences and similarities among states are addressed for states within each of the regions.