The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is presently developing guidelines for conducting ecological risk assessments. This task is particularly challenging because ecological risks result from exposure of populations, communities, and ecosystems to chemical and non-chemical stressors acting individually or in combination over diverse spatial scales that can include multiple ecosystems. In view of the complex nature of this subject and to provide a basis for planning ecological risk assessment guidelines, the EPA's Risk Assessment Forum convened a scientific workshop at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Scientists and experts in ecology and ecological risk assessment from EPA, academia, and other government agencies explored the technical basis for a strategic plan that could be used by the Agency for developing ecological risk assessment guidelines. Topics discussed included: (1) the best scientific approach to organizing ecological risk assessments; (2) the scientific feasibility of implementing ecological risk assessment guidelines for a wide range of stress categories and ecosystems; (3) the scientific issues relative to the risk assessment process; and (4) the subject matter and titles that will constitute the ecological risk assessment guidelines bookshelf.

Shipping list no.: 92-0580-P. "February 1992." Includes bibliographical references (page 51). "EPA/630/R-92/002."