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INVESTIGATING CAUSES OF BIOLOGICAL IMPAIRMENTS IN AQUATIC SYSTEMS: THE CAUSAL ANALYSIS/DIAGNOSIS DECISION INFORMATION SYSTEM
Citation:
Norton, S B., L E. Rao, S M. Cormier, G Suter, B. Swietlik, D. Norton, B. G. Brown, B Subramanian, AND K S. Minamyer. INVESTIGATING CAUSES OF BIOLOGICAL IMPAIRMENTS IN AQUATIC SYSTEMS: THE CAUSAL ANALYSIS/DIAGNOSIS DECISION INFORMATION SYSTEM. Presented at North American Benthological Society, Athens, GA, May 27-31, 2003.
Impact/Purpose:
The purpose of this research project is to provide methods, tools and guidance to Regions, States and Tribes to support the TMDL program. This research will investigate new measurement methods and models to link stressors to biological responses and will use existing data and knowledge to develop strategies to determine the causes of biological impairment in rivers and streams. Research will be performed across multiple spatial scales, site, subwatershed, watershed, basin, ecoregion and regional/state.
Description:
Increasingly, the regulatory, remedial and restoration actions taken to manage impaired environments are based on measurement and analysis of the biotic community. When an aquatic community has been identified as impaired, the cause of the impairment must be determined so that appropriate actions can be taken. The USEPA's Stressor Identification (SI) Guidance describes a methodology for identifying the causes of observed impairments in aquatic systems. Stressor identification requires extensive knowledge on a variety of stressors as well as depth of knowledge on the mechanism, symptoms, and stressor-response relationships for specific stressors.
This poster describes results of a recent workshop on developing the Causal Analysis/Diagnosis Decision Information System (CADDIS). CADDIS is envisioned as a decision support system that will help investigators in the regions, states and tribes find, access, organize and share information useful for causal evaluations in aquatic systems. Workshop participants recommended that the system be developed incrementally and iteratively, and emphasized that frequent user input and feedback will be essential to the system's success. Functions identified for short-term development include a step-by-step guide to stressor identification, a knowledge base that would help users find and interpret relevant information, and assistance in organizing and reporting results.