Measures of Environmental Performance and Ecosystem Condition (1999) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Biological Criteria for Water Resource Management
Biological Criteria for Water Resource Management
Pages 227-259
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 227... ...
The presumption that improvements in chemical water quality will restore biological integrity has come into question during the past 20 years. The traditional chemical water-quality approach may give an impression of empirical validity and legal defensibility, but it does not directly measure the ecological health and well-being of surface water resources.
|
From page 228... ...
. Major Factors That Determine Water Resource Integrity Beyond chemical contaminants, multiple factors are responsible for the continuing decline of surface water resources in Ohio (Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, 1995)
|
From page 229... ...
. The wide variation in state statistics is probably due to the use of different indicators and programmatic biases toward the control of toxic chemicals and point-source discharges (Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, 1990; Rankin and Yoder, 1990a)
|
From page 230... ...
to 44 percent in 1988, primarily because quantitative biological criteria were included in the assessment process beginning in 1988 (Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, 1988)
|
From page 231... ...
. The biological integrity provision of the Clean Water Act, which was initially difficult to specify in practice (Ballentine and Guarria, 1975)
|
From page 232... ...
The essential concepts of how to measure and define biological performance, natural habitats, and regional variability were each dealt with through a number of key research projects in the early 1980s and together provided the framework and tools needed to derive biological criteria. Given the above definition, the eventual attainment of the Clean Water Act goal of biological integrity requires much more than merely achieving a high level of species diversity, numbers, and/or biomass.
|
From page 233... ...
Examples include the Index of Biotic Integrity, as originally developed by Karr (1981) and modified by many others (Leonard and Orth, 1986; Miller et al., 1988; Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, 1987b; Steedman, 1988)
|
From page 234... ...
, a process that results in a graduated set of criteria based on regional potential. The results are evaluation mechanisms, such as the Index of Biotic Integrity and the Invertebrate Community Index, that have acceptably low replicate variability (Davis and Lubin, 1989; Fore et al., 1993; Rankin and Yoder, 1990b; Stevens and Szczytko, 1990)
|
From page 235... ...
. NOTE: This table lists the original Index of Biotic Integrity metrics of Karr (1981)
|
From page 236... ...
YODER AND EDWARD T RANKIN and for all types of impacts, their aggregation in the Index of Biotic Integrity provides sufficient overlap and redundancy to yield a consistent and sensitive measure of biological integrity (Angermier and Karr, 1986)
|
From page 237... ...
, which will promote national consistency between state bioassessments. The key is to describe the framework within a common national goal, such as the maintenance and restoration of biological integrity.
|
From page 238... ...
The general intent of each with respect to biological criteria are • Warm-water habitat -- This designation defines the most commonly occurring warm-water assemblages of aquatic organisms in Ohio rivers and streams and represents the principal restoration target for the majority of water resource management efforts in Ohio. Biological criteria for warm-water habitat are tailored to the five different ecoregions within Ohio.
|
From page 239... ...
The concepts inherent to the system of habitat classifications also reflect the necessity of reconciling ideals, such as the restoration of biological integrity everywhere, with the lasting effects of two centuries of intensive human use of land and water resources. Framework for Deriving Quantitative Biological Criteria: Ohio Example The Ohio EPA adopted quantitative biological criteria in the Ohio waterquality standards regulations in 1990, following a 7-year development process based on a 10-year database.
|
From page 240... ...
The following example describes the calibration of the Index of Biotic Integrity modification for wading sites. Regional reference sites were first selected and sampled (Figure 3a)
|
From page 241... ...
The box plot of the wading site reference data shows differences and similarities between ecoregions and the transition from lower scores in the Huron/Erie Lake Plain ecoregion to higher scores in the other four ecoregions. A similar stepwise procedure was used to calibrate the Invertebrate Community Index for macroinvertebrates (DeShon, 1995; Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, 1987b)
|
From page 242... ...
(n=155) 10 0 Ecoregion FIGURE 4 Notched box-and-whisker plot of reference-site results for the Index of Biotic Integrity from wading sites in each of the five ecoregions: Huron/Erie Lake Plain (HELP)
|
From page 243... ...
Figure 5 shows the relationships between the various habitat classifications, relative biological integrity, and the biological index values used to express the quantitative biological criteria. Narrative ratings of biological community performance are given opposite the habitat classifications.
|
From page 244... ...
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency employs biological, chemical, and physical monitoring and assessment techniques in biosurveys to meet three major objectives: • determine the extent to which the habitat classification-specific biological criteria are met; • determine if habitat classification criteria assigned to each water body are appropriate and attainable; and • determine if any changes in biological, chemical, or physical indicators have occurred since earlier measurements, particularly before and after the implementation of point-source pollution controls or best-management practices for nonpoint sources. Identifying the causes of observed impairments requires the interpretation of multiple lines of evidence, including water chemistry data, sediment data, habitat data, effluent data, biomonitoring results, and land-use data (Yoder and Rankin, 1995b)
|
From page 245... ...
Horizontal lines indicate the criteria for exceptional warm-water habitat and warm-water habitat designations for the two indices. The exceptional warm-water habitat criterion is 46 for the Invertebrate Community Index and 48 for the Index of Biotic Integrity.
|
From page 246... ...
The obvious improvements exhibited by both the Index of Biotic Integrity and the Invertebrate Community Index illustrate the benefits of improved municipal waste-water treatment in the Columbus, Ohio, area between 1980 and 1991. Improvements designed to reduce water pollution were put in place at the major waste-water treatment plants during this interval.
|
From page 247... ...
This example shows how biological criteria can serve as a feedback tool for determining the success of pollution control programs. Statewide Reporting and Assessment Applications Biological data and biological criteria are the principal arbiters of habitat classification attainment status for the biennial Ohio Water Resource Inventory (Clean Water Act 305[b]
|
From page 248... ...
Vernon WWTP Attainment Gambier WWTP 40 Nonattainment 20 0 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Upper Hocking River 100 EOLP Ecoregion WAP Ecoregion Combined Sewer Overflow 80 Lancaster Full Attainment Biological Integrity Equivalents WWTP 60 Partial Attainment 40 Nonattainment 20 1982 1990 0 100 95 90 85 80 75 70 River Mile FIGURE 7 Longitudinal profile of Biological Integrity Equivalents (BIEs) for the Kokosing River in 1987 and the upper Hocking River in 1982 and 1990.
|
From page 249... ...
BIOLOGICAL CRITERIA FOR WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 249 100 Earliest data: Mean = 32.3 Latest data: Mean = 36.3 80 Percent of Sites 60 40 Long-term 20 goal 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Index of Biotic Integrity 100 Earliest data: Mean = 28.8 Latest data: Mean = 35.5 80 Percent of Sites 60 40 Long-term 20 goal 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Invertebrate Community Index FIGURE 8 Cumulative frequency diagram for Index of Biotic Integrity scores for 1,160 Ohio sites and Invertebrate Community Index scores for 854 Ohio sites measured before and after 1988. NOTE: Measurements from before 1988 are represented by the line labeled "Earliest Data." Measurements from after 1988 are represented by the line labeled "Latest Data."
|
From page 250... ...
. The analysis included 1,160 sites for the Index of Biotic Integrity, 845 sites for the Modified Index of Well-Being, and 527 sites for the Invertebrate Community Index.
|
From page 251... ...
, followed later by improvements in fish abundance and biomass (as indicated by the Modified Index of Well-Being) , and then finally structural and functional improvements (as measured by the Index of Biotic Integrity)
|
From page 252... ...
24.40 13.50 11.55 Wilcoxon text P value P <0.0001 P <0.0001 P <0.0001 NOTE: Data pairs show descriptive statistics for earliest and latest measurements of the Index of Biotic Integrity, the Modified Index of Well-Being, and the Invertebrate Community Index at the various sites. Paired t-test and Wilcoxon's Z-test statistics compare the means of the earliest and latest measurements of each of the indices.
|
From page 253... ...
• The results provide a means to assess the applicability and effectiveness of the antidegradation policy in the Ohio water-quality standards (i.e., extending antidegradation concerns to nonpoint sources and habitat influences, defining high-quality waters)
|
From page 254... ...
. • The biological results provide a legal basis for enforcement against entities discharging chemicals for which there are no existing water-quality standards or effluent guidelines (or at least provide the impetus to designate new chemical criteria or whole-effluent toxicity limits)
|
From page 255... ...
• Biodiversity issues -- The basic biological data provide information about species, populations, and communities of concern. • Interdisciplinary focus -- Because biosurvey monitoring and assessment design is inherently interdisciplinary, the biological criteria approach provides the opportunity to bring ecologists, toxicologists, engineers, and other professionals together in planning and conducting assessments, interpreting results, and using information in strategic planning and management actions.
|
From page 256... ...
Dan Dudley and Jim Luey contributed extensively to the early development and review of the then-emerging concepts of biological integrity, ecoregions, reference sites, and biological assessment in general. Charlie Staudt provided many hours of support in the development of the computer programs used for data analysis.
|
From page 257... ...
1993. Statistical properties of an index of biotic integrity used to evaluate water resources.
|
From page 258... ...
2, Users Manual for Biological Field Assessment of Ohio Surface Waters. Columbus, Ohio: OEPA, Division of Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment, Surface Wa ter Section.
|
From page 259... ...
Pp. 263–286 in Biological Assessment and Criteria: Tools for Water Resource Planning and Decision Making, W
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.