The use of environmental assessment procedures within monitoring frameworks demands that there be some relevancy to the decisions that management agencies make using biological criteria. These biological criteria standards are the basis for environmental indicators, which provide a direct measure of environmental quality. Biological Response Signatures: Indicator Patterns Using Aquatic Communities is the first book that evaluates the application of multimetric indices and biological indicators as endpoints in order to determine the relevancy of monitoring and evaluation programs in North America so that patterns in biological responses can be assessed.The text uses state-of-the-art diagnostic tools to evaluate patterns in multimetric indices relating to known point or non-point source impacts. It describes the results of years of biological indicator development. It attempts to evaluate the differences in biological integrity between natural and altered landscapes. In addition, the book expands the types of organism indicator groups that are being used for assessments to include diatoms, aquatic macrophytes, aquatic invertebrates, mussels, fish, amphibians, and birds.C ontributors are among the top researchers and environmental biologists in North America and each provides their own perspective on current aspects of biological criteria implementation. The information contained in this text will appeal to a wide audience on the types of indicator chosen and the respective patterns among impacts discussed in the book. From the conceptual framework to the case studies, Biological Response Signatures will help readers better diagnose the stressors to biological communities and, thus, take actions to protect and restore water resources.
Conceptual FrameworkBiological Response Signatures: Toward the Detection of Cause-and-Effect and Diagnosis in Environmental Disturbance, Thomas P. SimonBiotic Community Response to Stress, John Cairns Jr.Using Biological Response Signatures within a Framework of Multiple Indicators to Assess and Diagnose Causes and Sources of Impairments to Aquatic Assemblages in Selected Ohio Rivers and Streams, Chris O. Yoder and Jeffrey E. DeShonUsing Biological Criteria for Establishing Restoration and Ecological Recovery Endpoints, Thomas P. Simon, Edward T. Rankin, Ronda L. Dufour, and Steven A. NewhouseContaminant Patterns in EcosystemsEffects of Contaminated Dredge Spoils on Wetland Plant Communities: A Literature Review, Paul M. Stewart, Eric L. Garza, and Jason T. ButcherEffects of Sediment Quantity on the Health of Aquatic Ecosystems: A Case Study on Depth of Fines in Coastal Plain Streams in Alabama, Charles C. Morris, James A. Sawyer, IV, Holly H. Bennett, and Christy D. RobinsonThe Difficulty in Determining the Effects of Pesticides on Aquatic Communities, Scott A. Sobiech and Mary G. HenryEcological Effects of Metals on Benthic Invertebrates, Peter M. Kiffney And William H. ClementsMethod AdvancementA Method for Assessing Outfall Effects on Great River Fish Populations: The Traveling Zone Approach, Erich B. Emery and Jeffrey A. ThomasPioneer Species Metric Changes as a Result of Increased Anthropogenic Disturbance: Statewide Patterns and a Case Study of Four Ohio Streams, Edward T. Rankin and Thomas P. SimonCorrelation between Nutrient Stimulation and Presence of Omnivorous Fish along the Lake Erie Nearshore, Roger F. Thoma and Thomas P. SimonRegional Ecological Normalization Using Linear Models: A Meta-Method for Scaling Stream Assessment Indicators, Michael J. Wiley, Paul W. Seelbach, Kevin Wehrly, and Joan MartinLand Use Modification PatternsFish and Benthic Macroinvertebrate Assemblages as Indicators of Stream Degradation in Urbanizing Watersheds, Lizhu Wang and John LyonsConservatism of Confined Disposal Facilities Based on the Biological Stability and Integrity of Plant Communities: A Case Study in the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin, Gerould S. Wilhelm, Thomas P. Simon, and Paul M. StewartMacroinvertebrate Assemblages Associated with Patterns in Land Use and Water Quality, Daren M. Carlisle, Paul M. Stewart, and Jason T. ButcherEffects of Metals on Freshwater Macroinvertebrates: A Review and Case Study of the Correspondence of Multimetric Index, Toxicity Testing, and Copper Concentrations in Sediment and Water, Christopher A. MebaneRelationships between Fish Assemblages and Organochloride Insecticides in Sediment, and Fish Tissue in South Central Kansas, Michael J. Lydy, Paul M. Stewart, and Thomas P. SimonEffects of Silviculture on Indices of Biotic Integrity for Benthic Macroinvertebrate and Fish Assemblages in Northeastern Minnesota's Northern Lakes and Forest Ecoregion (USA), Thomas P. Simon and J