An Ecological Assessment of Western Streams and Rivers

Download or read book An Ecological Assessment of Western Streams and Rivers written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report presents an ecological assessment of non-tidal streams and rivers across twelve states of the western U.S., based on the results of a unique and experimental monitoring program implemented through the U.S. EPA's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) during the years 2000-2004. The two major objectives were to document the overall condition of the vast network of streams and rivers of the western U.S. and to demonstrate the utility and flexibility of an EMAP-like approach to environmental monitoring and assessment at this regional scale. The assessment is divided into two major categories. The first is the measurement of the ecological condition of streams and rivers in the West by direct measurements of their resident biological assemblages: aquatic vertebrates and benthic macroinvertebrates. The second is an assessment of the relative importance of potential stressors on those assemblages, based on direct measures of their chemical, biological and physical habitat.