United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Office of Research
and Development
Washington, DC 20460
National Health & Environmental
Effects Research Laboratory
EPA/600/F-09/007
June 2010
Western Ecology Division
Methods for Aquatic Resource Assessment
The MARA project goal is to improve national aquatic resource assessments
by conducting research on aquatic monitoring and assessment methods.
The Methods for Aquatic Resource
Assessment (MARA) project con-
ducts research on: 1) aquatic indica-
tors, survey designs and assessment
methods required for EPA Office of
Water's National Aquatic Resource
1) NARS Research
The National Aquatic Resource Sur-
veys conducted by EPA's Office of
Water, in collaboration with states,
assess the condition of the nation's
waters (streams, rivers, lakes, coastal
waters, wetlands). To improve their
scientific basis and cost-effectiveness,
MARA conducts research in three
main areas: 1) indicator development
with an objective to recommend new
indicators or improve existing indica-
tors, 2) survey design with an objec-
tive to increase cost-effectiveness of
NARS and integration with state
monitoring, and 3) assessment meth-
ods with an objective to improve
methods on how to summarize the
state of the aquatic resources.
right:
Assessment reporting on biological
condition of streams based on macroin-
vertebrate index ofbiotic condition
from EPA Wadeable Stream Assessment
Project Lead: Dr. Steven Paulsen
(541) 754-4428
Western Ecology Division,
NHEERL USEPA
200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR
97333
http://www.epa.gov/wed
Surveys (NARS); 2) spatial prediction of
river and stream condition at unsampled
locations; and 3) development of indica-
tors of ecosystem services, or the sum
total of benefits that an ecosystem pro-
vides to society.
2) Spatial Prediction of
Aquatic Resource Condition
Spatial prediction uses data from sampled
locations to predict, i.e. spatially interpolate,
aquatic resource condition at locations that
have not been sampled. Since it is not pos-
sible to monitor condition everywhere,
states and EPA require spatial prediction
methodology to better manage aquatic re-
sources. Spatial prediction models require
information from monitoring programs,
such as NARS, as well as information on
watershed characteristics and other factors
that influence aquatic condition. MARA
has developed a simple spatial prediction
model to predict the probability of high
phosphorus concentrations in Western
streams. Current research focus is on pre-
dicting the condition of stream biota, nutri-
ents, and physical features of habitat.
National
(lower
above: Many sites in the west are
remote and require "unusual" means
of transport for the field crew and
their sampling gear. Equipment in-
cludes nets for collecting macroin-
vertebrates, filtration kit to collect
bacteria samples, and surveying
equipment to characterize physical
habitat.
3) Ecosystem Service
Indicators
Ecosystem services are the many
life-sustaining benefits we receive
from nature-clean air and water,
fertile soil for crop production,
pollination, and flood control.
These ecosystem services are im-
portant to our health and well-
being, yet they are limited and
often taken for granted as being
free. There is a need to identify,
understand and quantify these
services so that environmental
decision makers can evaluate the
trade-offs to sustainability and
human health when ecosystem
services are changed by human
activities. MARA focuses on 1)
identifying indicators of ecosys-
tem services quantity and value
that can be monitored nationally
and 2) developing a monitoring
framework to conduct that moni-
toring.
Percentage of Stream Miles
I Good D Fair • Poor D Not Assessed
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