STAR

REPORT

Vol.2 Issue 2 Mar. 1998 A product of the National Center for Environmental Research and Quality Assurance

One of the major strategic objectives of EPA is to provide the scientific understanding to

measure, model, maintain or restore, at multiple scales, the integrity and sustainability

of ecosystems now and in the future. ......... [EPA Strategic Plan, 1997]

ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT ☎☎ INDICATORS RESEARCH

U.S. EPA Office of Research

and Development’s Science

To Achieve Results (STAR)

Research in Progress

&

One of EPA’s major strategic goals is to

restore and maintain the health and biological

diversity of ecosystems, while supporting sustainable economies and communities. However, our understanding of the interactions

among the living things and habitats that make

up healthy ecosystems is still limited. We lack

adequate indicators and assessment approaches

to characterize ecosystem health at large or

small spatial scales. A good ecological indicator

is a measure of one or more ecological factors

that, in a repeatable and well understood way,

reflects the overall “health”, or integrity and

sustainability, of an ecosystem.

Recognizing the need to track status and trends in

the condition of the nation’s ecological resources, in the

late 1980s EPA established the Environmental Monitoring

and Assessment Program (EMAP). EMAP supported

research to identify the most scientifically defensible and

cost-effective ecological indicators for ecosystems such as

coastal waters, wetlands, inland waters and forests. In

1995, the National Science and Technology Council’s

Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources

(CENR) recommended that federal agencies coordinate

monitoring and research efforts to develop better national

assessments. The CENR placed particular emphasis on

assessment tools that would reflect conditions across

ecosystems, and at various spatial scales. Indicators and

assessment methods developed or refined through STAR

research, together with methods developed by continuing efforts of EMAP and other federal programs, will be

considered in developing future coordinated national

assessments of ecological conditions, as well as for

assessments at regional and watershed scales.

In 1996 and 1997, EPA’s external research program,

Science to Achieve Results (the “STAR program”) provided funds

for developing ecosystem indicators and

assessment

approaches

to improve

the ability of

EPA, other

agencies and

scientists to

focus

attention

where most

needed in

ecosystem protection and restoration programs, and to

assess progress in programs already underway. The

focus of the 1996 grants was “multiple scale” assessment

needs. The 1997 grants focused additionally on crossresource indicators and integrated sampling designs

STAR grants are typically awarded for three years.

Final results of these projects initiated in Fiscal Years 1996

and 1997 will be presented in future reports as findings

are completed and peer reviewed.
2

General Information: The Environmental Protection Agency’s STAR Research Program

Grants described in this report are part of EPA’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, a major research initiative

designed to improve the quality of scientific information available to support environmental decision making. The

STAR program is managed by EPA’s National Center for Environmental Research and Quality Assurance in the Office

of Research and Development (ORD). The program funds approximately 200 new grants every year, with the typical

grant lasting three years. Funding levels vary from $50,000 to over $500,000 per year, with FY 1998 funding level

at about $80 million for grants to individual principal investigators or groups of investigators. Additional STAR funds

are provided for a number of Research Centers specializing in scientific areas of particular concern to EPA, and for a

fellowship program supporting graduate students conducting environmental research.

 COLOGICAL ASSESSMENT RESEARCH IN EPA’S “STAR” PROGRAM

To successfully manage large regional ecosystems requires broad assessments of conditions

over areas that may be too expensive to monitor directly. For example, it isn’t possible to use

conventional sampling methods to throughly characterize ecosystem health across the many

watersheds that make up large river basins. The University of Minnesota is developing ways

to integrate satellite imagery and aerial photography with conventional ecological data for

such river basins and their watersheds. They will determine the statistical variation of land

alteration factors, soil geology, stream biology and other ecological data to identify indicators

that best reflect natural processes and human impacts across the basin system. This very

comprehensive study will provide cost-effective, statistically sound field and remotely sensed

indicators applicable in many areas. Colorado State University is using satellite imagery to

identify the most useful assessment techniques to trace ecosystem impacts as development has taken

place on the Colorado Plateau from the 1970s to the 1990s. In the Greater

Yellowstone Ecosystem, a team from Iowa State University, the University

of Oklahoma and the University of Kansas will test the use of satellite data

to predict habitat suitability for key terrestrial species. Field data will include

butterfly, bird and plant distributions throughout the montane meadow

ecosystem. The Colorado and Yellowstone studies will enhance the ability to

estimate impacts of habitat alterations on wildlife, and potentially to predict

which species are likely present in a region based on satellite data.

Four STAR grants focus on multiscale indicators of forest ecosystem

health. The University of Tennessee is using study areas of three sizes: the

150 square-kilometer Oak Ridge National Laboratory Reservation, the 2000

square-kilometer Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the approximately 150,000 square-kilometer area of the overall Southern Appalachian

Region. Study factors will include topography, soil characteristics, primary

productivity of land and water plants, and population characteristics of plants

and wildlife such as biomass, species diversity and tree growth rates. The

objective is to provide baselines against which to assess impacts of natural or

human stresses such as droughts, increased nutrient deposition or land

clearing, and to understand how these indicators relate to one another over

areas of different sizes. The multiscale comparison will help to assess the

extent to which satellite imagery can be used to infer ecological conditions in

this region. A related study of baseline relationships between physical and

ecological factors is being performed for the Columbia River basin by a team

E Multiscale Landscape Characteristics, Stresses and Ecological Impacts
3

led by the University of Colorado.

Here the multi-scale assessment

focuses on topography, climate,

forest management and resulting

impacts on land vegetation and fish

abundances.

The University of New

Hampshire is developing tree health

indicators. Aspects of leaf chemistry

provide indicators of stream and soil

quality, air pollution, climate

conditions and tree productivity.

The leaf indicators will be related to

satellite assessments in an effort to

provide cost-effective regional

assessments that combine remote

sensing with “ground truth” data.

Pennsylvania State University, the

Carnegie Museum of Natural

History and East Stroudsburg

University are developing an index

of whole ecosystem integrity for

forests, based on comparing animal

data to habitat quality. They are

seeking an indicator useful at

intermediate spatial scales, to fill the

gap between stream biology

indicators, used at fine scales, and

the bird abundance data at regional

scales. A potential intermediate scale

indicator is

abundance

and reproductive

success of a

streambank

bird, the

Louisiana

waterthrush.

If the full

suite of

indicators accurately predicts

ecosystem health, it will offer more

accurate and complete status and

trend assessments for the midAtlantic region based on integrated

field and satellite data.

Ecological assessments are

much needed to determine the

condition of much of the areas of

the western U.S. with arid and semiarid climates. Satellite sensing is

especially well suited to the vast

rangeland environments. Utah

State University is working in

cooperation with private ranchers in

northern Utah to take advantage of

21 years of Landsat imagery together with the ranchers’ particularly

complete “groundtruth” data base

on ecological conditions. They are

developing procedures for characterizing changes in ecosystem health

associated with commercial livestock

and big game animal grazing.

Indicators for

Freshwater Ecosystems

The University of Texas has

received a STAR grant to investigate

the use of recent advances in aquatic

bacterial ecology, nutrient chemistry

and algal ecology, to develop

indicators for lakes and reservoirs.

The new microbial indicators are of

particular interest because they are

very sensitive, potentially providing

early

warning of

ecological

stress. This

study will

investigate

whether

these short

term

indicators

adequately

reflect whole-lake and larger regional

responses to stresses due to excessive nutrient enrichment of watersheds.

There have been worldwide

reports of deformities and local

extinctions of frogs, salamanders and

other amphibians, and much

speculation that pollution, habitat

changes or other human stresses

may be the cause. Amphibians are

believed to be, like the canaries used

in coal mines, particularly sensitive

indicators of ecological stress, in part

because their skin is very permeable

to contaminants. However, there

have been few assessments of

amphibian conditions and stressors

on a regional basis. A STAR grant

has been awarded to a team led by

the University of Illinois, to assess

amphibian conditions across a range

of mid-western habitats. They will

Multiscale

Research

To some extent,different measures and

monitoring designs are needed for

watershed, regional, national and global

assessments. (Watershed-scale

ecological research is supported under a

“Water and Watersheds” program jointly

funded by EPA’s STAR program and the

National Science Foundation, to be

summarized in a later “STAR Report”.)

While watershed assessments may

include fairly complete monitoring of

stresses and impacts, such direct

assessment is not practical over larger

regions or nationally. But there are

opportunities to harmonize assessments

across spatial scales, by including,

together with field monitoring,

advanced and less expensive assessment

methods based on remote sensing.

Developing statistically sound sampling

approaches for such multiscale assessment is a particular challenge, and

procedures for integrating field data with

remote sensing data for a range of

ecological, hydrologic, geological and

topographic conditions are critically

needed.
4

EPA STAR RESEARCH: Building a Foundation for Sound Environmental Science

consider associations with potential

stressors, including sources of

pesticides and industrial chemicals,

land-cover changes monitored by

satellites, aquatic vegetation changes

and aquatic habitat quality. If

successful, this may identify amphibian condition factors to serve as early

warning indicators of regional

ecological stress.

Assessment for Coastal

Waters and Estuaries

One of the most widely used

indicators of the health of protected

coastal waters and estuaries is the

extent and condition of aquatic

grasses. Healthy marsh- and

seagrasses provide food, shelter and

nursery areas for waterfowl, fish and

food chain animals. Grasses need

relatively unpolluted, clear water ro

remain healthy and reproduce.

Because they can be mapped using

aerial photos and satellite imagery,

they are a useful indicator of regionwide ecosystem conditions. But

methods are needed to describe

how the extent and condition of

grasses relate to other indicators of

ecosystem health. Several STAR

grants have been awarded to

develop such methods.

The Florida International

University, University of Southern

Mississippi and the Florida State

Department of Environmental

Protection are studying spatial

scales at which sea grass condition

indicators reflect impacts of natural

and human stresses. The University

of Georgia is developing practical,

inexpensive methods for assessing

health of salt marshes. For the

ecologically unique and threatened

waters of South Florida, including

the Everglades and wetlands to their

north, Duke University and the

Environmental Research Institute

of Michigan are working with the

U.S. Geological Survey and the

National Park Service to use

satellite imagery to map fresh- and

saltwater flows and inundation

patterns. These are affected by land

use changes and the management

of water control structures. Changing flows have been major contributors to ecological damages such as

noxious algal blooms and local

disappearances of grasses, fish and

waterfowl. This study will provide

better tools to assess and predict

flow patterns needed to help reduce

future harm to the ecosystem.

In tropical oceans, coral

condition is a key indicator of

ecosystem health. Two STAR grants

focus on ecological assessment for

coral reefs. The University of South

Florida is testing inexpensive

“bioassays” that use microorganisms

called foraminifera to determine

whether coral-damaging pollution is

present in natural waters. They are

also developing an index of marine

ecosystem health using sediment

deposits of foraminifera as pollution

trend markers. In the Pacific, the

University of Guam is developing

standard protocols for assessing

impacts on coral reefs from sewage,

sediment runoff and pesticides.

Impacts identified include serious

reproductive failure of corals,

eventually producing dead reefs that

support little in the way of fish or

other normal reef life. Products of

this research will include the

technical protocols and recommendations for ways to prevent and

mitigate human impacts on healthy

reefs.

Ecological Indicators

Research

It is not practical to monitor all components of an ecosystem, including the

water, soil, air, plants, animals, microorganisms and their interactions. Consequently, it is important to learn which

ecological indicators are best used as

surrogates or markers of overall ecosystem integrity and sustainability. To meet

this need the STAR program supports

research to develop individual indicators,

or “suites” of indicators, for a range of

ecosystems. Continuing the

“multiscaling” emphasis from 1996,

there is an emphasis on indicators that

can apply across spatial scales. Also

sought are indicators that may reflect

impacts across types of ecosystem (e.g.,

fresh water, coasts, forests and grasslands), and that can be used in different

monitoring designs. The following key

questions are considered:

 • What indicators characterize and

 measure ecological sustainability?

 • What indicators best show changes

 caused by human impacts?

 • How can we deal with the problem of

 limited data?

 • How can indicators developed in one

 place and time be used in other places

 and times?
5

Great Lakes Assessment

Tools and Resource

Management

In the 1970s, Lake Erie was

severely damaged by pollution. In

the 1980s, efforts by state, federal

and international agencies, scientists,

industry and the public resulted in

successful restoration of a healthy

Lake ecosystem. Pollutants from

farms, industry and sewage treatment plants were greatly reduced,

and water quality and fisheries

recovered. However, in the 1990s,

continuing and new problems,

including a marked decline in the

recreational walleye fishery, have

arisen in Lake Erie. Case Western

Reserve University and Johns

Hopkins University are jointly

developing new components for the

Ecosystem Model that supports

decision making under the Lake

Management Plan. The new tools

will improve the ability to explain,

and perhaps decide how to mitigate,

ecological and fishery impacts of

habitat loss, pollution, zebra mussels,

hydrologic modifications and climate

change.

A significant source of toxic

chemicals that cause ecological

damage and require Great Lakes

fisheries to be closed due to human

health risks is wind-blown particles

contaminated with polychlorinated

biphenyls (PCBs). Michigan State

University and the University of

Maryland are measuring the

amount of airborne PCBs contaminating fish and food webs, and

comparing this to PCB releases from

lake sediments. This will help to

predict future trends in contamination of fish by PCBs to support

developing strategies to mitigate

PCB impacts.

Find Out More About the STAR Research Program

General information on EPA’s STAR research program is available from

the following sources:

ORD’s National Center for Environmental Research and Quality Assurance

(NCERQA): Internet website: http://www.epa.gov/ncerqa

Mailing Address:

Office of Research and Development

National Center for Environmental Research and Quality Assurance

Office of the Director (8701 R)

401 M Street, SW

Washington, DC 20460

Assessing Impacts of

Ecosystem Disturbances

Urbanization has profound

impacts on ecosystems. Not only

are terrestrial ecosystems converted

into towns and suburbs, but the

ecological health of streams, rivers,

lakes and coastal waters is harmed

by changed water flows and

pollutant runoff from construction

sites, highways, homes, sewage and

industrial waste. Purdue University

is attempting to develop predictive

indicators for ecological impacts in

areas undergoing urban development. Such indicators would be

directly useful in providing urban

and regional planners with practical

tools for projecting, monitoring and

mitigating impacts from various

development options.

Defoliation by gypsy moths

can affect forest ecosystems over

large areas. The University of

Maryland, University of Virginia

and Oregon State University are

developing methods to relate

defoliation damage and other

natural and human factors that

affect forest cover and tree composition to increases in nitrogen “leakage” to surface waters. Nitrogen

related measures might provide

practical indicators of terrestrial and

aquatic impacts due to various types

of forest disturbance in the midAtlantic region.
 STAR Research Projects Described in this Report

United States

Environmental Protection Agency

Mail Code 8701R

Washington, D.C. 20460

Offical Business

Penalty for Private Use

$300

EPA/600/F-98/003

1996 STAR Awards

University of Georgia

Health Indicators for Salt Marsh

Estuaries of the South Atlantic Bight

Iowa State University

Modeling Spatial and Temporal

Dynamics of Montane Meadows and

Biodiversity in the Greater

Yellowstone Ecosystem

Florida Department of Environmental Protection; Florida International

University;

University of Southern Mississippi

Multiscale Assessment of the

Population Status of Thalassia

testudinum A New Approach to

Ecosystem Assessment

Johns Hopkins University , Case

Western Reserve University

Modeling and Multiobjective Risk

Decision Tools for Assessment and

Management of Great Lakes

Ecosystems

University of Tennessee

Use of Multi-Scale Biophysical Models

for Ecological Assessment Applications in the Southeastern

United States

Environmental Research Institute of

Michigan; Duke University

Monitoring Regional-Scale Hydrologic Processes in the South Florida

Ecosystem

Colorado State University

Assessment and Analysis of

Ecosystem Stressors Across Scales

Using Remotely Sensed Imagery

Reducing Uncertainty in Managing

the Colorado Plateau Ecosystem

University of Maryland; Michigan

State University

Trophic Transfer of Atmospheric and

Sedimentary Contaminants Into the

Great Lakes Fisheries

Controls on the Ecosystem Scale

Response Times

1997 STAR Awards

University of Guam

Development of Environmental

Assessment, Mitigation and

Restoration Techniques for Coral

Reefs

University of New Hampshire

Foliar Chemistry as an Indicator of

Forest Ecosystem Status, Primary

Production and Stream Water

Chemistry

Pennsylvania State University,

Carnegie Museum of Natural

History Powdermill Nature

Reserve, East Stroudsburg

University

Using Bioindicators to Develop a

Calibrated Index of Ecological

Integrity for a Forested Headwater

Ecosystem

University of Illinois, University of

Minnesota-Duluth, United States

Geological Survey; Illinois

Natural History Survey; and

McGill University

Environmental Factors That Influence

Amphibian Community Structure

and Health as Indicators of

Ecosystems

University of Texas at Arlington

Miicrobial Indicators of Biological

Integrity and Nutrient Stress for

Aquatic Systems

University of South Florida

Foraminifera as Ecosystem Indicators:

Phase 1- A Marine Benthic

Perturbation Index; Phase 2-

Bioassay Protocols

University of Minnesota

The Development and Evaluation of

Multi scale Mechanistic Indicators of

Regional Landscapes

Purdue Research Foundation

Development and Evaluation of

Ecosystem Indicators for Urbanizing

Midwestern Watersheds

Utah State University

Characterization of the Ecological

Integrity of Commercially Graded

Rangelands Using Remote Sensing

based Indicators

University of Maryland

Assessment of Forest Disturbance in

the mid-Atlantic region: a multi-scale

linkage between terrestrial and

aquatic systems