Detecting Ecological Impacts

Detecting Ecological Impacts: Concepts and Applications in Coastal Habitats focuses on crucial aspects of detecting local and regional impacts that result from human activities. Detection and characterization of ecological impacts require scientific approaches that can reliably separate the effects of a specific anthropogenic activity from those of other processes. This fundamental goal is both technically and operationally challenging. Detecting Ecological Impacts is devoted to the conceptual and technical underpinnings that allow for reliable estimates of ecological effects caused by human activities. An international team of scientists focuses on the development and application of scientific tools appropriate for estimating the magnitude and spatial extent of ecological impacts. The contributors also evaluate our current ability to forecast impacts. Some of the scientific, legal, and administrative constraints that impede these critical tasks also are highlighted. Coastal marine habitats are emphasized, but the lessons and insights have general application to all ecological systems.

1;Front Cover;1 2;Detecting Ecological Impacts: Concepts and Applications in Coastal Habitats;4 3;Copyright Page;5 4;Contents;6 5;Contributors;16 6;Acknowledgments;18 7;Preface;20 8; SECTION I: AN INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGICAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT PRINCIPLES AND GOALS;22 8.1;Chapter 1. Detecting Ecological Impacts Caused by Human Activities;24 8.1.1;The Need for Field Assessments;26 8.1.2;The (In-)Adequacy of Existing Field Assessment Designs;27 8.1.3;The Organization of This Book;34 8.1.4;References;36 8.2;Chapter 2. Goals in Environmental Monitoring;38 8.2.1;A Case for Confidence Intervals;39 8.2.2;Discussion;45 8.2.3;References;47 8.3;Chapter 3. Criteria for Selecting Marine Organisms in Biomonitoring Studies;50 8.3.1;What Should an "Indicator" Indicate?;52 8.3.2;Conclusions;64 8.3.3;References;66 8.4;Chapter 4. Impacts on Soft-Sediment Macrofauna: The Effects of Spatial Variation on Temporal Trends;70 8.4.1;Methods;73 8.4.2;Results;74 8.4.3;Discussion;80 8.4.4;References;85 8.5;Chapter 5. Scalable Decision Criteria for Environmental Impact Assessment: Effect Size,Type I, and Type II Errors;88 8.5.1;Components of a Decision;89 8.5.2;Problems with Traditional Decisions;90 8.5.3;New Decision Rules;92 8.5.4;Advantages of Liberating a;95 8.5.5;Some Problems with a Variable a;97 8.5.6;Summary;99 8.5.7;References;100 9;SECTION II: IMPROVING FIELD ASSESSMENTS OF LOCAL IMPACTS BEFORE-AFTER-CONTROL-IMPACT DESIGNS;102 9.1;Chapter 6. Detection of Environmental Impacts: Natural Variability, Effect Size, and Power Analysis;104 9.1.1;Methods;107 9.1.2;Results;114 9.1.3;Discussion;122 9.1.4;References;126 9.2;Chapter 7. Problems in the Analysis of Environmental Monitoring Data;130 9.2.1;BeforeAfter Studies;131 9.2.2;BeforeAfterControlImpact Paired Series Designs;136 9.2.3;Causal Uncertainty;146 9.2.4;Discussion;150 9.2.5;References;151 9.3;Chapter 8. Estimating the Size of an Effect from a BeforeAfterControlImpact Paired Series Design: The Predictive Approach Applied to a Power Plant
Study;154 9.3.1;Background on the Example Data Set;155 9.3.2;The Standard ApproachThe Underlying Model and Implications;157 9.3.3;Difficulties with the Standard Approach;158 9.3.4;An Alternative: The Predictive Approach;161 9.3.5;Discussion;167 9.3.6;References;169 9.4;Chapter 9. On Beyond BACI: Sampling Designs That Might Reliably Detect Environmental Disturbances;172 9.4.1;Problems with Current Sampling Designs;173 9.4.2;Asymmetrical Sampling Design to Detect Environmental Impacts;177 9.4.3;Patterns in Analyses to Detect Environmental Impacts;178 9.4.4;Discussion;190 9.4.5;References;195 10; SECTION III: EXTENSION OF LOCAL IMPACTS TO LARGER SCALE CONSEQUENCES;198 10.1;Chapter 10. Determining the Spatial Extent of Ecological Impacts Caused by Local Anthropogenic Disturbances in Coastal Marine Habitats;200 10.1.1;Spatial Relationships among Physical and Ecological Variables Following a Local Disturbance;202 10.1.2;Life-History Attributes and the Dispersal of Ecological Impacts;208 10.1.3;Conclusions;215 10.1.4;References;217 10.2;Chapter 11. Predicting the Scale of Marine Impacts: Understanding Planktonic Links between Populations;220 10.2.1;Larval Transport Processes;222 10.2.2;Larval Attributes Contributing to Dispersal;238 10.2.3;The Relative Importance of Hydrodynamics and Biology;243 10.2.4;Requirements for Individual Monitoring or EIA Programs;245 10.2.5;Conclusions;250 10.2.6;References;251 10.3;Chapter 12. Influence of Pollutants and Oceanography on Abundance and Deformities of Wild Fish Larvae;256 10.3.1;Oceanographic Features and the Accumulation of Fish Larvae and Pollutants;257 10.3.2;Abundance Patterns of Fish Larvae in Plumes;259 10.3.3;Vulnerability of Fish Larvae to Pollutants;264 10.3.4;Deformities in Wild Larvae from Plumes;268 10.3.5;Caveats to Quantifying Deformities in Wild Fish Larvae and Other Approaches;268 10.3.6;Discussion;272 10.3.7;References;273 10.4;Chapter 13. Consequences for Adult Fish Stocks of Human-Induced Mortality on Immatures;
278 10.4.1;Modeling Compensatory Processes in Fish Populations;280 10.4.2;Predicted Consequences of Increased Immature Mortality;285 10.4.3;Impact on Predators;290 10.4.4;Discussion;292 10.4.5;References;296 11; SECTION IV: THE LINK BETWEEN ADMINISTRATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDIES AND WELL-DESIGNED FIELD ASSESSMENTS;300 11.1;Chapter 14. The Art and Science of Administrative Environmental Impact Assessment;302 11.1.1;Administrative Environmental Review;303 11.1.2;Scientific Data Collection and Analyses in Environmental Impact Reports;309 11.1.3;The Need for Better Scientific Feedback in the EIA Process;312 11.1.4;Conclusions;313 11.1.5;References;314 11.2;Chapter 15. On the Adequacy and Improvement of Marine Benthic Pre-Impact Surveys: Examples from the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf;316 11.2.1;Structure of the Review;317 11.2.2;Review Findings;318 11.2.3;Discussion;325 11.2.4;Conclusions;332 11.2.5;References;334 11.3;Chapter 16. Organizational Constraints on Environmental Impact Assessment Research;338 11.3.1;The Opportunity;339 11.3.2;Project Uncertainties;340 11.3.3;Institutional Uncertainties;344 11.3.4;Conclusions and Lessons;347 11.3.5;References;348 11.4;Chapter 17. Administrative, Legal, and Public Policy Constraints on Environmental Impact Assessment;350 11.4.1;Resolving Conflict through Comprehensive Environmental Assessment: The U.S. Offshore Oil Leasing Program;351 11.4.2;The Limitations of Public Environmental Assessment;354 11.4.3;Conclusion;362 11.4.4;References;363 11.5;Chapter 18. Predicted and Observed Environmental Impacts: Can We Foretell Ecological Change?;366 11.5.1;The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station;367 11.5.2;Predicted Impacts;370 11.5.3;The Impacts That Were Detected;378 11.5.4;Predicted Effects versus "Reality" Do We Get It Right?;382 11.5.5;Conclusions and Recommendations;387 11.5.6;References;389 12;Glossary of Acronyms, Assessment Designs, and Organizations;392 13;Contributor Biographies;398 14;Author Index;404 15;Subje
ct Index;412