Restoring Life in Running Waters: Better Biological Monitoring

Rating:
Summary: Informative, thorough, and interesting
Review: A very informative, thorough, and interesting coverage of the topic. Very well written and an enjoyable read. I especially liked the presentation of the "chapters" as "premises."

Advocacy is one theme of this book, but I didn't find that objectionable. As a former professional in the regulatory field, I think it is important for people with opinions to express them!

This book is really a must-read for people working on any aspect of biological monitoring of aquatic systems.

Rating:
Summary: Informative, thorough, and interesting
Review: A very informative, thorough, and interesting coverage of the topic. Very well written and an enjoyable read. I especially liked the presentation of the "chapters" as "premises."

Advocacy is one theme of this book, but I didn't find that objectionable. As a former professional in the regulatory field, I think it is important for people with opinions to express them!

This book is really a must-read for people working on any aspect of biological monitoring of aquatic systems.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent strategy & advice; slightly one-dimensional
Review: Karr & Chu provide compelling arguments for the inclusion of reasoned biomonitoring efforts in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of aquatic ecosystems. This is long-overdue. Their desire for biological relevance above and beyond statistical significance is also laudable, reminding me of a dear mentor's constant advice: "But what do the numbers *mean* biologically??" It is an extremely well documented book as well, providing ample resources for further scholarly investigation of related topics. I laud their eagerness to create biological relevance and move beyond standard statistical distributions by brute biological common sense. Their approach is clearly robust, time-effective, and biologically relevant - an excellent combination for real-world environmental management decisions! I do, however, find the authors' quite one-dimensional focus on the use of single "multimetric indices" to be limiting in the practice of aquatic EIA. (Multimetric indices are sums of individual indices, each measuring a different ecological factor.) I fear that the same mathematical machinations which make Karr & Chu's methods robust may also make them insensitive to subtle biological changes. They might contend that robust management considerations render subtle biological changes irrelevant; I would argue that subtle change over time can be at least as powerful as quantum, near-instantaneous changes. The author's methods are also constrained by the fact that the a significant effort is expended in calibration, which may be fine and justified for future studies, but may be of little help for projects currently "in-hand." In conclusion, I would definitely recommend this book as a required read in aquatic biomonitoring strategies, but I will continue to examine my data in more statistically conventional ways as well as through multimetric indices --- I'm not likely to throw out the entire old toolbox for the addition of one new tool, after all, and all the multimetric indices in the world won't do a jot of good without sound experimental design practices.

Rating:
Summary: Informative, thorough, and interesting
Review: Karr & Chu provide compelling arguments for the inclusion of reasoned biomonitoring efforts in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of aquatic ecosystems. This is long-overdue. Their desire for biological relevance above and beyond statistical significance is also laudable, reminding me of a dear mentor's constant advice: "But what do the numbers *mean* biologically??" It is an extremely well documented book as well, providing ample resources for further scholarly investigation of related topics. I laud their eagerness to create biological relevance and move beyond standard statistical distributions by brute biological common sense. Their approach is clearly robust, time-effective, and biologically relevant - an excellent combination for real-world environmental management decisions! I do, however, find the authors' quite one-dimensional focus on the use of single "multimetric indices" to be limiting in the practice of aquatic EIA. (Multimetric indices are sums of individual indices, each measuring a different ecological factor.) I fear that the same mathematical machinations which make Karr & Chu's methods robust may also make them insensitive to subtle biological changes. They might contend that robust management considerations render subtle biological changes irrelevant; I would argue that subtle change over time can be at least as powerful as quantum, near-instantaneous changes. The author's methods are also constrained by the fact that the a significant effort is expended in calibration, which may be fine and justified for future studies, but may be of little help for projects currently "in-hand." In conclusion, I would definitely recommend this book as a required read in aquatic biomonitoring strategies, but I will continue to examine my data in more statistically conventional ways as well as through multimetric indices --- I'm not likely to throw out the entire old toolbox for the addition of one new tool, after all, and all the multimetric indices in the world won't do a jot of good without sound experimental design practices.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent strategy & advice; slightly one-dimensional
Review: Karr & Chu provide compelling arguments for the inclusion of reasoned biomonitoring efforts in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of aquatic ecosystems. This is long-overdue. Their desire for biological relevance above and beyond statistical significance is also laudable, reminding me of a dear mentor's constant advice: "But what do the numbers *mean* biologically??" It is an extremely well documented book as well, providing ample resources for further scholarly investigation of related topics. I laud their eagerness to create biological relevance and move beyond standard statistical distributions by brute biological common sense. Their approach is clearly robust, time-effective, and biologically relevant - an excellent combination for real-world environmental management decisions! I do, however, find the authors' quite one-dimensional focus on the use of single "multimetric indices" to be limiting in the practice of aquatic EIA. (Multimetric indices are sums of individual indices, each measuring a different ecological factor.) I fear that the same mathematical machinations which make Karr & Chu's methods robust may also make them insensitive to subtle biological changes. They might contend that robust management considerations render subtle biological changes irrelevant; I would argue that subtle change over time can be at least as powerful as quantum, near-instantaneous changes. The author's methods are also constrained by the fact that the a significant effort is expended in calibration, which may be fine and justified for future studies, but may be of little help for projects currently "in-hand." In conclusion, I would definitely recommend this book as a required read in aquatic biomonitoring strategies, but I will continue to examine my data in more statistically conventional ways as well as through multimetric indices --- I'm not likely to throw out the entire old toolbox for the addition of one new tool, after all, and all the multimetric indices in the world won't do a jot of good without sound experimental design practices.

Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful and inspiring yet a bit too one dimensional
Review: Karr & Chu write to inspire improvement in biological assesment protocols; no doubut I agree with them on this goal. They also remind us all that the "proof of the pudding" is in the biological relevance of the statistical analyses which we undertake to perform this task. Again, no problem. I do have suspicions re: their rather singular fixation on univariate compression of data to the IBI format to the extent that any & all multivariate data treatments are avoided. I would strongly recommend this text as a starting point, but would equally strongly recommend that you *avoid* considering it a definitive Bible for these assessment processes. An apt ecologist who is conversant with contemporary techniques of biotic quantification should perhaps be able to come up with some more multivariate and flexible metrics in addition to those suggested in this text -- although their tables of "what works where" are very helpful starting guidlines for pragmatic issues of what variables to measure in the field. Excellent documentation if you want to go after the references found in the bibliography. Wonderfully aggresive attitude re: preserving our rivers & engaging style -- I read most of the book this afternoon just because it's so engaging, which is pretty high praise for a textbook. If you also happen to be involved with biomonitoring efforts, please drop me an email as I'm working remotely via the 'Net & wold love the comraderie & discussion -- Eric [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful and inspiring yet a bit too one dimensional
Review: Karr & Chu write to inspire improvement in biological assesment protocols; no doubut I agree with them on this goal. They also remind us all that the "proof of the pudding" is in the biological relevance of the statistical analyses which we undertake to perform this task. Again, no problem. I do have suspicions re: their rather singular fixation on univariate compression of data to the IBI format to the extent that any & all multivariate data treatments are avoided. I would strongly recommend this text as a starting point, but would equally strongly recommend that you *avoid* considering it a definitive Bible for these assessment processes. An apt ecologist who is conversant with contemporary techniques of biotic quantification should perhaps be able to come up with some more multivariate and flexible metrics in addition to those suggested in this text -- although their tables of "what works where" are very helpful starting guidlines for pragmatic issues of what variables to measure in the field. Excellent documentation if you want to go after the references found in the bibliography. Wonderfully aggresive attitude re: preserving our rivers & engaging style -- I read most of the book this afternoon just because it's so engaging, which is pretty high praise for a textbook. If you also happen to be involved with biomonitoring efforts, please drop me an email as I'm working remotely via the 'Net & wold love the comraderie & discussion -- Eric [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Invaluable for those concerned about fish habitat
Review: This book provides a functional, usable set of guidelines to consider when working on fisheries habitat and stream rehabilitation problems. Although it is oriented towards the American environmental processes - EPA etc, the background concepts and information should be required reading for everyone who is involved in both environmental monitoring and assessment, and those who are involved in trying to bring back stream habitat that has been lost.

Useful for a much broader audience than originally targetted. For instance Community Stewardship groups here in BC have found it most useful.