Why Biological Monitoring?
Under the Federal Clean Water Act (section 101), states are required to develop programs that evaluate the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters, and to adopt water quality standards to restore and maintain that integrity. States must report to Congress on the condition of all waters within their boundaries every two years. Physical and chemical data are traditional measures of ecosystem health. These data include measurements of dissolved oxygen, dissolved organic carbon, and the concentration of various toxins, amongst other things. Biological integrity, widely defined as The ability of an aquatic ecosystem to support and maintain a balanced, adaptive community of organisms having a species composition, diversity, and functional organization comparable to that of natural habitats within a region, was a newer addition to the set of tools used for monitoring aquatic ecosystems. To develop specific criteria within the State’s Water Quality Classification La
