The Environmental Protection Agency's ecological research program Environmental 

 deals primarily with the interaction of air and/or water pollutants with Protection AaenCV 

 selected aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Effort is devoted to environ- ^ ^ 



mental transport paths and the fate of pollutants with their concomit- 

 tant effects on biota of importance to man. Research may also be 

 directed toward development of scientific information which will 

 establish criteria upon which specific environmental quality 

 standards may be based. In some cases, management strategy for 

 restoration of environmental damage may be based on ecological 

 research. Economic effects related to ecological damage and scientific 

 observations of regionally or locally polluted areas may receive in- 

 depth examination. Aspects of ecological research are embodied in 

 three program areas: (1) ecological effects, (2) transport processes, and 

 (3) environmental studies. 



Man-occupied ecosystems are described, and functions and relation- 

 ships between man, his environment, and its management are investi- 

 gated. Studies evaluate the impact of man's activities on man (e.g., 

 psychological stresses, social values, and life styles of frequent inter- 

 action in high population density areas) and the relationship between 

 animals and with their environment. Research includes the ecology of 

 vectors of certain zoonoses (animal diseases communicable to man) 

 and the metabolism of pesticides and other chemical compounds in 

 biological systems. 



Department of Health, 

 Education, and Welfare 



The Department of the Interior conducts research on the effects of air, 

 water, and food pollutants on natural, aquatic, and terrestrial 

 ecosystems and on representative species within such systems. 

 Processes (e.g., eutrophi cation) and pathways by which pollutants 

 may pass through food webs and sometimes accumulate in organisms 

 in hazardous amounts are of special concern. 



Research is conducted on conservation and management of natural 

 ecosystems in order to stabilize them and to maintain their quality of 

 productivity. Research is carried out on the impact of extraction of 

 fossil fuels, m.inerals, and other nonrenewable resources on the 

 ecosystems within which they occur, the sites where extracted 

 materials are processed, or the corridors over which they are trans- 

 ported. 



The impact of irrigation and augmented precipitation on natural and 

 managed ecosystems is also studied. Research is conducted to improve 

 management of wildlife, fish, and their habitats. 



An important and urgently needed area of research is the impact of 

 man's activities on the ecosystems in National Parks and other areas 

 to which there is public access for recreational use. 



Department of the 

 Interior 



The National Aeronautics and Space Administration conducts National Aeronautics 



research, including its present Earth Resources Technology Satellite ^^j Sooce 

 program, on the remote sensing of selected environmental parameters. i . . 



A portion of this research is directed toward characterization of Administration 

 ecosystems including species composition and productivity. An 



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