ecosystems in the United States, prepare baseline information, and 

 understand the relationships of organisms with their surroundings. 

 Alternative uses of the landscape could be evaluated using this 

 information, and opportunities to optimize the productivity of various 

 regions would be revealed. Fragile ecosystems could be identified and 

 environmental quality values could be defined. An Ecological Survey 

 could provide the baseline information required in nearly all land use 

 decisions. 



The survey strategy is a vital part of long-range planning for and 

 application of ecological research. The distribution and abundance of 

 plant and animal species, the detailed recorded knowledge of local 

 ecosystems, and the identified resident expertise are recognized as 

 essential to the preparation of many environmental impact state- 

 ments and as guidelines for land use planning. 



An Ecological Survey could be developed based on the data from the 

 related supportive surveys, inventories, and monitoring programs 

 conducted by various Federal, state, and other agencies. The Ecolog- 

 ical Survey would utilize selected data from the surveys and compile 

 them in an ecologically meaningful and useful system, particularly 

 oriented to supply necessary data to help develop predictive capabil- 

 ities. The Ecological Survey is not proposed to be a large new program, 

 but would consist of ecologists and other specialists synthesizing and 

 coordinating presently available selected data into more useable form. 

 Ecologically important survey data needs would be identified, and 

 these could be obtained by revising or adding to existing surveys or 

 inventories. 



There is a need to coordinate the many environmental surveys and 

 inventories that have developed over the years, and the Ecological 

 Survey is a logical place for this action to occur. Such a program would 

 result in improved coordination between groups, reduce overlap, and 

 might even reduce Federal expenditures. 



b) Medical doctors have developed reasonably reliable techniques to 

 measure general human and animal health. Using indicators such as 

 pulse rate, blood pressure, temperature, and urine analysis, one can 

 obtain a general indication of a person's health. Ecologists are just 

 beginning to develop comparable indices for quantifying and 

 predicting the health of ecosystems. A useful, though somewhat 

 tedious, technique to indicate the "health" of rivers and streams has 

 been developed based on the relative number of the various species of 

 diatoms (one-celled plants) inhabiting a section of water. By knowing 

 the range of species tolerance to pH, temperature, oxygen, etc., the 

 health of the ecosystem can be diagnosed. 



More such indicator techniques need to be developed, preferably with 

 organisms at a higher level on the food chain because certain materials 

 may be concentrated at each step in the chain. The "condition" of these 

 organisms may also be less variable, requiring fewer samples. Birds 

 could be valuable in this regard because they are not only high in the 

 food chain and occupy a diverse range of terrestrial and aquatic 

 habitats, but they are often sensitive to slight ecological changes. 



The Committee recommends research to devise meaningful ecological 

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