Table 4-4. Relationship to other indicators 



Complementarity 



Potential to be combined with other condition indicators to provide a more complete idea of 

 overall biotic integrity or sustainability 



Macroinvertebrate assemblages 



Periphyton assemblages 



Index of Well Being (Gammon 1976) 



Abiotic condition indicators (e.g., habitat quality or chemical quality) 



Metrics can be selected that are linked to stressors that can be monitored at different scales: 

 site level, watershed level, and landscape level. 



Indicator incorporates information at various levels of biological organization^ 



Assemblage (community): species richness, trophic composition, habitat guilds 

 Population: abundance, life history/reproductive strategies 



Associations between indicator (or component metrics) and other stressor indicators 

 (e.g., habitat disturbance, chemical water quality) can be examined to identify possible 

 causes of impairment. 



Redundancy 



Potentially redundant with other condition indicators based on assemblages (e.g., macro- 

 invertebrates, periphyton), but this has not been empirically demonstrated. 



' Modified from Table 7 in U.S. EPA (1997) 



Summary 



The indicator and associated monitoring framework are linked to a specific assessment question developed 

 for use in the mid-Atlantic highlands as part of a program to determine ecological condition of freshwater 

 streams. Ancillary questions related to separate societal values (e.g., fishery health) can also be addressed 

 with the indicator, its components, or its basic measurement data. The indicator, in conjunction with other 

 condition or stressor indicators monitored at other scales or levels of biological organization, can contribute 

 information to address multiple assessment questions or provide a capability to diagnose possible causes of 

 impairment. The potential for providing redundant information with other condition indicators based on different 

 types of assemblages or communities is identified, but has not been empirically demonstrated or evaluated 

 for this monitoring program. 



4-6 



