Research Process 
Research Products 
Figure 1. Research process and products for meeting the goal of effective management 
and protection of aquatic resources. 
Protection of the ecological integrity of aquatic ecosystems must begin with a quantification of 
the inherent properties of aquatic and aquatic-dependent habitats which are critical to the support 
of important fish, shellfish, and aquatic-dependent wildlife populations (box la). Research in 
this area will help to assess the life support functions of habitats and habitat complexes and 
provide methods to predict biological effects which result from habitat alteration (box lb). 
EMAP contributes, in part, to these basic needs under GPRA Goal 8. Ecological characterization 
and identification of the priority aquatic research elements are key to developing stressor- 
response relationships within each of the aquatic stressor areas (box 2a). Stressor-response 
relationships are needed to quantitatively assess effects over a range of foreseeable conditions of 
the stressor. These relationships provide the fundamental information required to define 
response thresholds or other patterns and to improve criteria. Determining stressor-response 
relationships also should help define symptoms of a problem and identify diagnostic measures 
that can be broadly applied. This research will provide stressor-response models, if needed, 
within each of the aquatic stressor areas (box 2b). Eventually, these models must be capable of 
dealing with multiple stressor interactions if they are to support the development of approaches 
that allow characterization of the ecological condition of aquatic systems relative to a desired 
condition. However, initial research will focus on the stressor-response relationships of the 
individual stressors, in order to set the stage for the more difficult problem of dealing with 
multiple stressors in the longer term. 
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