Figures 
Figure 1. Research process and products for meeting the goal of effective management and 
protection of aquatic resources.4 
Figure 2. Manager’s decision support system to protect and restore aquatic resources using 
ORD’s research products (SI box is modified from EPA 2000b).6 
Figure 3. 
Critical path for habitat alteration research (APGs) refer to those listed and described 
in the Goals subsection).15 
Figure 4. 
Components of coastal vegetated habitat with possible pathways for direct and 
indirect effects of habitat alteration on fish, shellfish, and wildlife.21 
Figure 5. Critical path for research on the development of nutrient response relationships for 
coastal receiving waters.45 
Figure 6. Conceptual diagram of the feedbacks among data mining, model development, field 
monitoring, and experimental hypothesis validation.55 
Figure 7. Critical path for suspended and bedded sediments research.69 
Figure 8. Ecological risk assessment framework (modified from EPA 1992).80 
Figure 9. 
Critical path for developing site-specific methodologies for establishing the risks of 
toxic chemicals to aquatic life and aquatic dependent wildlife.81 
Figure 10. Simple conceptual model for risk assessments of nonbioaccumulative toxicants. .. 84 
Figure 11. Conceptual model for risk assessments and criteria development involving 
determination of safe loadings of bioaccumulative toxicants to aquatic systems. .. 91 
Figure 12. Critical path (flow of APGs) for diagnostics research.142 
Figure 13. A logic for characterizing the causes of ecological injuries at specific sites. Modified 
from Figure 4-1 in SI document (EPA 2000c) to show potential inputs from aquatic 
stressors diagnostics research.144 
Figure 14. Relationship between current stages of State/Tribal assessment, TMDL and watershed 
restoration planning processes, and proposed combined path.145 
Figure 15. Locations of national water-quality assessment study units.159 
Figure 16. Conceptual model of cause-and-effect relationships in coastal systems, providing a 
framework for a decision support system. See key to model components at base of 
figure. Loading terms include atmospheric component.163 
VI 
