Restoring Life in Running Waters: Better Biological Monitoring [Paperback]

James R. Karr (Author), Ellen W Chu (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1998 | ISBN-10: 1559636742 | ISBN-13: 978-1559636742 | Edition: 1

Restoring Life in Running Waters states clea rly the need for better assessment, monitoring and risk mana gement procedures of the US water resource policy. The text also serves as a handbook for all those working to protect t he nations water. '

Editorial Reviews

Review

Referenced in Dan Smith''s article, "Post-Restoration Water-Quality Monitoring."

(Dan Smith Stormwater Magazine )

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Island Press; 1 edition (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559636742
• ISBN-13: 978-1559636742
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #463,858 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #38 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Lakes & Ponds

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable for those concerned about fish habitat, January 18, 2000

By 

Susan Anderson Behn - See all my reviews

This review is from: Restoring Life in Running Waters: Better Biological Monitoring (Paperback)

This book provides a functional, usable set of guidelines to consider when working on fisheries habitat and stream rehabilitation problems. Although it is oriented towards the American environmental processes - EPA etc, the background concepts and information should be required reading for everyone who is involved in both environmental monitoring and assessment, and those who are involved in trying to bring back stream habitat that has been lost.

Useful for a much broader audience than originally targetted. For instance Community Stewardship groups here in BC have found it most useful.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent strategy & advice; slightly one-dimensional, December 10, 1998

By 

E. Nielsen ([e-mail]) (Northeastern Iowa USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Restoring Life in Running Waters: Better Biological Monitoring (Paperback)

Karr & Chu provide compelling arguments for the inclusion of reasoned biomonitoring efforts in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of aquatic ecosystems. This is long-overdue. Their desire for biological relevance above and beyond statistical significance is also laudable, reminding me of a dear mentor's constant advice: "But what do the numbers *mean* biologically??" It is an extremely well documented book as well, providing ample resources for further scholarly investigation of related topics. I laud their eagerness to create biological relevance and move beyond standard statistical distributions by brute biological common sense. Their approach is clearly robust, time-effective, and biologically relevant - an excellent combination for real-world environmental management decisions! I do, however, find the authors' quite one-dimensional focus on the use of single "multimetric indices" to be limiting in the practice of aquatic EIA. (Multimetric indices are sums of individual indices, each measuring a different ecological factor.) I fear that the same mathematical machinations which make Karr & Chu's methods robust may also make them insensitive to subtle biological changes. They might contend that robust management considerations render subtle biological changes irrelevant; I would argue that subtle change over time can be at least as powerful as quantum, near-instantaneous changes. The author's methods are also constrained by the fact that the a significant effort is expended in calibration, which may be fine and justified for future studies, but may be of little help for projects currently "in-hand." In conclusion, I would definitely recommend this book as a required read in aquatic biomonitoring strategies, but I will continue to examine my data in more statistically conventional ways as well as through multimetric indices --- I'm not likely to throw out the entire old toolbox for the addition of one new tool, after all, and all the multimetric indices in the world won't do a jot of good without sound experimental design practices.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, thorough, and interesting, February 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Restoring Life in Running Waters: Better Biological Monitoring (Paperback)

A very informative, thorough, and interesting coverage of the topic. Very well written and an enjoyable read. I especially liked the presentation of the "chapters" as "premises."

Advocacy is one theme of this book, but I didn't find that objectionable. As a former professional in the regulatory field, I think it is important for people with opinions to express them!

This book is really a must-read for people working on any aspect of biological monitoring of aquatic systems.