Diversity, Ecological Health and Condition of Aquatic Assemblages

The importance of managing environmental health throughout the National Wildlife Refuge system requires evaluation of the extent that environmental composition, structure, and function have been altered from historic conditions. Since environmental conditions affect all living organisms, environmental health is a measurement of the chemical contamination of air, water, and soils that may interfere with reproduction or cause increased mutation rates. Such contamination includes carcinogens and other toxic substances that are released internal or external to refuges or may migrate onto the refuge. In order to manage individual refuges at multiple spatial scales for biological integrity, biological diversity, and environmental health it is necessary to understand contaminant patterns across various local, regional, and national scales. Evaluation of the effects of contaminants in surface waters of National Wildlife Refuges at watershed or refuge level scales and indicator response to environmental condition resulting from contaminant and toxic substance release.