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Genetic Diversity: An Indicator of Ecological Condition and Sustainability

Biodiversity Pyramid: Genes/Species/Ecosystems

Objective:

To develop an ecological indicator of the condition and sustainability of aquatic ecosystems that measures the genetic properties of fish and macroinvertebrate populations.

This indicator will provide States, Regions, and Tribes with a unique, powerful tool to assess the status and long-term trends for biotic communities.

Approach:

To measure genetic diversity within and among populations using a variety of modern molecular technologies. These include:

Why This Research Is Needed:

Ecological monitoring and assessment requires updated ecological indicators that are interpretable at a variety of geographic and temporal scales. No other population-level indicator has the potential to provide as much meaningful information about the condition and long-term vitality of aquatic populations. The effectiveness of this genetic approach still must be evaluated against other ecological indicators to determine whether it provides fundamentally new and useful information to environmental resource monitoring agencies.

EERD Experience:

The genetic characteristics of freshwater fish populations have been measured at a variety of geographic scales, including:

  • Within watersheds - e.g., Mill Creek Watershed, OH and the Experimental Lakes Area, Ontario, Canada
  • Among several watersheds - e.g., Allegheny Plateau (PA and WV)
  • Ecoregions - e.g., Eastern Cornbelt Plains and Western Allegheny Plateau ecoregions (OH, IN)
  • Large regional assessment - e.g., Mid Atlantic Integrated Assessment Area (including NY, PA, NJ, PA, WV, VA, NC)

    • Expected Outputs/Outcomes:

    An informative report, Genetic Diversity as an Indicator of Ecosystem Condition and Sustainability, describing the utility of population genetic approaches for regional assessments has been published and is available at http://www.epa.gov/eerd/APMnew.htm.

    Products in preparation include articles for science journals and a technology transfer document that will help States, Regions and Tribes to implement population genetic assessments.

    Contact: Mark Bagley (bagley.mark@epa.gov) Cincinnati OH

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