ONTARIO BENTHOS BIOMONITORING NETWORK TERMS OF REFERENCE

Transcription

1 ONTARIO BENTHOS BIOMONITORING NETWORK TERMS OF REFERENCE DRAFT: FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES March 2004 Version 1.0 <<Insert MOE, Environment Canada and EMAN logos here>>

2 Ontario Benthos Biomonitoring Network Terms of Reference Version 1.0 March 2004 Report prepared by: C. Jones 1, K.M. Somers 1, B. Craig 2, and T. Reynoldson 3 1 Ontario Ministry of Environment Environmental Monitoring and Reporting Branch Biomonitoring Section Dorset Environmental Science Centre 1026 Bellwood Acres Road, P.O. Box 39, Dorset, ON, P0A 1E0 2 Environment Canada EMAN Coordinating Office 867 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, ON, L7R 4A6 3 National Water Research Institute Environment Canada Acadia Centre for Estuarine Research Box 115 Acadia University Wolfville, Nova Scotia, B4P 2R6 2

3 1 Acknowledgements We wish to thank the other members of the Ontario Benthos Biomonitoring Network s Technical Advisory Committee who assisted with the development of this document: Dave Barton, University of Waterloo Robert Bailey, University of Western Ontario Judi Brouse, District of Muskoka Jack Imhof, Trout Unlimited Leo Luong, Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority/Conservation Ontario Martha Nicol, Saugeen Conservation/Conservation Ontario John Schwindt, Upper Thames River Conservation Authority/Conservation Ontario Rod Sein, Ontario Ministry of Environment Les Stanfield, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Sherwin Watson-Leung, Conservation Halton/Conservation Ontario Thanks also to our many external reviewers, who represented various government agencies, conservation authorities, and volunteer groups. 2 Introduction This document describes the Terms of Reference for the Ontario Benthos Biomonitoring Network (OBBN), a program co-founded by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Environment Canada (both the National Water Research Institute and Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network). 2.1 Monitoring and Adaptive Management The goal of water management is to attain sustainability, a state in which current water uses do not negate future uses of our aquatic ecosystems. The Executive Resources Group (2001) stated that there are two essential reasons for monitoring: to determine ecosystem health and to determine the effectiveness of environmental management programs. In the context of water management, monitoring is the process of evaluating aquatic conditions; it answers two questions: (1) Does water quality vary over time and space; and (2) are management efforts resulting in progress toward sustainability (i.e., are aquatic ecosystems minimally impacted)? To achieve sustainability, water management strategies usually include interrelated programs, policies, and legislation designed to protect and improve aquatic conditions. Because water management is complex, we change water management strategies as pressures change (e.g., population growth, invading species) and as we better understand past actions. Monitoring supports this adaptive process by providing feedback on the status of aquatic resources and the performance of policies, programs, and legislation. 3

4 2.2 The Need for Biomonitoring Biomonitoring is the process of sampling, evaluating, and reporting on ecosystem condition using biological indicators. Biomonitoring is an important part of aquatic ecosystem management because we often measure water management end-points in biological terms (e.g., protection of aquatic biota and their habitats) and because Ontario laws and policies use biological definitions of impairment. The Ontario Water Resources Act states that the quality of water shall be deemed impaired if the material discharged causes or may cause injury to any person, animal, bird or other living thing. Similarly, the Environmental Protection Act s definition of adverse impact includes a number of biological parts: (a) impairment of the quality of the natural environment for any use that can be made of it; (b) injury or damage to property or to plant or animal life; (d) an adverse effect on the health of any person; and (f) rendering any property or plant or animal life unfit for human use. Furthermore, the Fisheries Act states that no person shall carry on any work or undertaking that results in the harmful alteration, disruption, or destruction of fish habitat (i.e. spawning grounds; nursery, rearing, and migration areas; and food supply). With respect to policy, the document Water Management Policies Guidelines Provincial Water Quality Objectives of the Ministry of Environment and Energy [sic] (Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy 1994) states With respect to surface water quality, the goal is to ensure that the water quality is satisfactory for aquatic life. Similarly, the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) states that the quality and quantity of ground water and surface water and the function of sensitive ground water recharge/discharge areas, aquifers and headwaters will be protected or enhanced. The PPS further states that development and site alteration is only permitted in significant habitats if no negative impacts on the natural features or the ecological functions will result. 2.3 Benthos as Indicators Benthos are large, bottom dwelling insects, crustaceans, worms, molluscs and related aquatic animals. They are good indicators of aquatic ecosystem health because they are sedentary, their life cycles range in length from months to years, they are easy to collect and identify, they are responsive to changes in water and sediment quality, they are ubiquitous, and they are not typically seen as an economic or recreational resource themselves (Mackie 2001). Benthos have been used extensively to assess water quality in streams and lakes (Rosenberg and Resh 1993, Rosenberg and Resh 1996). 2.4 Complementarity of Chemical and Biological Monitoring Biological and water chemistry monitoring approaches are complementary and both are commonly applied in adaptive water management. In general, biological surveys measure ecological effects, whereas water chemistry monitoring measures stressors (i.e., environmental contamination). Biological surveys are suited to impact assessment (i.e., determining the degree of biological affects in relation to some stressor), whereas water chemistry assessments are often used to establish the cause of known biological impairments or to assess compliance with regulatory criteria. A single biological sample provides greater temporal coverage than a single 4

5 water sample because biological community composition integrates biotic responses to environmental conditions over the entire life cycles of the sampled biota. Biological approaches measure biotic responses directly, but the specific cause of biotic changes are seldom evident. Chemical approaches signal changes in environmental conditions but often leave us wondering if the changes will have biological consequences. Combining chemical and biological information about aquatic ecosystems permits a more complete assessment of ecosystem health. 2.5 Problem Statement Many groups in Ontario have used benthos biomonitoring to support water management in their jurisdictions. In general, there has been little communication among practitioners. Volunteer groups and agencies have used biomonitoring to generate water quality reports, to support development of watershed plans, to set rehabilitation targets and evaluate performance of projects and programs, and to fulfill legislative or policy requirements (such as Department of Fisheries and Oceans monitoring requirements for harmful alterations, destructions or disruptions of fish habitat). Despite this large amount of biomonitoring information, spatial coverage remains insufficient for regional or provincial syntheses. Even if spatial coverage were adequate, the lack of a shared database and standard protocols would still preclude sharing and comparing data across regions. Biomonitoring practitioners have been hindered by lack of communication among practitioners, discord over sampling and analytical methods, and inconsistent training. Practitioners are also limited by the prohibitive costs and expertise requirements associated with available methods. The lack of agreement on protocol, and the lack of a shared database are key barriers to province-wide aquatic biomonitoring. In addition, there is insufficient financial resources and manpower within any single agency for implementation of a province wide biomonitoring program. 3 OBBN Purpose The objectives of the Ontario Benthos Biomonitoring Network are: 1. To enable the assessment of lakes, streams, and wetlands using benthic macroinvertebrates 2. To provide a biological performance measure related to management of aquatic ecosystems 3. To provide a biological complement to the Provincial Water Quality Monitoring Network, a water chemistry monitoring program that has been operating since the 1960s 4. To facilitate a reference condition approach to bioassessment (in which minimally expected sites are used to derive a community expectation for a test site) 5. To support development of aquatic biocriteria and a biological water quality index for Ontario that will contribute to the Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network (CABIN) 5

6 4 Administration and Implementation The OBBN is founded on three tenets: partnership, standardization, and free data sharing. The founding partners are the Ontario Ministry of Environment (MOE) and Environment Canada s National Water Research Institute (NWRI) and Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN). The program will be administered by the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Environmental Monitoring and Reporting Branch. A Technical Advisory Committee, which is composed of partner representatives (Figure 1), provides scientific guidance. MOE - EMRB (Chair) MOE Operations Environment Canada (EMAN ) Conservation Ontario (CAs) Environment Canada (NWRI) Sampling Partners (NGOs, Municipalities, other Volunteer Groups) Technical Advisory Committee MNR Academics Figure 1: Technical Advisory Committee membership. The Ontario Ministry of Environment chairs the Technical Advisory Committee, and is responsible for general program administration (e.g., network coordination, recruiting partners, ensuring completion of protocol, training and database deliverables, and providing general technical guidance to participants). Partners participate in collaborative research, collect samples, analyze data (using a shard database and automated analytical applications) and report their results (Table 1). This implementation model is cost-effective, provides outreach, and fosters environmental awareness among participants. It allows greater coverage than a single agency program can, and will address the main barriers to biomonitoring in Ontario. Partner Environment Canada (EMAN and NWRI) MOE Conservation Authorities Table 1: OBBN Partner Roles Contribution Coordination and integration (especially with CABIN, a Canada-wide benthos biomonitoring program), recruiting, equipment, database development, technical committee, collaborative research, invertebrate identification OBBN coordinator wages, protocol manual, technical committee (chair), research, database development, training materials and workshops, sampling (esp. reference sites) Technical committee, sampling, collaborative research 6

7 Partner Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources/Ontario Parks Private groups (volunteers, non-governmental organizations, consultants) Municipalities Universities Contribution Technical committee, sampling, collaborative research, protocol development (especially coordination with the Ontario Stream Assessment Protocol [Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources 2003]), Sampling, collaborative research, database development, Technical committee, sampling Technical committee, sampling, collaborative research 5 Deliverables To overcome the existing barriers to biomonitoring and promote broad implementation across Ontario, the OBBN has four components (Figure 2): 1. Standard methods based on the reference condition approach 2. Training 3. A shared internet database of reference and test site data 4. Automated analytical software Protocols Training Ontario Benthos Biomonitoring Network Database Analytical Software Figure 2: Ontario Benthos Biomonitoring Network Components 7

8 5.1 Protocol The OBBN protocol (Jones et al. 2004), is a series of methods that facilitate a reference condition approach to bioassessment. These methods balance standardization (needed to ensure comparability between datasets) and flexibility (needed to accommodate partners having different amounts of time, money, and expertise). 5.2 Training The OBBN training will be delivered primarily through workshops. New network participants will be invited to participate in introductory workshops and annual workshops for all network participants will be held. The agenda for annual workshops will include: A protocol audit to ensure that protocols are being adequately followed A review of any proposed improvements to the network Presentations aimed at delivering results of collaborative studies Training on benthos identification Benthos identification is an important training component. We expect new partners or those with limited expertise and financial resources to enter test site data at a coarse taxonomic level; however, we encourage participants to build upon their taxonomic expertise so that they can benefit from potentially increased assessment sensitivity and greater diagnostic power associated with the use of family or genus/species level identifications. Beyond the training sessions provided at workshops, we encourage participation in the taxonomic certification program that is currently being developed by the North American Benthological Society and the U.S. EPA. Informal technical guidance is also available from the OBBN program coordinator. 5.3 Database and Analytical Software The OBBN database will be internet accessible and will include a set of tools and forms for data entry. The database will contain several applications that automate the assessment process: a test site and reference site selection utility, a mapping utility, a summary metrics calculator, and a statistical module for hypothesis testing (Figure 3). The site selection, mapping, and analytical modules will allow partners to generate custom assessment reports (Figure 4). The OBBN database will be integrated with Environment Canada s existing Benthic Invertebrates for Reference Conditions (BIRC) database. We anticipate that most OBBN partners will use the BIRC/OBBN to store, retrieve and report on their data. For partners that already have benthos databases, translation software will be built to allow existing databases to communicate with the BIRC/OBBN database. We will make all attempts to integrate compatible databases with the OBBN/BIRC database. 8

9 Internet Front-end Website With Client Log-in Data Storage BIRC/OBBN relational database Translation Software Partner Databases Data Analysis Mapping Utility Test Site and Reference Site Selection Utility Summary Metrics Calculator Reporting Custom Output (test and reference site location, summary metrics, hypothesis testing) Figure 3: Ontario Biomonitoring Network database conceptual model Figure 4: Sample Ontario Benthos Biomonitoring Network custom report showing test and reference site locations, summary metrics, and results of hypothesis testing. 9

10 6 Reporting We anticipate shared reporting roles among OBBN partners. Multiple scales of reporting are likely because local groups will report on local water quality, and provincial agencies will synthesize information at regional and provincial scales. We have not yet established a formal reporting strategy. A number of joint reporting opportunities will be investigated as the program develops over the next several years. 7 Schedule Program development and implementation phases are proceeding concurrently (Figure 5). The technical committee was assembled in spring 2003 and is anticipated to approve the version 1.0 Protocol Manual (Jones et al. 2004) by spring Database development is underway; with an anticipated prototype completion date of March 2004 (fine-tuning will be done as necessary thereafter). Partner recruiting began in April Reference site sampling began in May 2003 and is on-going. We request that partners are focus initially on reference site sampling. Test site sampling will begin in 2005 once a reasonable number of reference sites have been sampled. Collaborative studies will be used to resolve unanswered scientific questions pertinent to the development of the network. The results of these studies will be published as technical bulletins, scientific papers and as appendices to the protocol manual. DEVELOPMENT Technical Committee Protocol Training Materials Database Partner Recruiting IMPLEMENTATION Reference Site Sampling Test Site Sampling Training Workshop Collaborative Studies Figure 5: Ontario Benthos Biomonitoring Network implementation schedule. 10

11 8 References Executive Resource Group Managing the Environment: A Review of Best Practices. Ontario Ministry of Environment. Jones, C. K.M. Somers, B. Craig, and T. Reynoldson Ontario Benthos Biomonitoring Network protocol manual, version 1.0. Ontario Ministry of Environment. Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy Water Management: Policies Guidelines Provincial Water Quality Objectives of the Ministry of Environment and Energy. Queen s Printer for Ontario. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Ontario stream assessment protocol, version 5.1. Mackie, G.L Applied aquatic Ecosystem Concepts. Kendall-Hunt Publishing, Dubuque. Rosenberg, D.M., and V.H. Resh (editors) Introduction to Freshwater Biomonitoring and Benthic Macroinvertebrates. Chapman and Hall, New York. Rosenberg, D.M., and V.H. Resh Use of aquatic insects in biomonitoring. Pages in R.W. Merrit, and K.W. Cummins. An introduction to the aquatic insects of North America (Third Edition). Kendall-Hunt Publishing, Dubuque. 11