How Long Should a Long-Term River Study Be?

Thomas, Jill F.

doi:10.1080/02705060.2005.9664977

Cited by 3 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Thomas (2005) found that studies should be at least as long as the lifespan of large-bodied fish in the waterbody being studied. Since freshwater drum as old as 18 years have been collected from the Ohio River, it appears that these studies should be conducted minimally over a period of 20–25 years.…”

Section: How Long Is Long Enough?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The definition of “long term” depends on the time scale of the ecological process being studied and often, it is typically decades. In her analysis of four river systems, Thomas (2005) found that “sampling the aquatic community of a river or a site once does not provide sufficient information to assess the community status.” Thomas (2005) also found that long-term studies provide a more accurate analysis of ecosystem structure than short-term studies.…”

Section: How Long Is Long Enough?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thomas (2005) acknowledged the need for economic accountability and asked “how long should a long-term river study be,” noting that it is often necessary to balance data requirements with economic resources, implying that monitoring programs may be discontinued if financial resources are not available. Yet, a single misinformed decision to discontinue a monitoring program can eliminate the value of years of data when it is needed most and the associated costs of failing to detect and address early environmental problems can be enormous.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The value of long-term environmental monitoring programs: an Ohio River case study

Lohner

Dixon

2013

Environ Monit Assess

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As a subset of environmental monitoring, fish sampling programs have been an important part of assessing the potential impacts of water withdrawals and effluent discharges on fish populations for many years. New environmental regulations often require that adverse environmental impacts to fish populations be minimized. Without long-term field data, population evaluations may incorrectly indicate adverse impacts where none exist or no impact where one is likely to occur. Several electric utility companies have funded the Ohio River Ecological Research Program, which has been in existence for over 40 years and consists of fish, habitat, and water quality studies at multiple power plant sites on the mainstem Ohio River. Sampling includes seasonal night-time electrofishing and daytime beach seining at three upstream and three downstream locations near each plant. The long-term nature of the program allows for the establishment of aquatic community indices to support evaluations of technology performance, the collaborative development of compliance metrics, and the assessment of fish population trends. Studies have concluded that the Ohio River fish community has improved in response to better water quality and that power plant fish entrainment and impingement and thermal discharges have had little or no measureable impact. Through collaboration and the use of long-term data, $6.3 million in monitoring costs have been saved during recent fish impingement studies. The ability to access a multiyear fish abundance database, with its associated data on age, growth, and fecundity, improves the quality of such evaluations and reduces the need for extensive field sampling at individual locations.

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Section: How Long Is Long Enough?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: How Long Is Long Enough?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The value of long-term environmental monitoring programs: an Ohio River case study

Lohner

Dixon

2013

Environ Monit Assess

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“…Data from the initial 4 to 5 y of the LTRWS were used for assessing potential minimum temporal variability-based timelines for the study streams (Thomas 2005). The approach included a consideration for the relevant life span of smalland large-bodied fish, the desired statistical power, and the use of the annual hydrograph as a measure of system abiotic variability.…”

Section: Multiyear Temporal Scalementioning

confidence: 99%

A long‐term, multitrophic level study to assess pulp and paper mill effluent effects on aquatic communities in four us receiving waters: Background and status

Hall¹,

Fisher²,

Rodgers³

et al. 2009

Integr Envir Assess & Manag

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An industry-funded, long-term, receiving water study was initiated in 1998/1999 to adress questions about the potential effects of pulp and paper mill effluent discharges on US receiving waters. Although the study continues, the knowledge gained to date provides an opportunity to reflect on the study development process, its progress, and its outcomes. As a backdrop to a series of articles in this special issue describing study results, this article describes the process by which study information objectives were identified as well as the process by which the experimental design was developed. A review of past literature and research identified gaps in long-term population/community data about effluent effects and that, consequently, emerged as a primary information objective. The selected streams for study included 1) Codorus Creek (Pennsylvania, USA), 2) Leaf River (Mississippi, USA), 3) McKenzie River (Oregon, USA), and 4) Willamette River (Oregon) represent a blend of mill process types, coldwater and warmwater stream types, and a range of effluent concentrations. Measurements included numbers of periphyton, macroinvertebrate, and fish communities; the assessment of water and effluent quality; laboratory bioassays; and fish full-life-cycle assays. Information objectives included addressing natural variability and, consequently, the study included long-term temporal (>10 y) and watershed-scale spatial frameworks. Regional-scale ecological risk assessments were performed for each site that aided in placing each site in an ecological and regulatory context. An adaptive-management process is described that allowed for modifications over time as a result of lessons learned as the study progressed. Results from the initial 7 to 8 y of monitoring, as described in the series of articles in this special issue, provide a unique data set with respect to addressing point-source pulp and paper mill effluent discharge concerns and may serve as a template for others to use in developing monitoring or management programs to assess or address water quality conditions or concerns.

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“…The adaptive management strategy and knowledge gained regarding temporal variability (Thomas 2005) supported a decision to reduce monitoring frequency on Codorus Creek from twice per year to once per year following the initial 6 y of the study. This data‐based decision was an important one in terms of optimizing study resources while remaining consistent in meeting study information objectives and maintaining the connectivity of current and future data with previously collected data.…”

Section: Lessons Learned—adaptive Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

A long‐term, multitrophic level study to assess pulp and paper mill effluent effects on aquatic communities in four us receiving waters: Lessons learned

Hall

Fisher

Rodgers

et al. 2009

Integr Envir Assess & Manag

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Lessons learned from the development, implementation, and initial 8 y of study findings from a long-term study to assess the effects of pulp and paper mill effluents on receiving waters are summarized as a conclusion to a series of articles (this issue) on study findings. The study, based on industry-defined information needs, was developed via a science-based experimental design into a long-term (>10 y) watershed-scale monitoring program that integrated in-stream population/ community assessment, laboratory chronic bioassays, and fathead minnow full life-cycle assays as well as water quality and effluent quality monitoring and habitat assessment in addressing the presence of effluent effects. The 4 study streams (Codorus Creek, PA; Leaf River, MS; and the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, OR) represented both bleached and unbleached kraft mill processes and effluent concentrations that ranged from near typical for the United States (0.4%) to very high (Codorus Creek= 32%). Following 8 y of monitoring, the weight of evidence suggests an absence of biological differences at stations downstream of the mill discharges for periphyton or macroinvertebrates and, with the exception of 1 of 9 large-bodied fish and 1 of 7 small-bodied fish community structure metrics for 1 river (McKenzie), an absence of differences for fish communities. Laboratory bioassay and fathead minnow full-life cycle tests supported a substantial "margin of safety" in that, depending on the effluent, adverse responses did not occur until effluent concentrations were from 2 times to more than 150 times in-stream concentrations. The incorporation of a watershed spatial scale illustrated that each sample site tended to be unique over the 28 to 50 km monitored segments with respect to habitat and that knowledge of these variables permitted accurate evaluations of effluent effects. Similarly, the multiyear study framework provided information regarding the natural seasonal and year-to-year variability in fish communities and consequently a better understanding of how potential effluent effects signals could be expressed within this variability. The study incorporated an adaptive management strategy that provided for study design and monitoring modifications over time as a way of benefiting from practical experience and knowledge gained through time and to optimize the use of study resources. Results from this initial 8 y of monitoring, to our knowledge, represent the longest-known population/community-level assessment of the in-stream effects of pulp and paper mill effluents. Beyond the lessons learned with respect to effluent effects are those related to the esign and conduct of long-term watershed-scale studies that may be of use to others in developing watershed assessment or management programs.

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How Long Should a Long-Term River Study Be?

Cited by 3 publications

References 36 publications

The value of long-term environmental monitoring programs: an Ohio River case study

The value of long-term environmental monitoring programs: an Ohio River case study

A long‐term, multitrophic level study to assess pulp and paper mill effluent effects on aquatic communities in four us receiving waters: Background and status

A long‐term, multitrophic level study to assess pulp and paper mill effluent effects on aquatic communities in four us receiving waters: Lessons learned

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