Overview

Edited by experts at the leading edge of the development of causal assessment methods for more than two decades, Ecological Causal Assessment gives insight and expert guidance on how to identify cause-effect relationships in environmental systems. The book discusses the importance of asking the fundamental question ""Why did this effect happen?"" before moving on to ""How can we fix it?"" The book provides a deeper understanding of different philosophical and analytical approaches, and of cognitive tendencies that can lead to errors. It describes formal processes for causal assessment that are particularly helpful when the situation is complex or contentious. It also describes how to approach the analysis of available data and to optimize collection efforts. The text then details a transparent process that helps others replicate results and can be used to convince skeptics that the true cause has been identified. Several detailed case studies show how to apply the process to streams, watersheds, and a terrestrial wildlife population. Causal assessment is a challenging, but endlessly fascinating endeavor. Success requires the persistence to figure things out and solid strategies for using the information that you have and getting more of the right kind of information that you need. This book gives you just that: the skills, knowledge, and confidence needed to successfully unravel tough environmental problems and build the knowledge base for effective management solutions. Read interview about this book with author Sue Norton here: http://www.freshwater-science.org/Publications/Newsletter-In-The-Drift/ITD--Fall-2015.cfm#itdqna

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9781138073937

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Reviews

... it is more than a reference book, it is also a handbook of how to establish causality. The range and depth of topics covered is astonishing and indicates that the authors have probably spent their careers putting this topic together. This book is now the bible for establishing causality. -Science of the Total Environment, 2015 Although originally developed primarily to support agencies charged with implementing the Clean Water Act's mandate to identify and restore aquatic ecosystems impaired by pollutant discharges, the concepts and methods described in this book have much wider applicability. As evidenced by the kit fox case study, they are applicable to terrestrial as well as aquatic systems, and to impaired or threatened populations as well as to communities and ecosystems. This is an important book and I recommend it to anyone interested in the problem of diagnosing causes of ecological impairment. -Larry Barnthouse, LWB Environmental Sciences, in Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management As a well-seasoned ecological risk assessor and ecotoxicologist concerned with ecosystem diagnosis and eco-epidemiology, it is my experience that it is generally not easy and straight forward to firstly detect and describe the exact ecological impact at a particular location, and secondly to attribute this impact to the underlying causation. This is mainly due to natural variability and the enormous diversity in potential stress factors that may all act in concert. In this respect, ecological causal assessment clearly resembles forensic science. This book, compiled and edited by my valued US EPA friends, covers both theory and practical application of causal assessment in cases of observed ecosystem deterioration or alteration. Although it is virtually impossible to compile universally applicable cookbook-style recipes, the multiple lines of thought and evidence that have to be followed are clearly sketched. The book is concisely written and provides the reader with lots of illustrative examples and real-life case study descriptions. -Dr. Dick de Zwart, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands The Editors have drawn together colleagues from the U.S. and Canada to collaborate on a seminal work that provides guidance on causal assessment using available information from chemical, physical, and biological traits and indicators. No other book has reached to this level of using ecological evidence in a systematic process to sort out environmental problems. ... a thorough treatise on causal assessment and should be a resource for higher academic studies in this subject matter. -Michael T. Barbour, Adjunct Scientist, Mote Marine Laboratory, Retired Director, Center for Ecological Sciences, Tetra Tech This well-written and well-organized book will allow the next generation of water stewards to identify the causes of water quality degradation and lead to necessary action to restore rivers to a healthy state. ... will train the next generation of water stewards to identify the causes of water quality degradation and what actions are needed to restore rivers to a healthy state. Although framed around fresh waters, Ecological Causal Assessment has lessons that apply to any ecosystem. -David Allan, University of Michigan, co-author of Stream Ecology, Structure and Function of Running waters ... will be useful for students looking to enter this important field as well as to seasoned practitioners. I view this book as setting a foundation upon which the field can continue to develop and highly recommend cover to cover reading to any individual who aspires to be a causal analyst of environmental impairments and possible future outcomes. -Charlie Menzie, Exponent At last! Norton, Cormier, and Suter provide a clear, sensible and comprehensive description of causal assessment, replete with real-world examples and a strong suite of authentic supporting case studies by highly qualified investigators. Well-organized and easy to read, this is an important how-to book in the area of environmental management. ... It should be required reading by every corporate, municipal, state or federal employee who has any environmental management responsibilities. -Arthur J. Stewart, Ph.D., Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, Tennessee From the first sentence, `It was a mystery', this book provides an engaging but thorough treatment of the otherwise dry discipline of ecological causal assessment. Drs. Norton, Cormier and Suter have been at the leading edge of the development and application of ecological causal assessment methods for almost two decades, and their experience, learnings, and solutions are neatly presented in this book. The clear writing, use of defined terms, well-structured chapters, and pertinent illustrative case studies all serve to greatly simplify explanation and understanding of the field for both new and experienced users. This book will become required reading for anybody attempting to identify cause-effect relationships in environmental systems, and beyond to any system where we cannot perform neat experiments, but still need to ask the fundamental question: Why did this happen? -Angus Webb, The University of Melbourne

... it is more than a reference book, it is also a handbook of how to establish causality. The range and depth of topics covered is astonishing and indicates that the authors have probably spent their careers putting this topic together. This book is now the bible for establishing causality. -Science of the Total Environment, 2015 Although originally developed primarily to support agencies charged with implementing the Clean Water Act's mandate to identify and restore aquatic ecosystems impaired by pollutant discharges, the concepts and methods described in this book have much wider applicability. As evidenced by the kit fox case study, they are applicable to terrestrial as well as aquatic systems, and to impaired or threatened populations as well as to communities and ecosystems. This is an important book and I recommend it to anyone interested in the problem of diagnosing causes of ecological impairment. -Larry Barnthouse, LWB Environmental Sciences, in Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management As a well-seasoned ecological risk assessor and ecotoxicologist concerned with ecosystem diagnosis and eco-epidemiology, it is my experience that it is generally not easy and straight forward to firstly detect and describe the exact ecological impact at a particular location, and secondly to attribute this impact to the underlying causation. This is mainly due to natural variability and the enormous diversity in potential stress factors that may all act in concert. In this respect, ecological causal assessment clearly resembles forensic science. This book, compiled and edited by my valued US EPA friends, covers both theory and practical application of causal assessment in cases of observed ecosystem deterioration or alteration. Although it is virtually impossible to compile universally applicable cookbook-style recipes, the multiple lines of thought and evidence that have to be followed are clearly sketched. The book is concisely written and provides the reader with lots of illustrative examples and real-life case study descriptions. -Dr. Dick de Zwart, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands The Editors have drawn together colleagues from the U.S. and Canada to collaborate on a seminal work that provides guidance on causal assessment using available information from chemical, physical, and biological traits and indicators. No other book has reached to this level of using ecological evidence in a systematic process to sort out environmental problems. ... a thorough treatise on causal assessment and should be a resource for higher academic studies in this subject matter. -Michael T. Barbour, Adjunct Scientist, Mote Marine Laboratory, Retired Director, Center for Ecological Sciences, Tetra Tech This well-written and well-organized book will allow the next generation of water stewards to identify the causes of water quality degradation and lead to necessary action to restore rivers to a healthy state. ... will train the next generation of water stewards to identify the causes of water quality degradation and what actions are needed to restore rivers to a healthy state. Although framed around fresh waters, Ecological Causal Assessment has lessons that apply to any ecosystem. -David Allan, University of Michigan, co-author of Stream Ecology, Structure and Function of Running waters ... will be useful for students looking to enter this important field as well as to seasoned practitioners. I view this book as setting a foundation upon which the field can continue to develop and highly recommend cover to cover reading to any individual who aspires to be a causal analyst of environmental impairments and possible future outcomes. -Charlie Menzie, Exponent At last! Norton, Cormier, and Suter provide a clear, sensible and comprehensive description of causal assessment, replete with real-world examples and a strong suite of authentic supporting case studies by highly qualified investigators. Well-organized and easy to read, this is an important how-to book in the area of environmental management. ... It should be required reading by every corporate, municipal, state or federal employee who has any environmental management responsibilities. -Arthur J. Stewart, Ph.D., Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, Tennessee From the first sentence, `It was a mystery', this book provides an engaging but thorough treatment of the otherwise dry discipline of ecological causal assessment. Drs. Norton, Cormier and Suter have been at the leading edge of the development and application of ecological causal assessment methods for almost two decades, and their experience, learnings, and solutions are neatly presented in this book. The clear writing, use of defined terms, well-structured chapters, and pertinent illustrative case studies all serve to greatly simplify explanation and understanding of the field for both new and experienced users. This book will become required reading for anybody attempting to identify cause-effect relationships in environmental systems, and beyond to any system where we cannot perform neat experiments, but still need to ask the fundamental question: Why did this happen? -Angus Webb, The University of Melbourne

Author Information

Susan B. Norton is a senior ecologist in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Center for Environmental Assessment. Since joining the EPA in 1988, Dr. Norton has developed methods and guidance to better use ecological knowledge to inform environmental decisions. She is the lead author of the 2011 EPA review “The Effects of Mountaintop Mines and Valley Fills on Aquatic Ecosystems of the Central Appalachian Coalfields.” She co-led the development of the EPA’s Causal Analysis/Diagnosis Decision Information System (www.epa.gov/caddis) and contributed to many agency guidance documents including the 2000 Stressor Identification Guidance document, the 1998 Guidelines for Ecological Risk Assessment, the 1993 Wildlife Exposure Factors Handbook, and the 1992 Framework for Ecological Risk Assessment. She has published numerous articles and book chapters on ecological assessment and edited the book Ecological Assessment of Aquatic Resources: Linking Science to Decision-Making. Dr. Norton earned her BS in plant science from The Pennsylvania State University, her MS in natural resources from Cornell University, and her PhD in environmental biology from George Mason University. Susan M. Cormier is a senior scientist with the U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, having held both scientific and managerial positions. Before joining the U.S. EPA, she was an assistant professor at Vassar College, New York, and University of Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Cormier earned her BA from the University of New Hampshire, her MS from the University of South Florida, and her PhD from Clark University of Worcester, Massachusetts, with stints at the Marine Biological Laboratories of Woods Hole, Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory, Jamaica, and the Bermuda Biological Station for Research. She has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications making substantive contributions to the development of methods for biocriteria, water quality criteria, causal assessment, and ecological risk assessment. Dr. Cormier co-led the development of the U.S. EPA Stressor Identification Guidance for the Agency and the Causal Analysis/Diagnosis Decision Information System (CADDIS) website and has applied these methods to identify and resolve causes of biological impairments in watersheds all over the country and influenced assessments worldwide. Her research and professional activity center on a recurring theme of generating and assessing scientific information to inform environmental management decisions. Glenn W. Suter II is science advisor in the U.S. EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment and Chairman of the Risk Assessment Forum’s Ecological Oversight Committee. He has authored more than 200 publications including 3 authored books and 3 edited books over his 37-year career. He has received the SETAC Founder’s Award and the AEHS Career Achievement Award, and is an elected fellow of the AAAS. His interests include ecological epidemiology, ecological risk assessment, and the conceptual bases for environmental science and decision-making. Since he left Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U.S. EPA, it has been his pleasure and honor to work with Drs. Cormier and Norton on causal assessment.

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