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Population‐scale assessment endpoints in ecological risk assessment part 1: Reflections of stakeholder values
Author(s) -
Landis Wayne G
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
integrated environmental assessment and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.665
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1551-3793
pISSN - 1551-3777
DOI - 10.1002/ieam.5630020115
Subject(s) - risk assessment , population , scale (ratio) , stakeholder , environmental resource management , selection (genetic algorithm) , watershed , ecology , geography , environmental science , environmental health , medicine , computer science , biology , cartography , public relations , computer security , artificial intelligence , machine learning , political science
The selection of appropriate assessment endpoints is a basic element of an ecological risk assessment, especially at regional or watershed scales. Because ecological services often are tied to specific species, the risk to populations is a critical endpoint and feature of ecological risk assessments. The first item is a discussion of the replacement of population‐level risk assessment with the construct of a population‐scale assessment endpoint. Next, the criteria that are currently used for assessment endpoints are reviewed and evaluated for utility in an ecological risk assessment. Following this examination, assessment endpoints from a number of regional‐scale ecological risk assessments are compared. The outcome of this evaluation is that population‐scale assessment endpoints are important expressions of the valued components of ecological structures. Finally, a few recommendations for the selection of assessment endpoints at a population scale are listed.