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Ecological Assessment Branch
US-EPA, Region 4, SESD, Athens, Georgia
The Ecological Assessment Branch (EAB) combines a wide range of biological and engineering sciences to provide a multidisciplinary approach to ecosystem assessment and management.
Our services include:
- Surface water quality studies which include nutrient loading, algae toxicity and eutrophication
- Benthic macroinvertebrate and sediment quality characterization in inland, estuarine, and marine systems
- Aquatic toxicity testing and bioaccumulation studies
- Wetlands characterization including functional assessments, jurisdictional delineations, and soils biogeochemistry
- Oxygen dynamics (sediment oxygen demand, reaeration, and community oxygen metabolism) and wasteload allocation studies
Our combined efforts provide EPA and federal, state, and local partners with the information needed to make policy and regulatory decisions, develop biological and water quality criteria, evaluate laboratory performance, validate water quality models, and train other scientists and the public, and assess ecosystem health functions.