Use of behavioral avoidance testing in natural resource damage assessment

摘要

Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) provisions established under federal and state statures enable natural resource trustees to recover compensation from responsible parties to restore injured natural resources. Behavioral avoidance testing with fish has been used in NRDAs to determine injuries to natural resources and on establish restoration thresholds. In this manuscript we evaluate the use of avoidance testing to NRDA. Specifically, we discuss potential "acceptance criteria" to evaluate the applicability and relevance of avoidance testing. These acceptance criteria include: (1) regulatory relevance, (2) reproductibility of testing, (3) cological signicance, (4) quality assurance/quality control, and (5) relevance to restoration. We discuss each of these criteria with respect to avoidance testing. Overall, we conclude that avoidance testing can be an appropriate, defensible, and desirable aspect of an NRDA.