ABSTRACT
Two recent symposia have addressed the “health” or “ecological integrity” of large aquatic ecosystems. It seems to the reader that the experts noted have thoroughly explored the conceptual and practical scientific issues that are likely to be brought to bear on the subject of ecological integrity as applied to aquatic ecosystems. Ecological integrity may be usefully addressed at number of spatial scales and levels of organization, depending on information needs and practical analytical constraints. Cultural norms and perspectives pervade both the rationale to deal with environmental problems, and the science that is used to provide solutions. The context of ecological integrity, as the people use it here, refers to the application or final use of a program to measure and monitor ecological integrity. There are a number of ways to compare and evaluate observational data relating to ecological integrity. In aquatic biology there is a tradition of quantitative research that has addressed need to measure degradation of rivers and lakes.
