ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the Reservoir Fish Assemblage Index (RFAI) component of monitoring program. The Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) was initially developed on small wadeable streams in the Midwest to provide a broadly based and ecologically sound tool to evaluate aquatic resource quality. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) recognized a need to develop reservoir biomonitoring tools to assess progress toward meeting corporate goals of cleaning up the river system and attaining the fishable and swimmable standards outlined in the Clean Water Act. In 1988, the TVA contracted with James Karr to aid in the development of a Reservoir Index of Biotic Integrity. The IBI is a multimetric index based on comparisons of existing community characteristics to those present at relatively undisturbed reference sites. The most difficult aspects of developing the RFAI included determining the field protocols required to obtain a representative sample of the fish community, defining reference conditions, and establishing scoring criteria.
