Exposure and Effects Workgroup
At the request of the Regional Board, the RMP expanded the biological effects portion of the Status and Trends program, which at the time only monitored for aquatic and sediment toxicity. The Exposure and Effects Workgroup (EEWG) was formed with members from SFEI, USGS, AMS, the Regional Board, and other interested stakeholders. One of the purposes of the workgroup was to develop a biological effects pilot study (the Exposure and Effects Pilot Study (EEPS)) that would help address beneficial use management questions developed by the Regional Board. By building on the recommendations of other effects workgroups, reviewing existing literature related to work in the Estuary, and soliciting recommendations from the local scientific community (through a survey) the workgroup designed a five-year plan for addressing biological effects in the Bay.
The RMP’s EEPS evaluated a balanced suite of contaminant exposure and effects indicators that respond to general and specific contamination at the biochemical, cellular, individual, population, and community level. It evaluated contaminant effects and exposure in different media (on the bay floor, in the water column, and in wetlands/estuary margins), and at different spatial scales (site-specific, regionally, and estuary-wide). These initial overarching principles incorporate recommendations of the EEWG.
At the end of the five year pilot study the workgroup was incorporated into the RMP as a permanent workgroup. The EEWG continues to address the biological effects portion of the Status and Trends program and Pilot and Special Studies.
The scientific advisory panel consists of internationally known experts in this field including Dr. Michael Fry (Fish and Wildlife Service - Hawaii), Dr. Harry Ohlendorf (CH2M Hill), Dr. Dan Schlenk (University of California – Riverside), Dr. Steve Weisberg (Southern California Coastal Water Research Project), and Dr. Don Weston (University of California – Berkeley)
Workgroup Leads: Meg Sedlak and Jay Davis
