What Is the Importance of Monitoring the Environment & Which Tools Can Be Used?

Measuring Biodiversity

• Since the advancement of evolutionary biology and genetic science, environmental researchers have began to monitor the genetic diversity of important populations of plants and animals. The concern is that habitat destruction leads to smaller, more isolated populations of species, which will in turn reduce the genetic diversity of that population and leave the species unable to adapt to environmental changes such as disease. According to Princeton University, the primary tool for the measurement of biodiversity is a calculation of both species richness and species evenness, which are both obtained through spatial counts of species populations.

Measuring Environmental Quality

• The chemical quality of the environment is also an important element to monitor. Chemical qualities such as the pH of aquatic ecosystems, the concentration of nitrates and phosphates or the persistence of human manufactured compounds such as the DDT pesticide are all important factors in determining environmental quality. Typically, environmentalists will use tools that test for known indicators of environmental quality, such as pH meters or spectrometers that can detect the presence of nitrates and phosphates. These tests help environmental scientists monitor environmental quality before species effects are evident.

Bioindication Species

• Species themselves can be tools for monitoring the environment. Highly environmentally sensitive species such as insects, amphibians and birds often shows signs of poor environmental quality prior to other species. The U.S. Department of Agriculture utilizes an EPT Index that rapidly determines that quality of an aquatic ecosystem based on the presence of three aquatic insects: the may fly, stone fly, and caddis fly. Without the presence of all three, environmental scientists can speculate some of the ecological challenges of the environment.

Measuring Atmosphere Quality

• Recent research in environmental science has turned toward the atmosphere as another important measure of the environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency explains that pollutants like mercury are released into the atmosphere through coal-fired electricity production, and can often deposit into human water sources hundreds of miles from the source. Measuring mercury in the atmosphere is important because mercury is a neurotoxin that effects the human nervous system and brain function. The EPA uses gold-coated beads and glass-fiber filters, which attract mercury molecules, to test for mercury in the atmosphere.