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- The Gulf Ecology Division is one of nine research Divisions within the EPA,
Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects
Research Laboratory (NHEERL), located at Research Triangle Park, North
Carolina. The division is responsible for research on the physical, chemical,
and biological dynamics of coastal wetlands and estuaries, to determine
ecological condition, evaluate rates and causes of declining systems, and
predict future conditions under various alternative water quality scenarios.
The research program will:
(1) Monitor and assess the ecological condition of coastal wetlands, bays,
estuaries, and coral reefs of the Gulf of Mexico and evaluate the causes of
changes;
(2) Develop biological/ecological indicators to
(i) classify the ecological status of coastal wetlands, bays and estuaries,
(ii) detect significant change in ecological status related to chemical
contaminants, biotechnology products, disease, nutrients, energy development,
and global warming, and (iii) identify cause(s) of ecological change, using
both reactive (diagnostic and epidemiologic) and predictive approaches, and
(3) Compare ecological structure and function among microcosms, mesocosms, and
field sites to predict relationships between chemical/stressor exposure and
changes in biodiversity and ecological function.
The Division also provides research and science support to the Gulf of Mexico
Program and the Regions and states.
[Source: "http://www.epa.gov/ged/"]
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