Freshwater scientists have perfected bioassessment in over the last three decades – a success that is even spilling over into the terrestrial and marine realms. What is rarely mentioned, though, is the use of assessments beyond the evaluation of ecosystems’ status towards the next necessary step: to guide their protection and recovery. This field, termed ‘environmental decision science’ is more advanced in non-riverine realms. It has evolved from conservation planning to solve more diverse environmental management problems, such as restoration or threatened species management. We propose to merge the benefits of aquatic assessment and environmental decision sciences and explore modifications to both that would be needed to operationalise this union in the aquatic field. In this presentation we discuss:
1.Techniques
for making robust and efficient environmental decisions
2.The intersection of bioassessment precision and decision making
3.Linking bioassessment to socioeconomic values.
We will conclude with the argument that freshwater scientists should expand their research scope to address management options instead of stopping at the half-way mark.