PAEQANN Predicting Aquatic Ecosystem Quality using Artificial Neural Networks: Impact of Environmental characteristics on the Structure of Aquatic Communities (Algae, Benthic and Fish Fauna).

Country: EU Projects
Start Date:   28/2/2000         Duration: 36 months         Project Type: RTD
Contract Number: EVK1-CT-1999-00026
Organisation Type:  EC Project
Topics: 
Water resources and their management -->Water resources and their management Overview
Project objectives:
The aim of this project was to develop methodologies which allowed: i) to provide predictive tools that can be easily applied to define the most effective policies 
and institutional arrangements for resource management; ii) to apply the most effective and innovative techniques (mainly goal function and artificial
neural networks) to identify problems in ecosystem functioning, resulting in ecosystem degradation from human impact, and to model relevant biological
resources; iii) to fully exploit existing information, reducing the amount of field work (that is both expensive and time consuming) that is needed in order
to assess freshwater ecosystems health; iv) to explore specific actions to be taken for restoration of ecosystem integrity; and v) to promote collaboration
among scientists of different interested countries and research fields, encouraging collaboration and dissemination of results and techniques.
Project Summary:
The goal of the project is to develop general methodologies, based on advanced modeling techniques, for predicting structure and diversity of key aquatic 
communities (diatoms, microinvertebrates and fish), under natural (i.e. undisturbed by human activities) and under man-made disturbance (i.e. submitted
to various pollutions, discharge regulation, ... ). Such an approach to the analysis of aquatic communities will make it possible to: i) set up robust and sensitive
ecosystem evaluation procedures that will work across a large range of running water ecosystems throughout European countries; ii) predict biocenosis structure
in disturbed ecosystems, taking into account all relevant ecological variables; iii) test for ecosystem sensitivity to disturbance; iv) explore specific
actions to be taken for restoration of ecosystem integrity. Our investigations will therefore help to define strategies for conservations and restoration,
compatible with local and regional development, and supported by a strong scientific background. Among the available modeling techniques, artificial neural
networks are particularly appropriate for establishing relationship among variables in the natural processes t
Achieved Objectives:
The goal of the PAEQANN project was to develop general methodologies, based on advanced modelling techniques, for predicting structure and diversity of key 
aquatic communities under natural and man-made disturbances. This allowed the detection of the significance of various environmental variables that structure these aquatic communities.
These have been shown to reveal predictable changes due to natural variability and human disturbances. Natural conditions are described as undisturbed by human activities and
man-made disturbances are defined as various pollutants, discharge regulation, etc. Such an approach to the analysis of aquatic communities made possible: • to set up robust and sensitive ecosystem evaluation procedures that will work across a large range of running water ecosystems throughout Europe, firstly, to point out the cause and effect relationships between environmental conditions (physical, chemical, due to management actions) and certain
relevant aquatic communities (diatoms, macroinvertebrates, and fish) and then, to predict biocenosis structure in disturbed ecosystems, taking into account all the relevant ecological variables • to test ecosystem sensitivity to disturbance • to explore specific actions to be taken for restoration of ecosystem integrity The achieved objectives have been: i) setting up a standardised methodological approach (we have defined a set of technical procedures which will be used in a common framework to analyse or
to predict community structure of studied ecosystems; each reference site is sampled in a standardised way and this will allow to compare the different sites
for regional conservation priorities); ii) linking the environmental characteristics and the community structure at each reference site by using a defined
set of parameters and a combination of target groups representing the main functional levels of the ecosystems (rapid assessment procedures will be implemented
on these hypotheses that regulative and functional factors, the resources describe ecosystem functioning in a unifying way); iii) evaluating at a functional
level the sensitivity of the studied ecosystems and their response to disturbance through implementation of sensitivity indices and modelling (the main
threats on living communities and on local endangered species will be identified as we shall build predictive models of community structure for a set of critical
habitats); and iv) investigating the effects of human impacts on the functioning of the ecosystem, i.e. on the composition and change in structural and functional
organism groups in comparison to nearby natural reference conditions. Special attention was directed to summarising ecosystem functioning by exploring
the chance of community restoration in selected sites submitted to the most common types of disturbance.
Product Descriptions:
The goal of the PAEQANN project was to develop general methodologies, based on advanced modelling techniques, for predicting structure and diversity of key 
aquatic communities under natural and man-made disturbances. The available products are: - A set of tools for water management and water policies was developed in order to allow assessing ecological quality and perturbations of stream ecosystems.
The software is available on the Paequann web-page (Ready for Application Level). - A review is available listing all the existing biological methods of river quality assessment with diatoms, macroinvertebrates, fishes, and of the predictive models in order to have a good vision of the scientific
state of art. - A report concerning existing and new field data results stored in the Paequann database. - A review on classical statistical models, artificial neural networks and dynamic models. - A report on Cross Stream Comparision: Experiences with model performances within the PAEQANN project - Publication of dynamic model results - Publication of ANN (Artificial Neural Network) model results - Report on the methods used in the project - A review of tools (biological- , chemical- , holistic indicators) considered in the Paequann project. - Report on the test results of the tools. Furthermore a large publication list can be accessed on the project web page.
Additional Information:

            
Project Resources:

Community structure and restoration of ecosystems - Predicting Aquatic Ecosystems Quality using Artificial Neural Networks

Review of biological assessment techniques and predictive models of ecological status

Existing and new field data results: database.

Experimental designs; a review

Publication of the cross stream ecosystem comparison.

Publication of dynamic model results.

Publication of ANN model results.

General publication experiments

Test results

PAEQANN TOOLS-MANUAL FOR USERS
Weblink:
http://aquaeco.ups-tlse.fr/
Funding Programme(s): 
EC Framework Programme 5
Link to Organisations:
Submitted by: EUGRIS Team Prof Paul Bardos  Who does what?  03/07/2003 17:48:00
Updated by: EUGRIS Team Professor Paul Bardos  Who does what?  03/10/2006 13:32:00