Exponent’s EcoSciences practice is comprised of individuals with broad expertise in aquatic, marine, and terrestrial biology. These scientists have worked in all parts of the world and in most of the earth’s major ecosystems. These range from great deserts of the Middle East to the depths of the ocean and from wetlands to alpine systems. Most of this work supports ecological assessments and restoration activities. Such assessments are technical tools that can offer real value to environmental management decision-makers. Information gained during an ecological assessment can be used to support key management decisions in the areas of regulatory and permit compliance, product stewardship, and emerging issues.
Exponent's EcoSciences staff have expertise in a variety of disciplines that are relevant to ecological assessment, including aquatic and terrestrial biology, ecology, toxicology, fisheries, database management, geographic information systems (GIS), and statistics. Exponent’s EcoSciences staff conducts ecological assessments to evaluate impacts from chemicals, petrochemicals, and consumer and industrial products, as well as effects on ecosystems from development and remedial activities.
Exponent provides the following areas of technical expertise in aquatic and terrestrial biology:
- Evaluation of aquatic and wildlife exposure and impacts (i.e., contaminants and physical stressors) for environmental management and remedial action decision-making
- Technical review and support during agency negotiations, development of regulatory policies and guidelines, and litigation
- Environmental impact assessments (EIS/EA) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
- Field studies to measure contaminants in surface water, sediment, soil, fish, plants, and other biota
- Floral and faunal inventories, including habitat assessments and surveys for sensitive species
- Fish population and macroinvertebrate community inventories, including field sampling for species diversity and abundance
- Threatened, endangered, and special-status species consultations and biological assessments under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act
- Ecosystem restoration including design, implementation, and monitoring
- Habitat equivalency analyses (HEA) for natural resource damage assessments (NRDA)
- Contaminant exposure models and food web evaluations
- Spatial distribution analysis, biostatistics, database management, and Geographic information systems (GIS)
- Bioavailability and biomonitoring studies
- Habitat mapping, including wetlands delineation
- Clean Water Act Section 404 wetlands permitting, mitigation planning, and alternatives analyses
- Resource economics evaluations, including stewardship cost analyses under different land use scenarios, and the development of land stewardship plans