Background Info
This dashboard is an interface to view Rapid Screening Causal Assessment (RSCA) results for wadeable stream bioassessment sites in Southern California. The dashboard interfaces with stream benthic invertebrate and stressor data from the Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition (SMC) open data portal and identifies potential causes of poor condition biology at bioassessment sites. The RSCA tools are built upon the concepts put forth in the US EPA's Causal Analysis Diagnosis Decision Information System (CADDIS) framework and detailed in the handbook available for download in the lower right corner of this page.
Screening causal assessment is a diagnostic framework designed to provide a quick, overview assessment and summary of the stressors impacting a site. It uses a standard set of potential stressors and analytical techniques to interpret the relationship between stressor exposure and biological response. RSCA tools can be applied at a monitoring site as soon as standardized monitoring data are collected, analyzed, and submitted to the data portal. Rapid, multi-site screening level causal assessment can help users to synthesize and visualize their monitoring data, as well as prioritize restorative actions within their region of responsibility. This tier produces an assessment of the causality for the most common stressors to a waterbody, which can be used to inform and streamline any detailed follow-on analyses.
The dashboard is designed to present screening-level causal assessment results and underlying data at increasing stages of detail. The Overview tab presents causal and condition assessment results from multiple sites at once in a geographic context; allowing the user to visualize results at tributary, watershed, or regional scales as desired. The Site Summary tab provides causal and condition assessment results from a selected site (through time, if applicable). It also provides access to the underlying causal and condition assessment result data, as well as reports of data gaps / monitoring recommendations for the site. The Module Summary tab provides further detail, visualizing the results of the individual lines of analysis through time that inform the evaluation of the stressor in the active module. The Line of Analysis tab provides the most granular level of detail for the causal assessment results. The tab provides a visualization of sample-specific results for each analyte associated with the active module in the selected line of analysis, as well a tabular summary of those results and the output associated with that line of analysis. The Comparator Site tab presents a geographical display of the comparator sites whose data were used in the comparative lines of analysis.
The dashboard works in a cascading fashion. As a site is selected from the Overview tab, the results and data will populate the subsequent tabs. Selecting a stressor module from the Site Summary tab will populate the subsequent tabs with the results from that active module. In turn, selecting a sample and type of analysis will then populate the results displayed on the Line of Analysis tab. To view a different sample, module or site, simply click back to any of the previous tabs and make a new selection.
At present, the dashboard is capable of evaluating the major stressor classes of
- Altered Habitat
- Altered Temperature
- Elevated Conductivity
- Eutrophication
Additional modules may be added when available.
The dashboard presently considers three lines of analysis:
- Spatial Co-Occurrence, which evaluates the level of stressor exposure at the test site compared to ecologically similar sites in better condition;
- Reference Condition Comparison, which evaluates the level of stressor exposure at the test site compared to ecologically similar sites in reference condition;
- Stressor Response, which evaluates the level of stressor exposure at the test site and determines if it was enough to produce CSCI scores <0.79.
Details on the workings of each line of analysis, how they are interpreted, and how they are integrated are contained in the RSCA handbook.
ArcGIS Online feature layer last updated: Thu January 05, 2023 1:30:21 AM PST
RSCA summary data tables last updated: Thu October 10, 2024 1:07:04 AM PST
How to Use the Site Summary Tab
This tab provides a summary of California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) scores (top panel) and results for each RSCA module (lower panel) for all samples available from the selected site. Click on a cell in the causal assessment panel to advance to the module summary results for that selection. Click on the Download Data button to produce an MS Excel workbook containing all of the screening causal assessment results for the selected site. Click on the Download Monitoring Recommendations button to produce an MS Excel workbook containing a summary of priority data gaps for the selected test site or its comparator sites.
Interpreting Site Summary Results
CSCI scores for each sample collected at a site are presented within the context of the Stream Classification and Priority Explorer (SCAPE) expectations for the site. The dashed line indicates the median SCAPE expectation for the site, while the grey box delimits the 90th and 10th percentiles of that expectation. A sample with a CSCI score below the 10th percentile is indicated with a downward facing triangle. A CSCI score within the 90th and 10th percentile is indicated with a dot. A CSCI above the 90th percentile is indicated with an upward facing triangle.
Each cell within the causal assessment panel indicates the screening causal assessment evaluation for that stressor for that sample. A stressor can be evaluated as: 1. Likely Cause - the integrated lines of analysis support the conclusion that the stressor is linked to observed biological condition at the test site; 2 Unlikely Cause - the integrated lines of analysis support the conclusion that the stressor is not linked to observed biological condition at the test site; 3. Indeterminate Cause - the integrated lines of analysis do not support the conclusion that the stressor is linked to observed biological condition at the test site, but they do not counter the conclusion either; 4. Cannot be Evaluated - the stressor could not be evaluated at the site due a lack of data from the selected site or from comparator sites. An empty cell indicates that the sample had a passing CSCI score and therefore is not a candidate for causal assessment.
Module Summary
Site:
Module:
How to Use the Module Summary Tab
This tab provides the results of the different lines of analysis from each sampling event at a site for the module selected in the previous Site Summary tab. Click on a cell to advance to the LOA Results tab and provide more details on the line of analysis score
Interpreting Module Summary Results
Supporting - At least one analyte within the active module was scored as supporting the case for the stressor as a potential cause of the biological impairment;
Weakening - No analyte within the active module was scored as supporting and at least one was scored as weakening.
Indeterminate - All analytes in the active module were scored as indeterminate or a mix of indeterminate or no evidence.
No evidence - Data were available for the line of evidence, but analysis could not be completed and a conclusion could not be drawn. (e.g., stress-response model lacked statistical significance)
No test data - The test site was missing data for all analytes in the active module and a conclusion could not be drawn.
Passing CSCI - The test site had a CSCI score above the threshold. Causal assessment is not possible.
LOA Results
Site:
Module:
Line of Analysis:
Year of Sampling:
Sample IDs:
How to Use the LOA Results Tab
This tab provides a visualization and table summarizing the analyte-specific results within the selected line of analysis in the active module. If same day replicates are available, each sample will be displayed separately. Click on a sample to view the data for each replicate.