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There can however be problems when selecting an assessment and point and/ or representative species and these must be kept in mind so as to ensure that the risk assessment that is being carried out is accurate and relevant.
Example – Common problems in selecting assessment endpoints - Endpoint is a goal (e.g., maintain and restore endemic populations);
- Endpoint is vague (e.g., estuarine integrity instead of abundance and distribution of a species);
- Ecological entity may not be as sensitive to the stressor;
- Ecological entity is not exposed to the stressor (e.g., using insectivorous birds for avian risk of pesticide application to seeds);
- Ecological entities are irrelevant to the assessment (e.g., lake fish in salmon stream);
- Importance of a species or attributes of an ecosystem are not fully considered;
- Attribute is not sufficiently sensitive for detecting important effects (e.g., survival compared with recruitment for endangered species).
Source: US Environmental Protection Agency (1998).
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