Research to protect and rehabilitate rivers and their associated floodplain systems is often hampered by the lack of appropriate tools to measure ecosystem health.

An important objective of the ARI scientists is to improve our understanding of patterns and processes in undisturbed aquatic ecosystems and how they might be affected by human activities. This includes studies of the interplay between ecological, chemical and physical processes determining the production, fate and impact of anthropogenic chemicals in the aquatic environments.

The development and validation of cost effective, efficient and accurate techniques for the assessment of water quality and aquatic ecosystem health is an essential component of this research.