From baseline conditions for environmental impact assessments to compliance with regulatory permit conditions regulated companies collect biological data and report analytical results to regulators and other interested parties. Historically, analyses used biotic diversity and integrity indices. These attempt to summarize highly complex natural ecosystems in a single number believed to make comparisons and decisions easier. While these indices are based on ecological theory they are very difficult, even impossible, to measure and quantitatively compare. Diversity indices commonly contain different taxonomic levels (species, genus, family, order) and assign arbitrary thresholds between “good” and “not-good.” The difference between 1 and 2 may not be the same as the difference between 2 and 3.