Citation:

SCHULTZ, C., J. P. SCHUBAUER-BERIGAN, M. A. MORRISON, BERNIE B. DANIEL, M. E. TROYER, AND M. B. GRIFFITH. A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT TO COLLECT BIOLOGICAL, CHEMICAL AND GEOLOGICAL DATA TO QUANTIFY THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS WHICH INFLUENCE STREAM IMPAIRMENT. Presented at 2005 EPA Science Forum, Washington, DC, May 16 - 18, 2005.

Description:

The evaluation of the current condition is critical to the management of streams impaired by sediment and other non-point source stressors, which adversely affect both physical habitat and water quality. Impairment is generally assigned based on biological criteria, which are derived from an evaluation of the composition, diversity and wellbeing of the aquatic biological community, but the root causes of the impairment are frequently the result of changes in the physical environment and water quality. It should be possible to determine the interrelationships between the biologic, geological and chemical conditions within a stream, but to do this it is necessary to collect baseline values for streams under various degrees of impairment For this purpose, biological, in-stream chemical, geological and land-use data were collected from thirty-five subwatersheds in the Little Miami River watershed, Southwestern Ohio, through collaboration between researchers from NRMRL, NCEA and NERL. This poster addresses the various types of data collected and the interrelationship between them. Biological data was collected using the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) protocol. This procedure collects samples for laboratory measurement of water chemistry, primary productivity, macroinvertebrate and fish population. measures in--stream community metabolism, stream discharge (flow) and characterizes physical habitat for aquatic organisms. All of these measurements were made at each site annually and selected measurements were taken on a quarterly basis. In conjunction with the quarterly sampling trips, automated instmments for the measurement of dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, pH. conductivity and turbidity were deployed to obtain values in real time. These instruments were also deployed at eight sites, selected for their differences in habitat quality, for longer periods of time to obtain information on how these metrics vary during the day and seasonally. Geomorphological properties of the streams were measured to allow the streams to be classified based on their physical characteristics. The geomorphology of a stream is controlled by several factors most notably the geology through which the stream is flowing, the quantity of water and the energy contained within the moving water. These factors control the amount of erosion. sediment in transit and deposition which influence the stability and quality of habitat available for aquatic life. Combined these data sets provide an assessment of the current conditions in the streams and allow the development of tools based on the biological, chemical and geological properties to determine the best management practices for maintaining or improving a stream's biological integrity.

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