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A COMPARISON OF TWO RAPID BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT SAMPLING METHODS FOR MACROINVERTEBRATES
Citation:
AUTREY, B. C., K. A. BLOCKSOM, M. PASSMORE, L. REYNOLDS, AND J. E. FLOTEMERSCH. A COMPARISON OF TWO RAPID BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT SAMPLING METHODS FOR MACROINVERTEBRATES. Presented at 2005 EPA Science Forum, Washington, DC, May 16 - 18, 2005.
Impact/Purpose:
The goal of this research is to develop methods and indicators that are useful for evaluating the condition of aquatic communities, for assessing the restoration of aquatic communities in response to mitigation and best management practices, and for determining the exposure of aquatic communities to different classes of stressors (i.e., pesticides, sedimentation, habitat alteration).
Description:
In 2003, the Office of Research and Developments (ORD's) National Exposure Research Laboratory initiated a collaborative research effort with U.S. EPA Region 3 to conduct a study comparing two rapid biological assessment methods for collecting stream macroinvertebrates. One method focuses sampling in a single fast-water habitat (riffles), and the other samples multiple habitats within a stream. The single-habitat method has been widely used in the U.S. for biological assessment of streams for over a decade. However, Region 3 biologists recognized that in the Piedmont and Northern Piedmont regions of the U.S., riffle habitat is less abundant in streams. In streams of these regions, the traditionally used single-habitat method was compared with the more recently proposed multiple-habitat sampling method to determine whether the multiple-habitat method is more effective in these streams. The success of this study depended on a strong collaboration between U.S. EPA Region 3 and the ORD to select sites, conduct field sampling, and analyze the data. While the ORD scientists were responsible for careful analysis of those data, Region 3 biologists were instrumental in helping the NERL put research results into a context useful to state agencies. Region 3 was able to involve biologists at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality in this process, providing valuable feedback on specific aspects of analysis. As a result of the collaboration between the ORD and Region 3, the results of this methods comparison study will have a more immediate impact on decision-making at the state level.