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LINKING STORMFLOW HYDROLOGY AND BIOTA IN SUBURBAN STREAMS
Citation:
SHUSTER, W. D., Y. ZHANG, AND A. ROY. LINKING STORMFLOW HYDROLOGY AND BIOTA IN SUBURBAN STREAMS. Presented at American Geophysical Union Conference, San Francisco, CA, December 05 - 09, 2005.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
Suburban land development has been found to alter the hydrology of landscapes, changing streamflow transient behavior, which may contribute to the typical negative impacts of development on aquatic ecosystems. The linkages between residential development, hydrologic response, and the structure of biotic assemblages in receiving waters, however, remain poorly characterized. The Shepherd Creek catchment in Cincinnati, Ohio (USA) is approximately 20 km2, half of which lies within an undeveloped city park. The other half of the catchment represents a mix of 1960-1980s era residential parcels in the headwaters, and horse and cattle pastures downstream. We use baseline monitoring data from five subcatchments (drainages with varying coverage in residential land use) where hydrologic and ecological (qualitative habitat scores; algal, benthic macroinvertebrate censuses) monitoring is conducted. Flow transient behavior was characterized by deriving rise and fall rates from continuous (5-min.) gage records and macroinvertebrate assemblages characterized through ordination with techniques. Tributaries were found to be highly impaired due to a combination of poor water quality, lack of benthic habitat, and rapid rise and fall rates for storm events. These factors were reflected in high algal cell counts that were dominated by blue-green algae, generally tolerant macroinvertebrate assemblages, and scoured streambeds. We discuss how flow transients may offer a mechanistic explanation for the structure of biological assemblages that inhabit this degraded stream network, linking land use to biological status.