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SOUTHEASTERN PLAINS IN-STREAM NUTRIENT AND BIOLOGICAL RESPONSE (SPINBR)
Impact/Purpose:
The products of this study will provide a basis for more accurate decisions on nutrient impairment in streams of Region 4 states. The project will provide insight and analytical tools for development of state nutrient criteria for adoption in state water quality standards. The study was requested by R4 Water Management Division, Standards Monitoring and TMDL Branch.
Description:
States and EPA lack a tool to characterize and measure biological response to nutrients in flowing waters. This study is designed to describe, examine and characterize the relationship between biological response and aquatic nutrients as a potential causal variable along a gradient of disturbance. The goal is to create two correlated datasets (nutrients and biology) that are sufficiently robust to examine the relationship between nutrients and biological response in flowing waters in Ecoregion 65. The field and analytical data requirements for this project include: aquatic nutrient samples for standard scan (total phosphorus, Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN), ammonia, nitrate/nitrite); ambient water chemistry (pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity); periphyton/diatom samples; periphyton visual surveys; habitat surveys; macroinvertebrate samples; and Rapid Geomorphic Analysis (sediment dynamics).