You are here:
A WATERSHED APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING ANTHROPOGENIC INFLUENCES ON STREAMS AND THEIR RECEIVING SALT MARSHES
Citation:
Lussier, S, C Wigand, S. DaSilva, AND M Charpentier. A WATERSHED APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING ANTHROPOGENIC INFLUENCES ON STREAMS AND THEIR RECEIVING SALT MARSHES. Presented at Rhode Island Natural History Survey Conference, Warwick, RI, March 1, 2002.
Description:
Fresh and saltwater ecosystems have customarily been assessed separately. By taking a watershed approach, we are exploring the linkages between stream conditions, the biotic integrity of coastal salt marshes, and land use. Watersheds provide a pathway for point and nonpoint pollutants to travel to coastal salt marshes, yet the effects of their streams on salt marshes may be unclear. Our objectives are to compare indicators of stream condition with analagous indicators of the coastal salt marshes to which they discharge, and to test their correlation over a range of anthropogenic impacts. We used the Rapid Bioassessment Protocol for wadeable streams to collect data for biological, chemicophysical, and habitat indicators in six Rhode Island watersheds along a range of residential land use. We compared our indicators from the streams to the corresponding metrics of structure and integrity from salt marshes in the same watersheds. Preliminary results showed that increased residential land use in watersheds adversely affected conditions in streams and salt marshes. By providing information about how habitat degradation and nutrient enrichment upstream affect salt marshes, our results can help us understand the relationships between conditions in watersheds, their streams, and the salt marshes they feed.