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Relating watershed land use to benthic invertebrate condition in the Virginian Biogeographic Province, USA
Citation:
Pelletier, Peg, A. Gold, J. Copeland, L. Gonzalez, AND P. August. Relating watershed land use to benthic invertebrate condition in the Virginian Biogeographic Province, USA. Sixth Interagency Confernce on Research in the Watersheds, Shepherdstown, West Virginia, July 23 - 26, 2018.
Impact/Purpose:
Estuaries are dynamic transition zones linking freshwater and oceanic habitats. These productive ecosystems are threatened by a variety of stressors including human modification of coastal watersheds. Although coastal watersheds are assumed to impact estuaries, there are few studies conducted to demonstrate the importance of the watershed to coastal systems. In this study we examined the direct importance of watershed variables and stressors on estuary condition (benthic invertebrates). This study indicated that the underlying structure of the estuary (estuary area) and its watershed (watershed area) are very important predictors of estuary condition. Estuary condition was enhanced by natural features (evergreen forest, wetlands), and decreased by anthropogenic impacts (development, agricultural variables).
Description:
Estuaries are dynamic transition zones linking freshwater and oceanic habitats. These productive ecosystems are threatened by a variety of stressors including human modification of coastal watersheds. Despite this, there are few studies conducted to demonstrate the importance of the watershed to coastal systems. In this study we examined potential linkages between estuarine condition and the watershed by developing regression models between landscape condition indicators and benthic invertebrate communities. To determine if the spatial arrangement was important in predicting benthic invertebrate condition, we examined variables at the watershed and riparian scale. We also developed models weighting landscape variables by distance as we expected proximity to the estuary to be important. Modeling estuarine condition indicated that inherent landscape structure (estuarine area, watershed area) is important to predicting benthic invertebrate condition. Estuarine area was positively related to invertebrate condition while the watershed area was negatively related. As shown in other studies, more natural land cover features (evergreen forest, wetland) help improve estuarine condition while anthropogenic impacts (development, agriculture) can have adverse impacts. Our results emphasize the importance of considering the underlying, unchanging components of the system that can influence resilience or vulnerability of the system. Considering the value of natural land as well as the minimization of the effects of development through best management practices will also be important.