Transcript No Slide Title

Lec 12: Rapid Bioassessment Protocols (RBP’s)
for Use in Streams and Wadeable Rivers
Rapid Bioassessment Protocols for Use in
Streams and Wadeable Rivers: Periphyton, Benthic
Macroinvertebrates, and Fish
What: Practical technical reference for conducting cost-effective
biological assessments of lotic systems
Used for:
* Characterizing the existence and severity of water impairment
* Helping to identify sources and causes of impairment
* Evaluating the effectiveness of control actions and restoration
activities
* Characterizing regional biotic attributes of
reference conditions
(Not an exhaustive list)
Biosurvey techniques, such as the Rapid Bioassessment
Protocols (RBPs), are best used for detecting aquatic life
impairments and assessing their relative severity
Some of the advantages of using biosurveys for this type of
monitoring are:
* Biological communities reflect overall ecological integrity
(i.e., chemical, physical, and biological integrity)
* Biological communities integrate the effects of different stressors
* Communities integrate the stresses over time
* Routine monitoring of biological communities can be relatively
inexpensive, particularly when compared to the cost of assessing
toxic pollutants, either chemically or with toxicity tests
* The status of biological communities is of direct interest to the public
as a measure of a pollution free environment.
Use of Different Assemblages in Biosurveys
Advantages of Using Periphyton
* Algae generally have rapid reproduction rates and very
short life cycles, making them valuable indicators of
short-term impacts
* As primary producers, algae are most directly affected by
physical and chemical factors
* Sampling is easy, inexpensive, requires few people, and
creates minimal impact to resident biota
* Relatively standard methods exist for evaluation of
functional and non-taxonomic structural (biomass,
chlorophyll measurements) characteristics of algal
communities
Use of Different Assemblages in Biosurveys
Advantages of Using Benthic Macroinvertebrates
* Good indicators of localized conditions; limited migration
patterns or a sessile mode of life
* Integrate effects of short-term environmental variations.
Most species have a complex life cycle of approximately
1 year or more. Sensitive life stages will respond quickly
to stress; the overall community will respond more slowly
* Degraded conditions can often be detected by an
experienced biologist with only a cursory examination of
the benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage
* Comprised of species that constitute a broad range of trophic
levels and pollution tolerances, thus providing strong
information for interpreting cumulative effects
Use of Different Assemblages in Biosurveys
Advantages of Using Benthic Macroinvertebrates
* Sampling is relatively easy, requires few people and
inexpensive gear
* Benthic macroinvertebrates serve as a primary food
source for fish
* Benthic macroinvertebrates are abundant in most
streams. Many small streams (1st and 2nd order),
which naturally support a diverse macroinvertebrate
fauna, only support a limited fish fauna
* Most state water quality agencies that routinely collect
biosurvey data focus on macroinvertebrates
Use of Different Assemblages in Biosurveys
Advantages of Using Fish
* Good indicators of long-term (several years) effects and broad habitat
conditions because they are relatively long-lived and mobile
* Generally include a range of species that represent a variety of trophic
levels & tend to integrate effects of lower trophic levels; thus, fish
assemblage structure is reflective of integrated environmental health
* Fish are relatively easy to collect and identify to the species level
* Environmental requirements of most fish are comparatively well known.
Life history information is extensive for many species, and information
on fish distributions is commonly available
* Fish account for nearly half of the endangered vertebrate species and
subspecies in the United States
Importance of Habitat Assessment
* Physical habitat quality is an integral component of evaluating impairment
* Habitat quality is based on key physical characteristics of the waterbody
and surrounding land, particularly the catchment of the site under
investigation. All of the habitat parameters evaluated are related to
overall aquatic life use and are a potential source of limitation to the
aquatic biota.
* The alteration of the physical structure of the habitat is one of 5 major
factors from human activities described by Karr (Karr et al. 1986,
Karr 1991) that degrade aquatic resources
* Habitat, as structured by instream and surrounding topographical features,
is a major determinant of aquatic community potential
* Final conclusions regarding the presence and degree of biological
impairment should thus include an evaluation of habitat quality to
determine the extent that habitat may be a limiting factor
‘Upstream’
‘Downstream’
Temperature, DO
Depth, Area, Velocity,
Discharge
Substrate Composition
Floating Fruit
37 5 55.6
13:30
Date
119 38 17.1
Departure
Hab Assess
Temperature
DO (mg/L)
DO (% sat)
Conductivity
pH
Embeddedness
21.6
9.46
105.5
280
8.37
10%
4/14/2004 Access Rds.
Elevation
271m
16:00
Crew Initials HW,TL,TT,AR
HW,TL,TT,AR
Metric
1
2
3
4
5
Score
13
18
9
17
7
Metric
6
7
8
9
10
Total
Substrate Composition: The classification of mineral substrates by particle
Score
19
12
13
14
12
134
Discharge Measurement: Section width b=1m if total width W is > 10 m; b=0.5 cm if W=5-10 m; b=0.25 m if W=15 m. VelocityB
is measured at the middle of each section.
F
D
E
H
A
Sectio
C
G
Meter
n
Cumulativ Section depth Average depth Area
Velocity Discharge
G
=BxE (midpoint =FxG (m3/s) Descriptive
(cm)
(m)
point width
e width
ID
b
(m)
(m2)
) (m/s)
notes
1
0.5
0.0
0
empty
empty
empty
empty
2
0.5
0.5
7
0.04
0.018
0.43
0.008
3
0.5
1.0
9
0.08
0.040
0.42
0.017
4
0.5
1.5
13
0.11
0.055
0.96
0.053
5
0.5
2.0
7
0.10
0.050
0.89
0.045
6
0.5
2.5
8
0.07
0.036
0.79
0.029
7
0.5
3.0
6
0.07
0.034
0.55
0.019
8
0.5
3.5
5
0.06
0.028
0.51
0.014
9
0.5
4.0
3
0.04
0.019
0
0.000
10
1.5
5.5
0
0.01
0.006
Size
Category
particle
size (mm)
Boulder
Cobble
Pebble
Gravel
Sand & silt
Total
Average
>256
64-256
16-64
2-16
<2
70
60
70
60
30
20
50
40
10
0
Index
score
(A)
5
4
3
2
1
Observed Product
(tally marks)
(B)
(AxB)
0
15
60
10
30
0
0
25
90
3.60
Sediment Composition
50
40
Product
FGC_Mid Riffle
GPS at sampling pt.
Arrival Time
Product
Site Code:
Boulder
30
20
10
0
`
Cobble
Pebble
Boulder
Q=
Cobble
Gravel
Sand & silt
Pebble
Gravel
Sand & silt
Particle Size
Q = 0.183
m3/s
48.30897 Gal/s
=
6.4573 cfs
Cumulative river width (m)
0.06
0.57
0.285
0.183
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Water depth (cm)
6.0
Average
Total
Get ready
to head out!