HR: 1340h
AN: B43C-0288    [Abstracts]
TI: Linking stormflow hydrology and biota in suburban streams
AU: * Shuster, W D
EM: shuster.william@epa.gov
AF: USEPA-NRMRL, 26 W Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268 United States
AU: Roy, A
EM: roy.allison@epa.gov
AF: USEPA-NRMRL, 26 W Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268 United States
AU: Zhang, Y
EM: zhang.yu@epa.gov
AF: USEPA-NRMRL, 26 W Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268 United States
AU: Morrison, M
EM: morrison.matthew@epa.gov
AF: USEPA-NRMRL, 26 W Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268 United States
AB: Suburban land development has been found to alter the hydrology of landscapes, changing streamflow transient behavior (i.e., storm "flashiness"), which may contribute to some of the commonly observed and typically 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, habitat, and biological monitoring is conducted. Flow transient behavior was characterized by deriving rise and fall rates from continuous (5-min.) gage records and macroinvertebrate and periphyton assemblages were assessed using metrics and ordination. Subcatchments exhibited scoured streambeds, high algal cell counts that were dominated by blue-green algae, and generally tolerant macroinvertebrate assemblages. These impairments appear to be related in part to a combination of rapid rise and fall rates for storm events, poor water quality, and a pronounced lack of benthic habitat for some of the sites. Flow transients may offer a mechanistic explanation for the structure of biological assemblages, linking land use to biological condition. We discuss how stormwater infiltration via parcel-level best management practices may restore some aspects of hydrology and biota within these degraded stream ecosystems.
DE: 0439 Ecosystems, structure and dynamics (4815)
DE: 0493 Urban systems
DE: 1803 Anthropogenic effects (4802, 4902)
DE: 1860 Streamflow
DE: 1879 Watershed
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005