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| Title | Using Invertebrates to Assess the Quality of Washington Streams and to Describe Biological Expectations | |
| Month-Year Published | September 1997 | |
| Online Availability |
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| Short Description |
An ongoing survey of streams in Washington State has been based on collection and analysis of the macroinvertebrate assemblage. A hypothesis-testing approach was used to define a hierarchical framework that would identify: biological regions, important environmental variables and indicator assemblages. Classification analysis was used to define geographic regions that were biologically similar across the Washington landscape and physicochemical variables associated with regions. Eight hypotheses were proposed in order to determine distinctions among landscape, reach and site-specific biological conditions. (Also see abstract below) | |
| Publication Number | 97-332 | |
| Author(s) | Plotnikoff, R. | |
| Print Availability | ||
| Number of pages | 56 pp. + app (85 total) | |
| Keywords | biological, chemical, Coast Range, conductivity, invertebrates, order, pH, Puget Sound, stream, stream bioassessment, temperature, water | |
| Related Publications | Title | Relationship |
| Benthic Macroinvertebrate Biological Monitoring Protocols for Rivers and Streams: 2001 Revision | similar topic | |
| Instream Biological Assessment Monitoring Protocols: Benthic Macroinvertebrates | similar topic | |
| Ambient Monitoring Instream Biological Assessment: Progress Report of 1993 Pilot Survey | similar topic | |
| Taxonomic Laboratory Protocol for Stream Macroinvertebrates Collected by the Washington State Department of Ecology | similar topic | |
| Stream Biological Assessments (Benthic Macroinvertebrates) for Watershed Analysis/Mid-Sol Duc Water | similar topic | |
| Biological Assessment of Small Streams in the Coast Range Ecoregion & the Yakima River Basin | similar topic | |
| The Relationship Between Stream Macroinvertebrates and Salmon in the Quilceda/Allen Drainage | similar topic | |
| Abstract | Long Description |
An ongoing survey of streams in Washington State has been based on collection and analysis of the macroinvertebrate assemblage. A hypothesis-testing approach was used to define a hierarchical framework that would identify: biological regions, important environmental variables and indicator assemblages. Classification analysis was used to define geographic regions that were biologically similar across the Washington landscape and physicochemical variables associated with regions. Eight hypotheses were proposed in order to determine distinctions among landscape, reach and site-specific biological conditions. Data collected from most areas of the state indicated three emergent biological regions: western Cascades and lowlands (Puget Sound and Coast Range), interior plateau and eastern Cascades (Columbia Plateau and east Cascades), and northeastern interior mountains (Northern Rockies). Two of the biological regions were further divided into distinct groups and appeared to be distinguished by local geology, topography, climate and anthropogenic impacts. Five environmental variables were characteristic of site conditions within clusters: water temperature, pH, conductivity, gradient, and elevation. Biological regions and environmental variables are the basis for categorizing streams across the Washington landscape. Taxa assemblages were found to be strongly associated with some of the stream conditions in the regions. Verification of the proposed expected biological conditions for each region/stream type combination will be based on future surveys. |
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