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A Quantitative Tool for Assessing the Integrity of Southern Coastal California Streams

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ABSTRACT

We developed a benthic macroinvertebrate index of biological integrity (B-IBI) for the semiarid and populous southern California coastal region. Potential reference sites were screened from a pool of 275 sites, first with quantitative GIS landscape analysis at several spatial scales and then with local condition assessments (in-stream and riparian) that quantified stressors acting on study reaches. We screened 61 candidate metrics for inclusion in the B-IBI based on three criteria: sufficient range for scoring, responsiveness to watershed and reach-scale disturbance gradients, and minimal correlation with other responsive metrics. Final metrics included: percent collector-gatherer + collector-filterer individuals, percent noninsect taxa, percent tolerant taxa, Coleoptera richness, predator richness, percent intolerant individuals, and EPT richness. Three metrics had lower scores in chaparral reference sites than in mountain reference sites and were scored on separate scales in the B-IBI. Metrics were scored and assembled into a composite B-IBI, which was then divided into five roughly equal condition categories. PCA analysis was used to demonstrate that the B-IBI was sensitive to composite stressor gradients; we also confirmed that the B-IBI scores were not correlated with elevation, season, or watershed area. Application of the B-IBI to an independent validation dataset (69 sites) produced results congruent with the development dataset and a separate repeatability study at four sites in the region confirmed that the B-IBI scoring is precise. The SoCal B-IBI is an effective tool with strong performance characteristics and provides a practical means of evaluating biotic condition of streams in southern coastal California.

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Acknowledgments

Major funding for this study was provided by David Gibson of the San Diego WQCB and Joseph Furnish of the USFS, with supplemental funding from other regional WQCBs in southern California. We thank James Harrington and other staff of California Department of Fish and Game’s Aquatic Bioassessment Laboratory for efforts that contributed to the success of this project. Biologists Mike Dawson, Shawn McBride, and Jennifer York collected much of the field data; taxonomists Dan Pickard, Doug Post, Brady Richards, and Joe Slusark performed most of the taxonomy, except for the USFS samples, which were processed by the Bug Lab at Utah State University. Dan Heggem (US EPA, Landscape Ecology Branch), Mark Rosenberg (California Department of Forestry), and Mark Angelo (Central Coast WQCB) helped identify appropriate GIS land-use layers, and Glenn Sibbald (CDFG) assisted with watershed delineation. Mary Adams (Central Coast WQCB) collected invertebrate samples and provided local site condition data for sites in the Central Coast region. This manuscript was greatly improved by comments from Larry Brown, Joseph Furnish, Robert Hughes, Leska Fore, and three anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Water Pollution Control LaboratoryDepartment of Fish and Game, Aquatic Bioassessment Laboratory, 2005 Nimbus Road, Rancho Cordova, California, 95670, USA

    Peter R. Ode

  2. Chico State University Research Foundation, Aquatic Bioassessment Laboratory, 2005 Nimbus Road, Rancho Cordova, California, 95670, USA

    Andrew C. Rehn

  3. Jason T. May, 3421 I Street 1Sacramento, California, 95816, USA

    Jason T. May

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  1. Peter R. Ode
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  2. Andrew C. Rehn
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Correspondence to Peter R. Ode.

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Ode, P.R., Rehn, A.C. & May, J.T. A Quantitative Tool for Assessing the Integrity of Southern Coastal California Streams. Environmental Management 35, 493–504 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-004-0035-8

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