Title:
Use of a Preliminary Index of Biotic Integrity in Urban Streams Around Atlanta, Georgia
Use of a Preliminary Index of Biotic Integrity in Urban Streams Around Atlanta, Georgia
Author(s)
DeVivo, Joseph C.
Couch, Carol A.
Freeman, Byron J.
Couch, Carol A.
Freeman, Byron J.
Advisor(s)
Editor(s)
Hatcher, Kathryn J.
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Abstract
Data from 44 fish assemblage surveys conducted
by the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Quality
Assessment (NAWQA) program at 21 stream sites in the
vicinity of Metropolitan Atlanta were analyzed to develop a
preliminary Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) for second- to fourthorder
streams of the upper Chattahoochee River basin. Thirteen
metrics commonly used in IBIs were evaluated by comparing
observed responses in the NAWQA data along a gradient of
urbanization to expected responses based on the findings of other
IBI studies. The urbanization gradient was determined by
Principal Components Analysis (PCA) of water and sediment
chemistry data. PCA axis 1 scores, which accounted for 55.3
percent of the variance in the data, were strongly positively
correlated with human population density (r2 = 0.64, p= 0.003).
Eight metrics were selected• for inclusion in the preliminary IBI:
percentage of 1) gravel-dwellers, 2) benthic invertivores, 3)
generalized feeders, and 4) non-native fishes; 5) number of
native sucker and 6) minnow species; 7) native species diversity;
and 8) identity of or the dominant nest-associate cyprinid. A
ninth sensitive metric, the percentage of tolerant individuals, was
omitted from the IBI because it was autocorrelated with the
percentage of non-native fishes.
Sponsor
Sponsored and Organized by: U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology
Date Issued
1997-03
Extent
Resource Type
Text
Resource Subtype
Proceedings