Geology topics

Jason T. Butcher

Publications and source records attributed to Jason T. Butcher.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2009

Macroinvertebrate assemblages associated with patterns in land use and water quality

Most national parks were designated to preserve significant natural resources. Park borders often reflect political rather than ecological boundaries. Consequently, catchments of many streams are only partially within park boundaries, and are therefore subject to land use changes and potential contamination from non-point sources outside the park. The National Park Service has initiated a program to monitor natural resources, particularly those at risk from land use changes surrounding the parks. This effort requires the identification of response signatures indicative of the ecological effects of human activities. The goal of this chapter is to identify a biological response signature (e.g., indicator assemblages) for tributary streams in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. More than 20 first to fourth order tributary streams enter the Cuyahoga River within park boundaries. Many of these catchments are outside park boundaries and under suburban development. The purpose of this research is to provide park managers with a monitoring tool for identifying the extent and degree of aquatic resource degradation due to land use changes in tributary catchments.

Book chapter↗

USGS2009

Response signatures of four biological indicators to an iron and steel industrial landfill

Industrial landfills greatly modify surrounding areas by affecting chemical, physical, and biological integrity. Few data quantifying contaminant levels near landfills in sediments or in the organisms living near landfills exist. We examined several indicators of the aquatic community to determine whether a relationship existed between proximity to an industrial landfill and a decrease in biological integrity. The purpose was to determine patterns in community compositions and concentrations of contaminants in organisms and to assess the effects of contaminants on several trophic levels in the Grand Calumet Lagoons and adjacent ponds. In most aquatic systems, it is difficult to establish causal relationships between contaminants and ecosystem health due to the many ecological factors that can influence the responses of organisms and communities to particular stressors.

Book chapter↗

USGS2009

Effects of contaminated dredge spoils on wetland plant communities: A literature review

Contaminated dredge spoil is a national concern due to its scope and effects on biota, water quality, and the physical environment. This literature review discusses the effects of contaminated dredge spoils on wetland plant communities. Plant communities naturally shift over time with changing environmental conditions. Addition of toxins and nutrients and changes in hydrology may influence plant community structure. The storage and disposal of nutrient and metal contaminated dredge spoils may cause shifts in nearby plant communities. Shifts in species composition and diversity may not be observed for decades after nutrient enrichment, causing any disturbance to remain undetected. Plant community shifts often have great amounts of inertia and are difficult to reverse.

Book chapter↗

USGS2003

A Benthic Community Index for streams in the Northern Lakes and Forests Ecoregion

Encompassing the northern glaciated section of the Midwest United States, the Northern Lakes and Forests Ecoregion is characterized by mixed conifer and deciduous forests and wetlands. Sites were randomly selected in the ecoregion using the Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program designed to develop an index of biotic integrity for wadeable streams. Macroinvertebrates were sampled during the fall of 1998 and 1999 using a multi-habitat, composite-sample method. Two hundred forty-six invertebrate taxa in 97 families were collected from 94 sites. Ten of 42 candidate metrics satisfied metric selection criteria, including six structural metrics (number of Ephemeroptera taxa, number of Diptera taxa, richness, Shannon-Wiener diversity, percent Trichoptera abundance, and percent Crustacea and Mollusca abundance), two functional metrics (number of Filterer taxa and number of Scraper taxa), and two conditional metrics (number of Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera, and Plecoptera taxa and Hilsenhoff Biotic Index). These metrics were used to develop a Benthic Community Index to assess the biological integrity of wadeable streams in the ecoregion. Index values ranged from 10 to 50, and scores from impaired sites were significantly different than non-impaired sites (P<0.001). Index values were divided into three narrative interpretations of biological integrity (poor, fair, and good). After further testing, the index may provide a useful biological assessment tool for resource managers in the ecoregion.

Ecological Indicators↗

USGS2003

Effects of two classification strategies on a Benthic Community Index for streams in the Northern Lakes and Forests Ecoregion

Ninety-four sites were used to analyze the effects of two different classification strategies on the Benthic Community Index (BCI). The first, a priori classification, reflected the wetland status of the streams; the second, a posteriori classification, used a bio-environmental analysis to select classification variables. Both classifications were examined by measuring classification strength and testing differences in metric values with respect to group membership. The a priori (wetland) classification strength (83.3%) was greater than the a posteriori (bio-environmental) classification strength (76.8%). Both classifications found one metric that had significant differences between groups. The original index was modified to reflect the wetland classification by re-calibrating the scoring criteria for percent Crustacea and Mollusca. A proposed refinement to the original Benthic Community Index is suggested. This study shows the importance of using hypothesis-driven classifications, as well as exploratory statistical analysis, to evaluate alternative ways to reveal environmental variability in biological assessment tools.

Ecological Indicators↗

USGS1999

Diatom (Bacillariophyta) community response to water quality and land use

Aquatic algal communities are sensitive to environmental stresses and are used as indicators of water quality. Diatoms were collected from three streams that drain the Great Marsh at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Diatom communities, water chemistry, and land use were measured at each site to test the hypothesis that differences in land use indirectly affect diatom communities, through changes in water quality. Relationships among these variables were examined by correlation, cluster, and detrended correspondence analysis. Several water chemistry variables were correlated to several land-use categories. Diatom species diversity was most variable in disturbed areas with poorer water quality and was correlated with land use and total alkalinity, total hardness, and specific conductance. Sites within each stream were grouped in terms of their diatom assemblage by both cluster and detrended correspondence analysis with but two exceptions in Dunes Creek. Diatom communities in the three streams responded to land use through its effects on water quality. The results of this study demonstrate the use of diatom assemblages as indicators of water quality, which can be linked to land use in a watershed.

Indiana↗