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USGS2008

Land use and the structure of western US stream invertebrate assemblages: Predictive models and ecological traits

Inferences drawn from regional bioassessments could be strengthened by integrating data from different monitoring programs. We combined data from the US Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program and the US Environmental Protection Agency Wadeable Streams Assessment (WSA) to expand the scope of an existing River InVertebrate Prediction and Classification System (RIVPACS)-type predictive model and to assess the biological condition of streams across the western US in a variety of landuse classes. We used model-derived estimates of taxon-specific probabilities of capture and observed taxon occurrences to identify taxa that were absent from sites where they were predicted to occur (decreasers) and taxa that were present at sites where they were not predicted to occur (increasers). Integration of 87 NAWQA reference sites increased the scope of the existing WSA predictive model to include larger streams and later season sampling. Biological condition at 336 NAWQA test sites was significantly (p < 0.001) associated with basin land use and tended to be lower in basins with intensive landuse modification (e.g., mixed, urban, and agricultural basins) than in basins with relatively undisturbed land use (e.g., forested basins). Of the 437 taxa observed among reference and test sites, 180 (41%) were increasers or decreasers. In general, decreasers had a different set of ecological traits (functional traits or tolerance values) than did increasers. We could predict whether a taxon was a decreaser or an increaser based on just a few traits, e.g., desiccation resistance, timing of larval development, habit, and thermal preference, but we were unable to predict the type of basin land use from trait states present in invertebrate assemblages. Refined characterization of traits might be required before bioassessment data can be used routinely to aid in the diagnoses of the causes of biological impairment. ?? 2008 by The North American Benthological Society.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New↗

USGS1994

Biology as an integrated component of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program

The U.S. Geological Survey?s (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program is designed to integrate chemical, physical, and biological data to assess the status of and trends in the Nation?s water quality at local, regional, and national levels. The Program consists of 60 study units (major river basins and large parts of aquifers) located throughout the Nation (fig. 1). Data are collected at stream, river, and ground-water sites that represent the Nation?s mix of major natural and human factors that influence water quality. Biological data are collected from streams and rivers, and include (1) fish and other aquatic organisms whose tissues are analyzed for a wide array of chemical contaminants; (2) characterizations of algal, benthic invertebrate, and fish communities; and (3) characterizations of vegetation growing in streams and along streambanks. These biological data are collected in conjunction with physical (streamflow, characterizations of instream, bank, and flood-plain habitats) and chemical data.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2008

Algal and Invertebrate Community Composition along Agricultural Gradients: A Comparative Study from Two Regions of the Eastern United States

Benthic algal and invertebrate communities in two Coastal Plain regions of the Eastern United States?the Delmarva Peninsula (27 sites) and Georgia Upper Coastal Plain (29 sites)?were assessed to determine if aspects of agricultural land use and nutrient conditions (dissolved and whole-water nitrogen and phosphorus) could be linked to biological community compositions. Extensive effort was made to compile land-use data describing the basin and riparian conditions at multiple scales to determine if scale played a role in these relations. Large differences in nutrient condition were found between the two study areas, wherein on average, the Delmarva sites had three times the total phosphorus and total nitrogen as did the sites in the Georgia Upper Coastal Plain. A statistical approach was undertaken that included multivariate correlations between Bray-Curtis similarity matrices of the biological communities and Euclidean similarity matrices of instream nutrients and land-use categories. Invertebrate assemblage composition was most associated with land use near the sampled reach, and algal diatom assemblage composition was most associated with land use farther from the streams and into the watersheds. Link tree analyses were conducted to isolate portions of nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordinations of community compositions that could be explained by break points in abiotic datasets. Invertebrate communities were better defined by factors such as agricultural land use near streams and geographic position. Algal communities were better defined by agricultural land use at the basin scale and instream nutrient chemistry. Algal autecological indices were more correlated with gradients of nutrient condition than were typically employed invertebrate metrics and may hold more promise in indicating nutrient impairment in these regions. Nutrient conditions in the respective study areas are compared to draft nutrient criteria established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Substantial reductions in some nutrients would be required to meet proposed reference conditions on the Delmarva Peninsula.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS2014

Benthic-invertebrate, fish-community, and streambed-sediment-chemistry data for streams in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, Indiana, 2009–2012

Aquatic-biology and sediment-chemistry data were collected at seven sites on the White River and at six tributary sites in the Indianapolis metropolitan area of Indiana during the period 2009 through 2012. Data collected included benthic-invertebrate and fish-community information and concentrations of metals, insecticides, herbicides, and semivolatile organic compounds adsorbed to streambed sediments. A total of 120 benthic-invertebrate samples were collected, of which 16 were replicate samples. A total of 26 fish-community samples were collected in 2010 and 2012. Thirty streambed-sediment chemistry samples were collected in 2009 and 2011, of which four were concurrent duplicate samples

Indiana↗

USGS2015

Characterizing toxicity of metal-contaminated sediments from mining areas

This paper reviews methods for testing the toxicity of metals associated with freshwater sediments, linking toxic effects with metal exposure and bioavailability, and developing sediment quality guidelines. The most broadly applicable approach for characterizing metal toxicity is whole-sediment toxicity testing, which attempts to simulate natural exposure conditions in the laboratory. Standard methods for whole-sediment testing can be adapted to test a wide variety of taxa. Chronic sediment tests that characterize effects on multiple endpoints (e.g., survival, growth, and reproduction) can be highly sensitive indicators of adverse effects on resident invertebrate taxa. Methods for testing of aqueous phases (pore water, overlying water, or elutriates) are used less frequently. Analysis of sediment toxicity data focuses on statistical comparisons between responses in sediments from the study area and responses in one or more uncontaminated reference sediments. For large or complex study areas, a greater number of reference sediments is recommended to reliably define the normal range of responses in uncontaminated sediments – the ‘reference envelope’. Data on metal concentrations and effects on test organisms across a gradient of contamination may allow development of concentration-response models, which estimate metal concentrations associated with specified levels of toxic effects (e.g. 20% effect concentration or EC20). Comparisons of toxic effects in laboratory tests with measures of impacts on resident benthic invertebrate communities can help document causal relationships between metal contamination and biological effects. Total or total-recoverable metal concentrations in sediments are the most common measure of metal contamination in sediments, but metal concentrations in labile sediment fractions (e.g., determined as part of selective sediment extraction protocols) may better represent metal bioavailability. Metals released by the weak-acid extraction of acid-volatile sulfide (AVS), termed simultaneously-extracted metals (SEM), are widely used to estimate the ‘potentially-bioavailable’ fraction of metals that is not bound to sulfides (i.e., SEM-AVS). Metal concentrations in pore water are widely considered to be direct measures of metal bioavailability, and predictions of toxicity based on pore-water metal concentrations may be further improved by modeling interactions of metals with other pore-water constituents using Biotic Ligand Models. Data from sediment toxicity tests and metal analyses has provided the basis for development of sediment quality guidelines, which estimate thresholds for toxicity of metals in sediments. Empirical guidelines such as Probable Effects Concentrations or (PECs) are based on associations between sediment metal concentrations and occurrence of toxic effects in large datasets. PECs do not model bioavailable metals, but they can be used to estimate the toxicity of metal mixtures using by calculation of probable effect quotients (PEQ = sediment metal concentration/PEC). In contrast, mechanistic guidelines, such as Equilibrium Partitioning Sediment Benchmarks (ESBs) attempt to predict both bioavailability and mixture toxicity. Application of these simple bioavailability models requires more extensive chemical characterization of sediments or pore water, compared to empirical guidelines, but may provide more reliable estimates of metal toxicity across a wide range of sediment types.

Applied Geochemistry↗

USGS1978

1978 Water Quality Laboratory services catalog

The information in this catalog is provided to assist field personnel in the selection of determinations, the estimation of costs, the calculation of sample volume requirements, the identification of the necessary sample treatment and in the evaluation of the precision of the laboratory data. The major section of the catalog is the table of determinations which includes the cost, required sample volume, sample treatment, and precision. This table is divided into three sections: Inorganic determinations, organic determinations, and biological determinations. The "Inorganic determinations" are subdivided into major ions, major nutrients, trace constituents, physical parameters, and radiochemical measurements. The "Organic determinations" are subdivided into gross measures, pesticides, and munition products. The "Biological determinations" are subdivided into gross measures, periphyton, phytoplankton and benthic invertebrates. Regardless of the outline form attempted, exceptions and gray areas were encountered. Generally, exceptions were placed into the groups based on a sample designation. As a result, frequent use of the index may be required until users become familiar with the catalog.

Open-File Report↗

USGS1979

Hydrologic reconnaissance of western Arctic Alaska, 1976 and 1977

A reconnaissance of the water resources of the western Arctic was conducted during April 1976 and August 1977. Data were collected at 9 springs, 9 lakes and 22 stream sites. Using slope-conveyance methods based on field evidence, estimates of bankfull and maximum evident flood-peak discharges were made for 20 selected streams. Maximum evident flood peak discharges ranged from 7.0 to 80.8 (ft3/s )/mi2 and averaged 30.1 (ft 3 /s)/mi 2 . These estimates bore no obvious relation to either drainage basin physiography or climatalogical characteristics. Both the bankfull and maximum evident flood-peak discharges were generally less than the 50-year flood and greater than the 2-year flood estimates made using regression relations developed from Alaska stream gaging records and drainage basin characteristics. Springs were found only in the foothills of the Brooks Range. Their discharge ranged from 1.42 ft 3 /s at the Eli River spring to 13.0 ft 3 /s at North Fork Squirrel River spring. Water temperatures of springs sampled ranged from 0.00C at the Omikviorok spring to 3.50C at the Kavrorak Springs near Kivalina. The nine springs were found by noting the locations of the associated icings on Landsat imagery of the previous year. Eleven stream sites were sampled under winter conditions; all were on the Arctic Slope. No winter streamflow was found at any of the streams. It appears that the streamflow on the Arctic Slope ceases in late winter except for limited local zones of ground-water discharge that form icings. Ice thickness on most lakes was 6 ft except at Teshekpuk Lake where the ice was 8 ft thick. Three of the nine lakes examined were frozen to the bottom. Winter water quality of the lakes and of standing water at stream sites was characterized by higher specific conductivity values than in summer. At three of the five lakes where specific conductance was measured, it was equal to or greater than 700 micromhos per centimeter at 25 ° C; at four of the five rivers where standing water was found, it was more than 400 micromhos per centimeter at 25 ° C. Biological sampling was done to identify the widest range of benthic invertebrates likely to be present in a representative reach of a stream. A total of nine spring sites was sampled using drift nets in April 1976. Twenty-one stream sites and one spring were sampled in August 1977 by dip nets. Total numbers of organisms collected using drift net sampling in April 1976 ranged from 0 to 480. Total numbers of organisms collected by dip net sampling in August 1977 ranged from 0 to 776. A hydrologic reconnaissance of the eastern Alaskan Arctic Slope was completed in 1975. The work covered in this report and in the 1975 companion report represents a preliminary hydrologic reconnaissance for the entire Alaskan Arctic Slope and western foothills regions of the Brooks Range.

Alaska↗

USGS1989

Acid rain publications by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1979-1989

Pollution of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems has been a concern to society since the burning of fossil fuels began in the industrial revolution. In the past decade or so, this concern has been heightened by evidence that chemical transformation in the atmosphere of combustion by-products and subsequent long-range transport can cause environmental damage in remote areas. The extent of this damage and the rates of ecological recovery were largely unknown. "Acid rain" became the environmental issue of the 1980's. To address the increasing concerns of the public, in 1980 the Federal government initiated a 10-year interagency research program to develop information that could be used by the President and the Congress in making decisions for emission controls. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been an active participant in acid precipitation research. The Service provided support to a number of scientific conferences and forums, including the Action Seminar on Acid Precipitation held in Toronto, Canada, in 1979, an international symposium on Acidic Precipitation and Fishery Impacts in Northeastern North America in 1981, and a symposium on Acidic Precipitation and Atmospheric Deposition: A Western Perspective in 1982. These meetings as well as the growing involvement with the government's National Acidic Precipitation Assessment Program placed the Service in the lead in research on the biological effects of acidic deposition. Research projects have encompassed water chemistry, aquatic invertebrates, amphibians, fish, and waterfowl. Water quality surveys have been conducted to help determine the extent of acid precipitation effects in the northeast, Middle Atlantic, and Rocky Mountain regions. In addition to lake and stream studies, research in wetland and some terrestrial habitats has also been conducted. Specific projects have addressed important sport species such as brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), and striped bass (Morone saxatilis). Trace metal accumulation in fish has been investigated and a symposium sponsored on related work. U.S> Fish and Wildlife Service scientists serve as advisors and participants in research being conducted by industry, nonprofit groups, State and other Federal agencies. Researcher have worked closely with colleagues in Canada, England, Norway, Scotland, the Soviet Union, and Sweden to gain additional understanding of the problem. In 1982, the Service implemented a mitigation research program to provide resource managers with information to help them protect sensitive ecosystems, and rehabilitation methods for resources already affected by acidification. An international workshop was convened to outline the research needs. Several conferences were organized to develop appropriate field and laboratory procedures. Scientists with the mitigation research program are evaluating the ecological effects of liming (addition of base material) surface waters and surrounding watershed to provide buffering against acidic inputs. Through long-term cooperative project with States and other organizations, investigations are studying possible abatement methods for regions most affected by acidic deposition. To date, more than 200 reports the describe these studies have been published. These products include conference proceedings, journal articles, and in-house scientific publications. An education poster describing the effects of acid rain on aquatic ecosystems was developed and distributed to individuals, conservations and State organizations, and the public education system. This annotated bibliography lists current publications by Service authors, cooperators, or contractors on acid rain and related quality. Entire are arranged alphabetically by author surname. For further information about the research program, contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Acid Precipitation Section, National Fishery Research Center -- Leetown, Box 700, Kearneysville, WV 25430.

Biological Report↗

USGS2012

Wildlife and biological resources: Chapter 5 in A synthesis of aquatic science for management of Lakes Mead and Mohave

The creation of Lakes Mead and Mohave drastically changed habitats originally found along their region of the historical Colorado River. While still continuing to provide habitat conditions that support a rich diversity of species within the water, along shorelines, and in adjacent drainage areas, the reservoirs contain organisms that are both native and non-native to the Colorado River drainage (fig. 5-1). The diversity of species within these lakes continues to change with time due to changing habitat conditions, the invasion of non-native species, and extirpations of native species. From the bottom of the food web to the top predators, all organisms within the ecosystem are interconnected in food webs or food-chain networks. As non-native invasive species continue to be introduced into the lakes, alterations to the food web, species competition, and species predation likely will continue to change the ecosystem and populations of native organisms. Following an overview of the food web, this chapter summarizes information on aquatic and aquatic-dependent wildlife at Lakes Mead and Mohave and their relationships within the food web from members of lower trophic levels to the highest: phytoplankton, invertebrates, including zooplankton, and macroinvertebrates; fishes; and birds. The following sections describe the biological diversity, limiting factors, and ecological functions of these groups in Lake Mead, and to a lesser extent, in Lake Mohave.

Circular↗

USGS1991

Role of exposure mode in the bioavailability of triphenyl phosphate to aquatic organisms

A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the role of the route of triphenyl phosphate (TPP) entry on its aquatic bioavailability and acute biological effects. Three TPP treatments were used for exposures of fish and invertebrates. These consisted of TPP dosed directly into water with and without clean sediment and TPP spiked onto sediment prior to aqueous exposures. Results of static acute toxicity tests (no sediment) were 0.78 mg/L (96-h LC50) for bluegill, 0.36 mg/L (48-h EC50) for midge, and 0.25 mg/L (96-h EC50) for scud. At 24 h, the sediment (1.1% organic carbon)/water partition coefficient (Kp) for TPP was 112. Use of this partition coefficient model to predict the sediment-mediated reduction of TPP concentration in water during toxicity tests resulted in a value that was only 10% less than the nominal value. However, the required nominal concentration of TPP to cause acute toxicity responses in test organisms was significantly higher than the predicted value by the model for both clay and soil-derived sediment. Direct spiking of TPP to soil minimized TPP bioavailability. Data from parallel experiments designed to track TPP residues in water through time suggest that sorption kinetics control residue bioavailability in the initial 24 h of exposure and may account for observed differences in LC50 and EC50 values from the sediment treatments.

Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxico↗

USGS2010

Responses of benthic macroinvertebrates to environmental changes associated with urbanization in nine metropolitan areas

Responses of benthic macroinvertebrates along gradients of urban intensity were investigated in nine metropolitan areas across the United States. Invertebrate assemblages in metropolitan areas where forests or shrublands were being converted to urban land were strongly related to urban intensity. In metropolitan areas where agriculture and grazing lands were being converted to urban land, invertebrate assemblages showed much weaker or nonsignificant relations with urban intensity because sites with low urban intensity were already degraded by agriculture. Ordination scores, the number of EPT taxa, and the mean pollution‐tolerance value of organisms at a site were the best indicators of changes in assemblage condition. Diversity indices, functional groups, behavior, and dominance metrics were not good indicators of urbanization. Richness metrics were better indicators of urban effects than were abundance metrics, and qualitative samples collected from multiple habitats gave similar results to those of single habitat quantitative samples (riffles or woody snags) in all metropolitan areas. Changes in urban intensity were strongly correlated with a set of landscape variables that was consistent across all metropolitan areas. In contrast, the instream environmental variables that were strongly correlated with urbanization and invertebrate responses varied among metropolitan areas. The natural environmental setting determined the biological, chemical, and physical instream conditions upon which urbanization acts and dictated the differences in responses to urbanization among metropolitan areas. Threshold analysis showed little evidence for an initial period of resistance to urbanization. Instead, assemblages were degraded at very low levels of urbanization, and response rates were either similar across the gradient or higher at low levels of urbanization. Levels of impervious cover that have been suggested as protective of streams (5–10%) were associated with significant assemblage degradation and were not protective.

Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, North C↗

USGS2016

Urban development and stream ecosystem health—Science capabilities of the U.S. Geological Survey

Urban development creates multiple stressors that can degrade stream ecosystems by changing stream hydrology, water quality, and physical habitat. Contaminants, habitat destruction, and increasing streamflow variability resulting from urban development have been associated with the disruption of biological communities, particularly the loss of sensitive aquatic biota. Understanding how algal, invertebrate, and fish communities respond to these physical and chemical stressors can provide important clues as to how streams should be managed to protect stream ecosystems as a watershed becomes increasingly urbanized. The U.S. Geological Survey continues to lead monitoring efforts and scientific studies on the effects of urban development on stream ecosystems in metropolitan areas across the United States.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS1996

Detailed study of selenium in soil, water, bottom sediment, and biota in the Sun River Irrigation Project, Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area, and Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge, west-central Montana, 1990-92

Selenium and other constituents are adversely affecting water quality and creating a potential hazard to wildlife in several areas of the Sun River Irrigation Project, Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area, and Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge in west-central Montana. Selenium derived from Cretaceous shale and Tertiary and Quaternary deposits containing shale detritus is transported in the oxic shallow ground-water systems. At Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area, drainage from irrigated glacial deposits is the primary source of selenium; drainage from non-irrigated farmland is a significant source locally. Benton Lake generally receives more selenium from natural runoff from its non-irrigated basin than from the trans-basin diversion of irrigation return flow. Selenium has accumulated in aquatic plants and invertebrates, fish, and water birds, particularly in wetlands that receive the largest selenium loads. Although selenium residues in biological tissue from some wetland units exceeded biological risk levels, water-bird reproduction generally has not been impaired. The highest selenium residues in biota commonly occurred in samples from Priest Butte Lakes, which also had the highest selenium concentration in wetland water. Selenium concentrations in all invertebrate samples from Priest Butte Lakes and the south end of Freezeout Lake exceeded the critical dietary threshold for water birds. Selenium delivered to wetlands accumulates in bottom sediment, predominantly in near-shore areas. Potential impacts to water quality, and presumably biota, may be greatest near the mouths of inflows. Most selenium delivered to wetlands will continue to accumulate in bottom sediment and biota.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗

USGS2010

Biological pathways of exposure and ecotoxicity values for uranium and associated radionuclides: Chapter D in Hydrological, geological, and biological site characterization of breccia pipe uranium deposits in Northern Arizona

This chapter compiles available chemical and radiation toxicity information for plants and animals from the scientific literature on naturally occurring uranium and associated radionuclides. Specifically, chemical and radiation hazards associated with radionuclides in the uranium decay series including uranium, thallium, thorium, bismuth, radium, radon, protactinium, polonium, actinium, and francium were the focus of the literature compilation. In addition, exposure pathways and a food web specific to the segregation areas were developed. Major biological exposure pathways considered were ingestion, inhalation, absorption, and bioaccumulation, and biota categories included microbes, invertebrates, plants, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. These data were developed for incorporation into a risk assessment to be conducted as part of an environmental impact statement for the Bureau of Land Management, which would identify representative plants and animals and their relative sensitivities to exposure of uranium and associated radionuclides. This chapter provides pertinent information to aid in the development of such an ecological risk assessment but does not estimate or derive guidance thresholds for radionuclides associated with uranium. Previous studies have not attempted to quantify the risks to biota caused directly by the chemical or radiation releases at uranium mining sites, although some information is available for uranium mill tailings and uranium mine closure activities. Research into the biological impacts of uranium exposure is strongly biased towards human health and exposure related to enriched or depleted uranium associated with the nuclear energy industry rather than naturally occurring uranium associated with uranium mining. Nevertheless, studies have reported that uranium and other radionuclides can affect the survival, growth, and reproduction of plants and animals. Exposure to chemical and radiation hazards is influenced by a plant’s or an animal’s life history and surrounding environment. Various species of plants, invertebrates, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals found in the segregation areas that are considered species of concern by State and Federal agencies were included in the development of the site-specific food web. The utilization of subterranean habitats (burrows in uranium-rich areas, burrows in waste rock piles or reclaimed mining areas, mine tunnels) in the seasonally variable but consistently hot, arid environment is of particular concern in the segregation areas. Certain species of reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals in the segregation areas spend significant amounts of time in burrows where they can inhale or ingest uranium and other radionuclides through digging, eating, preening, and hibernating. Herbivores may also be exposed though the ingestion of radionuclides that have been aerially deposited on vegetation. Measured tissues concentrations of uranium and other radionuclides are not available for any species of concern in the segregation areas. The sensitivity of these animals to uranium exposure is unknown based on the existing scientific literature, and species-specific uranium presumptive effects levels were only available for two endangered fish species known to inhabit the segregation areas. Overall, the chemical toxicity data available for biological receptors of concern were limited, although chemical and radiation toxicity guidance values are available from several sources. However, caution should be used when directly applying these values to northern Arizona given the unique habitat and life history strategies of biological receptors in the segregation areas and the fact that some guidance values are based on models rather than empirical (laboratory or field) data. No chemical toxicity information based on empirical data is available for reptiles, birds, or wild mammals; therefore, the risks associated with uranium and other radionuclides are unknown for these biota.

Arizona↗

USGS1986

Biomonitors of stream quality on agricultural areas: fish versus invertebrates

Although the utility of using either fish or benthic invertebrates as biomonitors of stream quality has been clearly shown, there is little comparative information on the usefulness of the groups in any particular situation. We compared fish to invertebrate assemblages in their ability to reflect habitat quality of sediment-impacted streams in agricultural regions of northeast Missouri, USA. Habitat quality was measured by a combination of substrate composition, riparian type, buffer strip width, and land use. Invertebrates were more sensitive to habitat differences when structural measurements, species diversity and ordination, were used. Incorporating ecological measurements, by using the Index of Biological Integrity, increased the information obtained from the fish assemblage. The differential response of the two groups was attributed to the more direct impact of sediments on invertebrate life requisites; the impact of sedimentation on fish is considered more indirect and complex, affecting feeding and reproductive mechanisms.

Environmental Management↗

USGS2005

A checklist of the aquatic invertebrates of the Delaware River Basin, 1990-2000

This paper details a compilation of aquatic-invertebrate taxa collected at 1,080 sites as part of 13 surface-water-quality studies completed by selected Federal, state, and local environmental agencies during 1990-2000, within the 32,893-km2 area of the Delaware River Basin. This checklist is intended to be a 'working list' of aquatic invertebrates that can be applied successfully to the calculation and interpretation of various biological estimators to determine the status of water quality and can be used as a foundation to document the current state of biodiversity. It is not intended as a comprehensive historical inventory of the literature or of private and public holdings. A total of 11 phyla comprising 20 classes, 46 orders, 196 families, 685 genera, and 835 species were recorded.

Data Series↗

USGS1994

Physical, chemical, and biological data for detailed study of irrigation drainage in the Klamath Basin, California and Oregon, 1990-92

Physical, chemical, and biological data were collected between 1990 and 1992 as part of a detailed study by the U.S. Department of Interior of the effects of irrigation drainage on aquatic resources in the Klamath Basin of California and Oregon. Most of the sites for data collection were in and around the upper and lower sump of Tule Lake, in the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and along major drains in Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. The physical and chemical data consist of particle-size determinations and concentrations of carbon, mercury, arsenic, chlorophenoxy acid, and organochlorine, organophosphate, and carbamate pesticides in bottom sediment; and concentrations of organophosphate, carbamate, and pyrethroid pesticides, major and trace inorganic constituents, nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic carbon in water. Continuous dissolved oxygen, pH, specific conduc- tance, and temperature data from selected sites in 1991 and 1992 are presented in graphical form to summarize the diel water-quality conditions. The biological data consists of concentrations of inorganic constituents and organochlorine pesticides in tissue, invertebrate and fish population surveys, fish health surveys, frog call surveys, egg shell thickness of avian eggs, and in situ and static toxicity bioassay data collected in 1991 and 1992 using aquatic bacteria, plants, invertebrates, fish, and bird species as test organisms.

Open-File Report↗

USGS1993

Selenium in soil, water, sediment, and biota of the lower Sun River area, West-Central Montana

A U.S. Department of the Interior study started in 1990 examined the source, movement, fate, and possible biological effects of selenium associated with irrigation drainage from the Sun River Irrigation Project in west-central Montana. Concentrations of total selenium in soil samples ranged from 0.1 to 8.5 micrograms per gram; the maximum concentrations were measured in nonirrigated areas overlying geologic formations containing seleniferous shale. In irrigated areas, concentrations of dissolved selenium in ground water flowing toward Freezeout Lake ranged from less than 1 to 18 micrograms per liter (??g/L) in terrace gravel and from 1 to 190 ??g/L in glacial deposits derived from seleniferous shale. Concentrations of total selenium ranged from less than 1 to 180 ??g/L in surface irrigation drainage, and from less than 1 to 1,000 ??g/L in natural flows from nonirrigated land. Selenium concentrations in water from lakes generally were less than the aquatic-life criterion for chronic toxicity. The range of selenium concentrations in bottom sediment of lakes was similar to that of local soils. However, biological samples indicate that selenium is accumulating through the aquatic food chain. Selenium concentrations indicative of biological risk were exceeded in at least 80 percent of the freshwater-invertebrate, bird-egg, and bird-liver samples collected from all wetland sites.

Conference Paper↗