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Evaluación y Restauración de la Salud de Arroyos Urbanos en la Cuenca Puget Sound
Author(s) -
Morley Sarah A.,
Karr James R.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
conservation biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.2
H-Index - 222
eISSN - 1523-1739
pISSN - 0888-8892
DOI - 10.1046/j.1523-1739.2002.01067.x
Subject(s) - index of biological integrity , streams , biota , environmental science , urbanization , benthic zone , land cover , stormwater , substrate (aquarium) , urban stream , land use , drainage basin , surface runoff , water quality , invertebrate , hydrology (agriculture) , geography , ecology , geology , biology , cartography , geotechnical engineering , computer network , computer science
Rapid urbanization threatens the biota of streams and rivers around the globe. Efforts to manage urban streams traditionally take an engineering approach focused on stormwater runoff, physical channel condition, and chemical water quality. Our objective was to use the biology of streams—measured with the multimetric benthic index of biological integrity ( B‐IBI) based on benthic macroinvertebrates—to assess stream health. From 1997 to 1999, we sampled invertebrates at 45 sites in second‐ and third‐order streams in the Puget Sound lowlands of Washington State. Land cover upstream of each site was characterized by analysis of a 1998 satellite image. We evaluated associations between five land cover categories and biological condition across three spatial scales. The relationships between B‐IBI (and its component metrics) and stream substrate and hydrologic features were also analyzed at a subset of sites. Across all study sites, B‐IBI declined as the percentage of urban land cover increased ( r < −0.71, p < 0.001, n > 31). Most metrics were better predicted by sub‐basin rather than local‐scale urbanization. Within individual basins, however, local land‐cover urbanization and B‐IBI were strongly correlated ( r = −0.91, p < 0.001, n = 9). The biological condition of a site was also related to measures of hydrologic alteration and stream substrate. The aquatic biota is sensitive to a variety of urban effects, expressed at both large and small spatial scales. Biological assessment tools such as B‐IBI can identify areas of excellent biological condition for conservation and guide the design and evaluation of efforts to restore the biota of degraded streams.