Assessment Tools for Urban Catchments: Developing Biological Indicators Based on Benthic Macroinvertebrates†

  1. Alison H. Purcell1,
  2. David W. Bressler2,
  3. Michael J. Paul2,
  4. Michael T. Barbour2,
  5. Ed T. Rankin3,
  6. James L. Carter4,
  7. Vincent H. Resh5

Article first published online: 29 DEC 2008

DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2008.00279.x

Issue

JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association

JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association

Volume 45, Issue 2, pages 306–319, April 2009

Additional Information

How to Cite

Purcell, A. H., Bressler, D. W., Paul, M. J., Barbour, M. T., Rankin, E. T., Carter, J. L. and Resh, V. H. (2009), Assessment Tools for Urban Catchments: Developing Biological Indicators Based on Benthic Macroinvertebrates. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 45: 306–319. doi: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2008.00279.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Respectively, Environmental Scientist, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, 137 Mulford Hall, Berkeley, California 94720-3114 [Now at Humboldt State University (Assistant Professor), Arcata, California]

  2. 2

    Environmental Scientist, Senior Scientist, Director, Center for Ecological Sciences, Tetra Tech, Inc., Owings Mills, Maryland

  3. 3

    Senior Research Associate, Midwest Biodiversity Institute, Columbus, Ohio

  4. 4

    Aquatic Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California

  5. 5

    Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California.

*(E-Mail/Purcell: purcell@humboldt.edu)

  • †

    Paper No. JAWRA-08-0011-P of the Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA). Discussions are open until August 1, 2009.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 25 MAR 2009
  2. Article first published online: 29 DEC 2008
  3. Received January 14, 2008; accepted July 23, 2008.

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Keywords:

  • multimetric index;
  • quantile regression;
  • NMS;
  • urban gradient;
  • stream;
  • river;
  • management;
  • restoration;
  • Mid-Atlantic;
  • Midwest;
  • Pacific Coast.

Abstract:  Biological indicators, particularly benthic macroinvertebrates, are widely used and effective measures of the impact of urbanization on stream ecosystems. A multimetric biological index of urbanization was developed using a large benthic macroinvertebrate dataset (n = 1,835) from the Baltimore, Maryland, metropolitan area and then validated with datasets from Cleveland, Ohio (n = 79); San Jose, California (n = 85); and a different subset of the Baltimore data (n = 85). The biological metrics used to develop the multimetric index were selected using several criteria and were required to represent ecological attributes of macroinvertebrate assemblages including taxonomic composition and richness (number of taxa in the insect orders of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera), functional feeding group (number of taxa designated as filterers), and habit (percent of individuals which cling to the substrate). Quantile regression was used to select metrics and characterize the relationship between the final biological index and an urban gradient (composed of population density, road density, and urban land use). Although more complex biological indices exist, this simplified multimetric index showed a consistent relationship between biological indicators and urban conditions (as measured by quantile regression) in three climatic regions of the United States and can serve as an assessment tool for environmental managers to prioritize urban stream sites for restoration and protection.

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