title: The influence of suburban land use on habitat and biotic integrity of coastal Rhode Island streams.
abstract: Watershed land use in suburban areas can affect stream biota through degradation of instream habitat, water quality, and riparian vegetation. By monitoring stream biotic communities in various geographic regions, we can better understand and conserve our watershed ecosystems. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between watershed land use and the integrity of benthic invertebrate communities in eight streams that were assessed over a 3-year period (2001-2003). Sites were selected from coastal Rhode Island watersheds along a residential land-use gradient (4-59%). Using the rapid bioassessment protocol, we collected biological, physicochemical, habitat, and nutrient data from wadeable stream reaches and compared metrics of structure and integrity. Principal component analyses showed significant negative correlation of indicators for stream physicochemical, habitat, and instream biodiversity with increasing residential land use (RLU) in the watershed. The physicochemical variables that were most responsive to percent RLU were conductivity, instream habitat, nitrate, and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN). The positive correlation of DIN with percent RLU indicated an anthropogenic source of pollution affecting the streams. The biotic composition of the streams shifted from sensitive to insensitive taxa as percent RLU increased; the most responsive biological variables were percent Ephemeroptera, percent Scrapers, percent Insects, and the Hilsenhoff biotic index. These data show the importance of land management and conservation at the watershed scale to sustaining the biotic integrity of coastal stream ecosystems.
authors.affiliation: Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory (NHEERL), Atlantic Ecology Division (AED), US Environmental Protection Agency, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA. lussier.suzanne@epa.gov
authors.forename: Suzanne M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Lussier
authors.forename: Sara N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Charpentier
authors.forename: James F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Heltshe
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Cormier
authors.forename: Donald J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Klemm
authors.forename: Marnita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chintala
authors.forename: Saro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jayaraman
mesh_terms: D017753:Ecosystem; D005618:Fresh Water; D012237:Rhode Island