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Ecoregion-specific Comparison of Stream Community Responses to Nutrient Gradients Using Both Survey and Experimental Approaches
EPA Grant Number: R824783Title: Ecoregion-specific Comparison of Stream Community Responses to Nutrient Gradients Using Both Survey and Experimental Approaches
Investigators: Stevenson, R. Jan , Holomuzki, Joe , Wiley, Michael J.
Institution: University of Michigan , Transylvania University , University of Louisville
EPA Project Officer: Levinson, Barbara
Project Period: October 1, 1995 through September 1, 1998
Project Amount: $390,000
RFA: Water and Watersheds (1995)
Research Category: Water and Watersheds
Description:
Nutrient loading commonly causes an increase in primary productivity and a replacement of oligotrophic algal-invertebrate communities with a new suite of organisms that result in very different stream structure and function, Quantitatively assessing the relationships between nutrient concentrations and algal-invertebrate communities in streams has been challenging because stream ecosystems are so physically variable and biologically dynamic. The proposed research is designed to develop a better predictive understanding of nutrient effects on stream communities in ecoregions with different hydrological stability.Stream surveys with large within-ecoregion sample sizes, experiments, and analyses of large databases have been started with the objectives: (1) to access, quantitatively, variation in algal and invertebrate communities to different nutrient concentrations by sampling 140 streams in two hydrologically different ecoregions, one in Kentucky and one in Michigan; (2) to assess, experimentally, the cause-effect relationships between changes in stream communities and nutrient concentrations; (3) to develop algal and invertebrate indicators that infer specific nutrient conditions and that infer susceptibility of communities to change (i.e., arsinihative capacity); and 4) to test and revise the KY and MI ecoregion-specific indicators of nutrient conditions and effects with databases developed by the EMAP-SW Streams Program and by other stream surveys. Initial results of surveying 29 streams in Kentucky and 40 streams in Michigan indicate that chances for high accrual of algae with increasing nutrients is greater in the hydrologically variable streams of Kentucky than in the stable streams of Michigan. The surveys also show that low invertebrate abundances in Kentucky do not respond to nutrients, but that the high invertebrate abundances in Michigan do show a positive response to nutrients. Experiments show that invertebrate fitness positively responds to the range of nutrient conditions observed in the surveyed streams. Analysis of algal data from the EMAP-SW Stream Program shows that algal species composition responds to changes in nutrients, so that development of reliable biological indicators of the highly variable nutrient concentrations in streams is possible.
Publications and Presentations:Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 31 publications for this project
Journal Articles:Journal Articles have been submitted on this project: View all 9 journal articles for this project
Supplemental Keywords:water, watersheds, ecological effects, metabolism, vulnerability, sensitive populations, dose-response, animal, organism, population, susceptibility, organics, ecosystem, indicators, regionalization, scaling, aquatic, habitat, public policy, decision making, environmental chemistry, biology, ecology, hydrology, emap, monitoring, surveys, southeast, midwest, Kentucky, KY, Michigan, MI, Region 4, Region 5. , Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Water, Geographic Area, Scientific Discipline, RFA, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, Water & Watershed, exploratory research environmental biology, Social Science, Nutrients, Ecological Indicators, Ecological Effects - Human Health, Hydrology, Watersheds, Chemical Mixtures - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Ecosystem Protection, Ecology and Ecosystems, State, aquatic ecosystem, basin hydrology, hydrological stability, fate and transport, public policy, ecosystem indicators, nutrient sensitive ecosystems, biological integrity, stream ecosystems, Kentucky (KY), EMAP, NAPL contaminants, community responses, nutrient gradients, environmental monitoring, nutrient gradiants, ecological exposure, aquatic ecosystems, dose response, nutrient transport, nutrient cycling, ecoregion, nutrient supply, surveys, stream ecosystem, algal-invertebrate habitat, community response, ecological effects, Michigan (MI)
Progress and Final Reports:
Final Report