Macroinvertebrate assemblages associated with patterns in land use and water quality

Abstract

Most national parks were designated to preserve significant natural resources. Park borders often reflect political rather than ecological boundaries. Consequently, catchments of many streams are only partially within park boundaries, and are therefore subject to land use changes and potential contamination from non-point sources outside the park. The National Park Service has initiated a program to monitor natural resources, particularly those at risk from land use changes surrounding the parks. This effort requires the identification of response signatures indicative of the ecological effects of human activities. The goal of this chapter is to identify a biological response signature (e.g., indicator assemblages) for tributary streams in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. More than 20 first to fourth order tributary streams enter the Cuyahoga River within park boundaries. Many of these catchments are outside park boundaries and under suburban development. The purpose of this research is to provide park managers with a monitoring tool for identifying the extent and degree of aquatic resource degradation due to land use changes in tributary catchments.