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At least 1,765 records · Page 98Linked to original sources
USGS2000

Evaluation of biological data, Guanella Pass Area, Clear Creek and Park Counties, Colorado, water years 1995-97

Macroinvertebrate and algal community samples were collected during a 3-year period at sites located near Guanella Pass, Colorado, to provide baseline characterization data. Water-quality sampling and habitat evaluations were used to aid in the interpretation of the biological data. The study was part of an environmental investigation for a proposed roadway reconstruction project on Guanella Pass. Discharge was strongly affected by snowmelt during May–July. Habitat scores were optimal (147–199), as determined by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Rapid Bioassessment Protocol methods. Generally, low median concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus (less than 0.02 milligram per liter) were detected at all sites. The water temperatures ranged from 0.4 to 11.2 degrees Celsius. The average pH for all sites was neutral, and specific conductivities were dilute (less than 160 microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius). The median suspended-sediment concentration was less than 20 milligrams per liter at all sites. During the study, 100 macroinvertebrate taxa were identified. The dominant taxonomic groups of macroinvertebrates were Diptera (true flies), Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies), and Trichoptera (caddisflies). Macroinvertebrate density ranged from 6.6 to 4,300 organisms per square meter at sampled sites. Shannon-Weaver diversity values for the macroinvertebrate samples ranged from 1.6 to 4.5. Collector-gatherers dominated the functional feeding groups at most sites. Average abundance of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) was 56.7 percent; EPT:Chironomidae ratios were greater than 2:1 for every site except during water years 1996 and 1997. Chironomids were greater than EPT at four sites in water year 1996 and at one site in water year 1997. The percentage of macroinvertebrate community similarity between site pairs varied from 0 to 80 percent. The number of algal taxa identified was 280. The dominant algal divisions, in terms of density, were Cyanophyta (blue-green algae), Chrysophyta (diatoms), Chlorophyta (green algae), Rhodophyta (red algae), and Euglenophyta (euglenoids). In general, diatom biovolumes dominated the algal assemblage, followed by blue-green algae, green algae, red algae, and euglenoids. Algal densities ranged from 3.1 X 10 2 to more than 4.7 X 10 6 cells per square centimeter, and algal biovolume ranged from 2.3 X 10 4 to 4.6 X 10 9 cells per cubic centimeter. Diversity values for diatoms ranged from 1.5 to 4.9. The pollution tolerance index (PTI) for diatoms ranged from 1.8 to 3.0. Sensitive diatoms were present at each site and ranged from 21 to 97 percent. The percentage of motile diatoms ranged from 0 to 13 percent. The presence of acid-tolerant diatoms ranged from less than 0.5 to greater than 20 percent. The percentage of community similarity between site pairs ranged from 1 to 97 percent. Overall, the biotic metrics that were evaluated during this study indicate that the macroinvertebrate and algal communities in the streams on Guanella Pass are not degraded by the existing road. Erosion may cause some localized effects but may not affect the overall health of the whole stream system. The degraded condition of Geneva Creek probably is due to natural effects as opposed to road effects. Although upper South Clear Creek, upstream from Naylor Creek, is located downstream from several sources of road runoff, the biological community at this site does not seem to be negatively affected.

Colorado↗
USGS2007

Vegetative resistance to flow in South Florida: Summary of vegetation sampling in Taylor Slough, Everglades National Park, September 1997–July 1998

The U.S. Geological Survey is one of many agencies providing scientific support to the effort to restore the South Florida Everglades. In September and November 1997 and July 1998, vegetation was sampled at selected sites in the Everglades as part of a study to quantify vegetative resistance to flow. The objectives of the vegetation sampling are (1) to provide detailed information on species composition, vegetation characteristics, and biomass for quantification of the effect of vegetation on water flow, and (2) to use these data in the future to infer flow resistance from vegetation information. Forty-two vegetation quadrats were sampled in Taylor Slough to determine the number and width of stems and leaves and the biomass of live and dead standing sawgrass, rush, and other plants, and the biomass of dead litter and periphyton. The samples were grouped into ten vegetation classes based on species composition and total biomass minus periphyton biomass.

Florida↗
USGS2000

Age and paleoenvironmental significance of mega-invertebrates from the "San Pedro" Formation in the Coyote Hills, Fullerton and Buena Park, Orange County, Southern California

The "San Pedro" Formation in the Coyote Hills contains an invertebrate fossil as-semblage of 184 taxa from 158 localities. The fauna consists of two annelids, 174 mollusks (80 bivalves, 94 gastropods, and three scaphopods), five arthropods, and three echinoids, along with other minor constituents recognized by not specifically identified during the present study. These fossils are divided into three assemblages; 1) a lower, Pliocene assemblage (which may not differ ecologically from the middle fauna), 2) a middle, cool water assemblage, and 3) an upper, temperate to warm water. These fossils suggest a probably late Pliocene to early Pleistocene age for outcrops of the "San Pedro" Formation in the Coyote Hills. A fourth assemblage with a limited, restricted marine fauna occurs in the overlying Coyote Hills Formation. The occurrence of Solamen columbianum (Dall) (Mollusca: Bivalvia) in the "San Pedro" Formation of the Coyote Hills marks its first occurrence as a fossil. The oldest fossil occurrence of the gastropods Tegula pulligo (Gmelin), questionably Haliotis cracherodii Leach, and the crustacean Randallia ornata (Randell) occurs in the "San Pedroï" Formation in the Coyote Hills.

California↗