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Influence of Stream
Habitat and Land Use on Benthic Macroinvertebrate
Indicators of Stream Quality of Selected Above-Tidal Streams in the Houston-Galveston
Area Council Service Area, Texas, 1997–98
By J. Bruce Moring
U.S. Geological Survey
Water-Resources Investigations Report 014010
In cooperation with the Houston-Galveston
Area Council
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Table of Contents
Abstract
Introduction
Purpose and Scope
Description of Study Area
Approach
Reach Selection
Assessment Components
Sampling-Reach Stream Habitat
Land Use and Population
Benthic Macroinvertebrate Sampling
Data Analysis
Influence of Stream Habitat and Land Use
on Benthic Macroinvertebrate Indicators of Biological Integrity
Relation Between Stream Habitat and Land
Use
Relation Between Benthic Aquatic Insects
and Land Use
Selection of Reference Reaches
Stream-Habitat and Biological Integrity
Scores
Multiple-Regression Model to Predict
Biological Integrity
Summary
References Cited
Figures
- Map showing data-collection sites in the Houston-Galveston
Area Council service area
- Boxplots showing distribution of selected stream-habitat
variables for reaches grouped by dominant land use
- Graphs showing relation between population density in
above-reach drainage areas and selected stream-habitat variables
- Boxplots showing distribution of selected benthic aquatic
insect variables for reaches grouped by dominant land use
510. Graphs showing:
5. Relation between population density in
above-reach drainage areas and selected benthic aquatic insect variables
6. Reach structural index and RCE maximum
for selected reaches classified by percentile and stream-habitat integrity
score
7. Percent EPT taxa and number of taxa for
selected reaches classified by percentile and biological integrity score
8. Hilsenhoff’s biotic index and percent
Chironomidae for selected reaches classified by percentile and biological
integrity score
9. Correlation of stream-habitat integrity
score with biological integrity score for selected reaches
10. Stream-habitat and biological integrity scores
compared to median integrity scores for reference sites
Tables
- Data-collection sites for stream-habitat and benthic
macroinvertebrate sampling in the Houston-Galveston Area Council service area
- Stream-habitat and land-use metrics determined for
each stream reach
- Benthic macroinvertebrate metrics determined for each
stream reach
- Factor loadings from principle components analysis
(PCA) greater than 0.7 for reach-habitat variables and proportion of variation
explained by each principal componet
- Factor loadings from principle components analysis
(PCA) greater than 0.7 for land-use variables and proportion of variation
explained by each principal component
- Factor loadings from principle components analysis
(PCA) greater than 0.7 for benthic aquatic insect variables and proportion
of variation explained by each principal component
- Stream-habitat and biological integrity scores for
selected reaches