Analysis of macroinvertebrate assemblages in relation to environmental gradients among lotic habitats of California's Central Valley

We assessed relationships between environmental characteristicsand macroinvertebrate assemblages in lotic habitats of California's Central Valley with community metric and multivariate statistical approaches. Using canonical ordinationanalyses, we contrasted results when assemblage structure was assessed with macroinvertebrate metrics, as suggested for use inindices of biotic integrity, or with genera abundances. Our objectives were to identify metrics or taxa diagnostic of loticenvironmental stressors and compare the capacity of theseapproaches to detect stressors in order to suggest how they mightbe used to diagnose stressors. For macroinvertebrate metrics,redundancy analysis (RDA) extracted three axes correlated withchannel morphology and substrates. For genera abundances, canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) extracted two axescorrelated with soluble salts and with channel morphology andsubstrates but did not separate these gradients onto differentaxes. Cluster analyses identified five RDA and five CCA sitegroups, which exhibited differences for environmental variables,metrics, or genera abundances, and agreement between the analysesin partitioning of sites was greater than if sites were partitioned randomly. These approaches differ in their abilityto detect environmental stressors, because they measure differentaspects of assemblages and would be complementary in design ofnew metrics diagnostic of stressors.     

Status of Aquatic Bioassessment in U.S. EPA Region IX

U.S. EPA Region IX is supporting bioassessment programs in Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada using biocriteria program and Regional Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (R-EMAP) resources. These programs are designed to improve the state, tribal and regional ability to determine the status of water quality. Biocriteria program funds were used to coordinate with Arizona, California and Hawaii which resulted in these states establishing reference conditions and in developing biological indices. U.S. EPA Region IX has initiated R-EMAP projects in California and Nevada. These U.S. EPA Region IX sponsored programs have provided an opportunity to interact with the States and provide them with technical and management support. In Arizona, several projects are being conducted to develop the State's bioassessment program. These include the development of a rotational random monitoring program; a regional reference approach for macroinvertebrate bioassessments; ecoregion approach to testing and adoption of an alternate regional classification system; and development of warm-water and cold-water indices of biological integrity. The indices are projected to be used in the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) 2000 water quality assessment report. In California, an Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) has been developed for the Russian River Watershed using resources from U.S. EPA's Non-point Source (NPS) Program grants. A regional IBI is under development for certain water bodies in the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board. Resources from the U.S. EPA Biocriteria program are being used to support the California Aquatic Bioassessment Workgroup (CABW) in conjunction with the California Department of Fish & Game (CDFG), and to support the Hawaii Department of Health (DoH) Bioassessment Program to refine biological metrics. In Nevada, R-EMAP resources are being used to create a baseline of aquatic information for the Humboldt River watershed. U.S. EPA Region IX is presently working with the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) to establish a Nevada Aquatic Bioassessment Workgroup. Future R-EMAP studies will occur in the Calleguas Creek watershed in Southern California, and in the Muddy and Virgin River watersheds in southern Nevada, and the Walker River watershed in eastern California and west-central Nevada.     

What if Dutch investors started worrying about flood risk? Implications for disaster risk reduction

Regional Environmental Change - Increasingly, roles and responsibilities of the public sector in flood risk management are receiving attention in research and policy. Part of the debate suggests...     

Flood protection and endogenous sorting of households: the role of credit constraints

Human migration is increasingly seen as a promising climate change adaptation and flood risk reduction strategy. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how spatial differences in flood risk, due to differences in flood protection, reduce the mobility of vulnerable households through a credit constraint mechanism. Using an equilibrium model with two households types and endogenous sorting, we show how spatial differences in flood protection lead to clustering of vulnerable households in a risky region, in a real-world setting of common United States (US) flood zones. We find clustering effects of some size for flood zones with return periods of less than 30 years.     

EMAP Design and River Reach File 3 (RF3) as a Sample Frame in the Central Valley, California

The Central Valley, California, R-EMAP project assessed the effects of highly modified, agriculturally dominated landuse on the aquatic resources of the lower portion of the Central Valley watersheds. The focus of this paper is to assess the utility of the EMAP design and the River Reach File version 3 (RF3) 1:100,000 scale Digital Line Graph (DLG) as a sampling frame. The study area is 34,099 mi²(88,316 km²) and comprises the lower reaches of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River watersheds to the 1000 ft. (305 m) elevation. Sampling sites are selected using a tessellation stratified design to represent the two main populations of interest: natural streams and man-made waterways. Sites are selected to represent 13,226 miles of streams and sloughs, and 14,648 miles of irrigation canals, ditches and drains. To achieve an approximately equal sample size across stream orders and basins, the sample design was weighted by Strahler order categories to ensure sampling occurred in the higher order streams. Based on office and field reconnaissance, the study provided information on the quality of RF3 as a sampling frame. Site selection using RF3 had a success rate of approximately 44%. The RF3 database has an error rate of approximately 7%. When human influence factors were included, the error rate increased to 16%. There was an 11% error rate when selecting sites for natural streams, and approximately a 14% error rate for man-made waterways. The reconnaissance information indicated that presence or absence of irrigation ditches and return drains depends on changing agricultural uses. Some of the error in the RF3 for natural streams and man-made waterways can be attributed to rapid urban expansion, especially in the San Joaquin basin.     

Site Access and Sample Frame Issues for R-EMAP Central Valley, California, Stream Assessment

The Central Valley of California contains critical habitat for many aquatic and terrestrial biological resources. The purpose of this R-EMAP project was to assess the effects from a highly modified agriculturally dominated landuse area on the aquatic resources of the lower portion of the Central Valley watersheds. The study area is 24,346 mi2 and comprises the Sacramento Valley and San Joaquin Valley watersheds to the 1,000 ft. elevation contour. Populations of interest are man-made conveyances and wadeable natural streams. There are 40,756 miles of streams and constructed conveyances within the Central Valley as designated by RF3 database. Sample sites were selected to represent 14,399 miles of streams and sloughs, and 16,697 miles of constructed conveyances.