Effects of urbanization on stream ecosystems in the Willamette River basin and surrounding area, Oregon and Washington

Abstract

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is committed to providing the Nation with accurate and timely scientific information that helps enhance and protect the overall quality of life and that facilitates effective management of water, biological, energy, and mineral resources (http://www.usgs. gov/). Information on the quality of the Nation's water resources is critical to assuring the long-term availability of water that is safe for drinking and recreation and suitable for industry, irrigation, and habitat for fish and wildlife. Population growth and increasing demands for multiple water uses make water availability, now measured in terms of quantity and quality, even more essential to the long-term sustainability of our communities and ecosystems. The USGS implemented the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program in 1991 to support national, regional, and local information needs and decisions related to water-quality management and policy (http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa). Shaped by and coordinated with ongoing efforts of other Federal, State, and local agencies, the NAWQA Program is designed to answer: What is the condition of our Nation's streams and ground-water? How are the conditions changing over time? How do natural features and human activities affect the quality of streams and groundwater , and where are those effects most pronounced? By combining information on water-chemistry, physical characteristics, stream habitat, and aquatic life, the NAWQA Program aims to provide science-based insights for current and emerging water issues and priorities. From 1991 to 2001, the NAWQA Program completed interdisciplinary assessments in 51 of the Nation's major river basins and aquifer systems, referred to as Study Units (http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/ studyu.html). Baseline conditions were established for comparison to future assessments, and longterm monitoring was initiated in many of the basins. During the next decade, 42 of the 51 Study Units will be reassessed so that 10 years of comparable monitoring data will be available to determine trends at many of the Nation's streams and aquifers. The next 10 years of study also will fill in critical gaps in characterizing water-quality conditions, enhance understanding of factors that affect water quality, and establish links between sources of contaminants, the transport of those contaminants through the hydrologic system, and the potential effects of contaminants on humans and aquatic ecosystems. The USGS aims to disseminate credible, timely, and relevant science information to inform practical and effective water-resource management and strategies that protect and restore water quality. We hope this NAWQA publication will provide you with insights and information to meet your needs, and will foster increased citizen awareness and involvement in the protection and restoration of our Nation's waters. The USGS recognizes that a national assessment by a single program cannot address all water-resource issues of interest. External coordination at all levels is critical f...

Molecular phylogeny of the western North American pebblesnails, genus Fluminicola (Rissooidea: Lithoglyphidae), with description of a new species

“…This species is known only from specimens that were collected in the lower Willamette River during the 1800s (Hershler & Frest, 1996). Although this watershed has been severely degraded by urbanization, pebblesnails of uncertain taxonomic status have been recently collected in many of its streams (Waite et al, 2008). We are currently reviewing this material to determine whether F. nuttallianus is extant.…”

Using Legacy Data to Relate Biological Condition to Cumulative Aquatic Toxicity in the Willamette River Basin (Oregon, USA)

“…Metolachlor, a chloroacetanilide herbicide, was the third most frequently detected, with 11% of all detections. Having been consistently detected for during 20 years (Anderson et al 1996a;Waite et al 2008), they may now qualify as ''pseudopersistent'' pollutants (Daughton 2005).…”

“…The MAI is the ratio of the observed to expected species, with values ranging from 0 (''poor'' [no expected species found]) to[1.0 (''good'' [all or more species than expected found]) (Hubler 2008;Hawkins et al 2000). Although chemical impacts on algal communities have been investigated (Waite et al 2008), these types of samples were not collected by ODEQ (Mulvey et al 2009). Although the VATI and MAI were the only condition metrics currently available for the basin, neither was specifically designed, as are species at risk (SPEAR) indices (Von der Ohe and Liess 2004; Liess and Von der Ohe 2005), to detect the effects of chemicals on aquatic receptors.…”

“…Land use (urban, agricultural, forested) has been shown to be a major determinant of the type and quantity of chemical stressors entering and potentially affecting aquatic systems (Anderson et al 1996a, b;Waite et al 2008;Black et al 2000). Oregon land zoning data and land ownership layers were combined with 2007 USGS satellite imagery using a geographic information system to create a land use layer for the basin.…”

The relative importance of physicochemical factors to stream biological condition in urbanizing basins: evidence from multimodel inference

“…Streams were sampled along gradients of urban landuse intensity in and around 9 metropolitan areas (MAs), 6 of which are represented in this study: Atlanta, Georgia (Gregory and Calhoun 2007); Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina (Giddings et al 2007); Denver-Fort Collins, Colorado (Sprague et al 2006); Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas (Moring 2009); Milwaukee-Green Bay, Wisconsin; and Portland, Oregon (Waite et al 2006). A multivariate index that represents Giddings et al (2009) and used in Cuffney et al 2010, Fitzpatrick and Peppler 2010, and Steuer et al 2010 are given in square brackets.…”