Assessment of Biological Conditions at Selected Stream Sites in Johnson County, Kansas, and Cass and Jackson Counties, Missouri, 2003 and 2004
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Prepared in cooperation with the JOHNSON COUNTY STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM Assessment of Biological Conditions at Selected Stream Sites in Johnson County, Kansas, and Cass and Jackson Counties, Missouri, 2003 and 2004 Scientific Investigations Report 2007−5108 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Assessment of Biological Conditions at Selected Stream Sites in Johnson County, Kansas, and Cass and Jackson Counties, Missouri, 2003 and 2004 By Barry C. Poulton, Teresa J. Rasmussen, and Casey J. Lee Prepared in cooperation with the Johnson County Stormwater Management Program Scientific Investigations Report 2007–5108 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Mark D. Myers, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2007 For product and ordering information: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. Suggested citation: Poulton, B.C., Rasmussen, T.J., and Lee, C.J., 2007, Assessment of biological conditions at selected stream sites in Johnson County, Kansas, and Cass and Jackson Counties, Missouri, 2003 and 2004: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2007–5108, 68 p. Front cover: Cedar Creek near 83rd Street, October 26, 2006 (photograph taken by Amber Johnstun, U.S. Geological Survey, Lawrence, Kansas). Back cover: (Top left) Blue River near Kenneth Road, October 30, 2006 (photograph taken by Amber Johnstun, U.S. Geological Survey, Lawrence, Kansas); (Top right) Mill Creek near Shawnee Mission Park, April 29, 2006 (photograph taken by Teresa Rasmussen, U.S. Geological Survey, Lawrence, Kansas); (Bottom) Blue River near Kenneth Road, December 9, 2005 (photograph taken by Teresa Rasmussen, U.S. Geological Survey, Lawrence, Kansas). iii Contents Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1 Purpose and Scope ..............................................................................................................................2 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................3 Previous Investigations........................................................................................................................3 Description of Study Area ...................................................................................................................3 Methods...........................................................................................................................................................9 Site Selection.........................................................................................................................................9 Macroinvertebrate Community Indicators .......................................................................................9 Sample Collection ........................................................................................................................9 Identification and Enumeration ...............................................................................................11 Calculation of Metrics ...............................................................................................................11 Selection of Metrics for Site Evaluation ................................................................................11 Rating Methods Used For Site Scoring and Ranking ...........................................................13 Site Groupings ............................................................................................................................14 Environmental Variables ....................................................................................................................15 Streamflow and Precipitation ..................................................................................................15 Water and Sediment Quality ....................................................................................................15 Land Use ......................................................................................................................................16 Site Groupings and Scoring .....................................................................................................16 Principal Components Analysis ...............................................................................................16 Environmental Effects Score ...................................................................................................17 Quality Assurance and Quality Control ...........................................................................................17 Assessment of Biological Conditions .......................................................................................................17 Macroinvertebrate Communities .....................................................................................................17 Summary of Community Structure ..........................................................................................17 Individual Metric Values ...........................................................................................................18 Site Scoring and Ranking Using Multimetric Combinations ...............................................23 Site Groupings ............................................................................................................................24 Aquatic-Life-Support Status ....................................................................................................26 Relations Between Macroinvertebrate Indicators and Environmental Variables ...................29 Streamflow ..................................................................................................................................29 Land Use ......................................................................................................................................30 Water and Sediment Quality ....................................................................................................31 Site Groupings and Scoring ..............................................................................................................34 Principal Components Analysis ...............................................................................................34 Environmental Effects Score ...................................................................................................35 Macroinvertebrate Responses to Environmental Variables ........................................................39 Effects of Urbanization on Macroinvertebrates ...................................................................39 Macroinvertebrate Response to Gradients in Environmental Variables ..........................41 Least- and Most-Impacted Stream Sites ...............................................................................42 Comparison to Downstream Sites in Missouri .....................................................................42 iv Evaluation of Metrics for Bioassessments in Urban Streams ....................................................43 Summary and Conclusions .........................................................................................................................45 References Cited..........................................................................................................................................47 Appendixes ...................................................................................................................................................51 1. List of macroinvertebrate taxa collected at stream-sampling sites in Johnson County, Kansas, and selected sites in Cass and Jackson Counties, Missouri, 2003 and 2004 ....52 2. List of the four most dominant macroinvertebrate taxa collected at stream-sampling sites in Johnson County, Kansas, and selected sites in Cass and Jackson Counties, Missouri, 2003 and 2004 .............................................................................................................59 3. Macroinvertebrate metric values for 15 stream-sampling sites in Johnson County, Kansas, and 7 selected sites in Cass and Jackson Counties, Missouri, calculated for 2003 and 2004 ...............................................................................................................................61 4. Sampling-site rankings based on proportional scaling of metric values for three multimetric combinations in 2003 and 2004, for sites in Johnson County, Kansas, and selected sites in Cass and Jackson Counties, Missouri ......................................................66