National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Program Center Macroinvertebrate Communities and Habitat Characteristics in the Northern and Southern Colorado Plateau Networks Pilot Protocol Implementation Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NCPN/NRTR—2010/320 ON THE COVER Clockwise from bottom left: Coyote Gulch, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (USGS/Anne Brasher); Intermittent stream (USGS/Anne Brasher); Coyote Gulch, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (USGS/Anne Brasher); Caddisfl y larvae of the genus Neophylax (USGS/Steve Fend); Adult damselfi les (USGS/Terry Short). Macroinvertebrate Communities and Habitat Characteristics in the Northern and Southern Colorado Plateau Networks Pilot Protocol Implementation Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NCPN/NRTR—2010/320 Authors Anne M. D. Brasher Christine M. Albano Rebecca N. Close Quinn H. Cannon Matthew P. Miller U.S. Geological Survey Utah Water Science Center 121 West 200 South Moab, Utah 84532 Editing and Design Alice Wondrak Biel Northern Colorado Plateau Network National Park Service P.O. Box 848 Moab, UT 84532 May 2010 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Program Center Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that ad- dress natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Ser- vice and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Technical Report Series is used to disseminate results of scientifi c studies in the physical, biological, and social sciences for both the advancement of science and the achievement of the National Park Service mission. The series provides contributors with a forum for displaying com- prehensive data that are often deleted from journals because of page limitations. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the informa- tion is scientifi cally credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. This report received formal peer review by subject- matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data, and whose background and expertise put them on par technically and scientifi cally with the authors of the information. Views, statements, fi ndings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily refl ect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Depart- ment of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorse- ment or recommendation for use by the National Park Service. This report is available from the Northern Colorado Plateau Network website, http://www.nature.nps.gov/im/units/NCPN, as well as at the Natural Resource Publications Management web site, http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/NRPM. Please cite this publication as: Brasher, A. M. D., C. M. Albano, R. N. Close, Q. H. Cannon, and M. P. Miller. 2010. Macroinvertebrate communities and habitat characteristics in the Northern and Southern Colorado Plateau networks: pilot protocol implementation. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NCPN/NRTR—2010/320. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 960/102085, May 2010 ii Macroinvertebrate Communities and Habitat Characteristics in the NCPN and SCPN: Pilot Protocol Implementation Contents Figures ....................................................................................................................................v Tables ....................................................................................................................................vii Photos ....................................................................................................................................ix Acronyms ...............................................................................................................................xi Abstract ...............................................................................................................................xiii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. xv 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................1 2 Methods ..............................................................................................................................3 2.1 Sampling locations and timing .............................................................................................. 3 2.2 Reach layout for habitat assessment .................................................................................... 3 2.3 Habitat characterization ........................................................................................................ 5 2.4 Sample collection ................................................................................................................... 7 2.5 Spatial and temporal variation among samples .................................................................. 9 2.6 Metrics selection .................................................................................................................. 10 2.7 Habitat characteristics and macroinvertebrates ............................................................... 11 3 Results ...............................................................................................................................13 3.1 Habitat characterization ...................................................................................................... 13 3.2 Macroinvertebrate abundance and richness ...................................................................... 13 3.3 Comparison of quantitative and qualitative samples ........................................................ 21 3.4 Spatial and temporal variation among macroinvertebrate samples ................................ 25 3.5 Macroinvertebrate metrics .................................................................................................. 34 3.6 Habitat characteristics and macroinvertebrates ................................................................ 35 4 Discussion .........................................................................................................................39 4.1 Habitat characterization ..................................................................................................... 39 4.2 Sampling methodology ....................................................................................................... 40 4.3 Macroinvertebrate community structure ........................................................................... 41 4.4 Comparison of quantitative and qualitative samples ........................................................ 41 4.5 Spatial and temporal variation in macroinvertebrate community structure ................... 43 4.6 Metrics................................................................................................................................... 43 4.7 Habitat characteristics and macroinvertebrates ................................................................ 44 4.8 Summary ............................................................................................................................... 44 5 References ........................................................................................................................47 Appendices ...........................................................................................................................49 Appendix A. Park Sampling Locations ....................................................................................... 49 Appendix B. Estimates of Time to Complete Various Fieldwork Components ....................... 57 Appendix C. Habitat Data Collected by State and Federal Agencies in the Colorado Plateau .................................................................................................................................. 59 Appendix D. Summary Statistics for Habitat Data at Three Spatial Scales: Reach, Transect, and Microhabitat .................................................................................................................. 61 Appendix E. Macroinvertebrate Data Collected by State and Federal Agencies in the Colorado Plateau .................................................................................................................. 65 Appendix F. Macroinvertebrates in Quantitative Samples ....................................................... 67 Contents iii Appendix G. Macroinvertebrates in Qualitative Samples ........................................................ 83 Appendix H. Within and Across-stream Sensitivity Analysis .................................................... 99 Appendix I. Calculated Metrics for Quantitative and Qualitative Macroinvertebrate Samples Collected at Eight Study Sites ............................................................................. 103 iv Macroinvertebrate Communities and Habitat Characteristics in the NCPN and SCPN: Pilot Protocol Implementation Figures Figure 2-1. National parks of the Northern and Southern Colorado Plateau networks. ..................................4 Figure 2-2. Reach