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6/06/2017  |   2:30 PM - 2:45 PM   |  COMPARISON OF THE PERFORMANCE OF FOUR BIOTIC INDEXES DEVELOPED FOR USE ON PUERTO RICO STREAMS   |  302C

COMPARISON OF THE PERFORMANCE OF FOUR BIOTIC INDEXES DEVELOPED FOR USE ON PUERTO RICO STREAMS

Until recently water quality practitioners in Puerto Rico lacked stream bioassessment protocols and indexes that directly assess and report on biological conditions. This was attributed to slow development of biological assessment protocols applicable for Caribbean streams. To evaluate four newly developed biotic indexes, Macroinvertebrate Integrity Index (MII), Percent Model Affinity (PMA), Index Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP’PR), and Index Biotic Family (IBF’PR), scores were calculated using macroinvertebrate data collected from the Rio Piedras and other stream sites located throughout the island. Performance of each index was tested to determine differences in the responses along environmental gradients related to land use, water chemistry, and physical habitat. Overall, each index showed a moderate to strong response across these gradients and the responses were generally similar. Conclusions on the sensitivity of each index should be viewed cautiously until index variability is better understood and the indexes are tested on subtle gradients of environmental conditions caused by anthropogenic activities. The macroinvertebrate indexes show potential to determine aquatic life use support, help develop biological criteria, and protect aquatic stream resources in Puerto Rico.

  • C36 Water Resource Management
  • C03 Invertebrates
  • C17 Bioassessment

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Presenters/Authors

James Kurtenbach (), USEPA Region 2, kurtenbach.james@epa.gov;


ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -