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Biomonitors of stream quality in agricultural areas: Fish versus invertebrates

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Abstract

Although the utility of using either fish or benthic invertebrates as biomonitors of stream quality has been clearly shown, there is little comparative information on the usefulness of the groups in any particular situation. We compared fish to invertebrate assemblages in their ability to reflect habitat quality of sediment-impacted streams in agricultural regions of northeast Missouri, USA. Habitat quality was measured by a combination of substrate composition, riparian type, buffer strip width, and land use. Invertebrates were more sensitive to habitat differences when structural measurements, species diversity and ordination, were used. Incorporating ecological measurements, by using the Index of Biological Integrity, increased the information obtained from the fish assemblage. The differential response of the two groups was attributed to the more direct impact of sediments on invertebrate life requisites; the impact of sedimentation on fish is considered more indirect and complex, affecting feeding and reproductive mechanisms.

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Author notes

  1. Terence P. Boyle

    Present address: Water Resources Laboratory, National Park Service, Colorado State University, 80523, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit School of Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife, University of Missouri, 65211, Columbia, Missouri, USA

    Hilary E. Berkman & Charles F. Rabeni

  2. Columbia National Fisheries Research Laboratory, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 65211, Columbia, Missouri, USA

    Terence P. Boyle

Authors
  1. Hilary E. Berkman
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  2. Charles F. Rabeni
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  3. Terence P. Boyle
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The Unit is sponsored by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the University of Missouri.

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Berkman, H.E., Rabeni, C.F. & Boyle, T.P. Biomonitors of stream quality in agricultural areas: Fish versus invertebrates. Environmental Management 10, 413–419 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01867267

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