USGS
Ecological Studies in the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program

NAWQA Ecology
Homepage

What's New

Current Studies
Academy of Natural
Sciences Cooperative
Research Agreement
Publications
Biological Sampling,
Habitat, and
Laboratory Protocols
Download Data
Contacts

Overview:

The stonefly Calineuria californica (Banks)(Photograph by James L. Carter, USGS, Menlo Park, CA)Despite commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Clean Water Act of 1972, significant scientific and resource management challenges remain in reaching the goal of protecting the biological integrity of our Nations' water resources. Ecological studies conducted by scientists of the NAWQA Program provide data, information and scientific insights into the status, trends, and understanding of factors that influence the biological integrity of streams and rivers. These studies are conducted by investigative teams distributed throughout the Nation, and are synthesized at regional and national scales to understand how stream ecosystems may respond in differing ways to the diverse natural and human factors present in the Nation.

During the Program's first decade of operation (1991 - 2001), ecological studies were conducted to assess the occurrence and distribution of algal, invertebrate, and fish communities in 59 study units. These study units represented the dominant hydrologic systems nationwide and are staggered in time with respect to implementation, high-intensity, and low-intensity sampling periods. In the second decade of the Program (2001 - 2011), ecological studies are being conducted in 42 study units as part of a long-term, trends monitoring network or nationally guided topical studies designed to increase our understanding of the factors that affect water quality. Biological sampling of algal, invertebrate, and fish communities, and habitat assessments are being conducted at 129 sites of the 146 sites making up the surface water trends network. Three topical studies presently underway in the Program involving large-scale ecological studies include: (1) the effects of urbanization on stream ecosystems, (2) the effects of nutrient enrichment on stream ecosystems, and (3) the accumulation of mercury in aquatic organisms.


NAWQA WATER USGS HELP!

U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer: julrich@usgs.gov
Last update: 09:32:26 Wed 05 Mar 2003
Privacy Statement || Disclaimer || Accessibility
URL: http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/ecology/
FirstGov, 'Your First Click to the U. S. Government'