Effects of Urbanization on Fish and Macroinvertebrate Communities in the Houston Metropolitan Region

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1 Effects of Urbanization on Fish and Macroinvertebrate Communities in the Houston Metropolitan Region Marty Kelly, Lythia Metzmeier, and Linda Broach Urban Riparian Symposium February 15, 2017

2 Objective Compare biological data to physical habitat and watershed data USEPA A Practioner s Guide to the Biological Condition Gradient: A Framework to Describe Incremental Change in Aquatic Ecosystems. EPA 842-R

3 Objective

4 Streams in Ecoregion 34

5 List of Stations West Bernard Creek (3) West Carancahua Creek (2) West Mustang Creek (3) Austin Bayou (1) BCDD # 317 (1) Caney Creek (1) Cedar Bayou (4) Chocolate Bayou (2) San Bernard River (2) Skull Creek (4) Tres Palacios Creek (1) Clear Creek (4) Cotton Bayou (3) Cypress Creek (3) Dickinson Bayou (6) Hackberry Gully (3) Armand Bayou (8) Greens Bayou (4) Halls Bayou (3) Sims Bayou (2) Big Creek (12) Least Disturbed Least Disturbed Least Disturbed Rural Rural Rural Rural Rural Rural Rural Rural Suburban Suburban Suburban Suburban Suburban Urban Urban Urban Urban Big Creek

6 METHODS FOR COLLECTING BIOLOGICAL DATA Fish Seine and Electroshock Fishing Benthic Macroinvertebrates D frame kick net Physical Habitat Measurements

7 Index of Biological Integrity Regionalized IBI for Fish Metrics for Ecoregion 34 Total # of Fish Species Number of Native Cyprinids Number of Benthic Invertivores Number of Sunfish Number of Intolerant Species Percent of Individuals as Tolerant Percent of Individuals as Omnivores Percent of Individuals as Invertivores Number of Individuals in Sample (ind/seine and ind/min of shock) Percent of Individuals as Non-Native Percent of Individuals with Disease or Anomaly. Linam, G.W., L.J. Kleinsasser, and K.B. Mayes Regionalization of the Index of Biotic Integrity for Texas Streams. Rivers Studies Report No. 17. Austin: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

8 Rural and Least Disturbed Dorosoma petenense Cyprinus carpio Lythrurus umbratilis Notropis amnis Notropis antherinoides Notropis buchanani Notropis shumardi Carpiodes carpio Minytrema melanops Moxostoma congestum Morone chrysops Elassoma zonatum Lepomis humilis Lepomis marginatus Lepomis symmetricus Pomoxis annularis Etheostoma gracile Etheostoma proeliare Trinectes maculatus

9 Urban and Suburban Anchoa mitchilli Notropis atrocaudalis Ameiurus melas Ictalurus furcatus Plecostomus spp. Lucania parva Poecilia reticulata Labidesthes sicculus Lepomis auritus Aplodinotus grunniens Cichlasoma cyanoguttatum Tilapia aurea Tilapia mossambica Mugil curema

10 20 Avg No. of Species BC LDS RURAL SUBURBAN URBAN

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12 80 Tolerant Fish (w/o Gambusia) BC LDS RURAL SUBURBAN URBAN

13 Non Natives vs. PctDeveloped

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17 R_IBI vs. PctDeveloped

18 Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity The objective of the Clean Water Act is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters TCEQ has a statewide Index of Biotic Integrity for benthic macroinvertebrates Current efforts for regionalizing the B-IBI for macroinvertebrates are ongoing

19 Richness and Pollution Tolerance Taxa Richness EPT Richness Hilsenhoff Biotic Index Intolerant : Tolerant Ratio # Non-Insect Taxa Hydropsychidae:Trichoptera ratio

20 Community Structure % Chironomidae % Dominant Taxon % Dominant Functional Group % Predators % Collector-Gatherers % Elmidae

21 Intolerant Taxa EPT Taxa Mayflies Stoneflies Caddisflies

22 ModeratelyTolerant Taxa Hydropsychid Caddisflies (net spinners) Caenis (mayfly) Damselfly larvae Dragonfly larvae Amphipods Crayfish

23 Tolerant Taxa Chironomids Leeches Oligochaetes Lunged Snails

24 Least Disturbed, Agricultural, and Urban Stream Metric Comparison

25 Macroinvertebrate Sample Data LDS AG URBAN # STATIONS #SAMPLES Number of Taxa Collected

26 EPT Index

27 Intolerant to Tolerant ratio

28 Total Number of Taxa

29 Percent Chironomidae

30 Benthic IBI Score

31 So what s most common in an Urban Stream?

32 Any Questions?