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USGS Release: Streams Show Signs of Degradation at Earliest Stages of Urban Development
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3455[font face=Serif][font size=5]Streams Show Signs of Degradation at Earliest Stages of Urban Development[/font]
Released: 11/15/2012 10:12:33 AM
Contact Information:
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Office of Communications and Publishing
12201 Sunrise Valley Dr, MS 119
Reston, VA 20192
[font size=3]The loss of sensitive species in streams begins to occur at the initial stages of urban development, according to a new study by the USGS. The study found that streams are more sensitive to development than previously understood.
…
Contaminants, habitat destruction, and increasing streamflow flashiness resulting from urban development can degrade stream ecosystems and cause degradation downstream with adverse effects on biological communities and on economically valuable resources, such as fisheries and tourism.
For example, by the time urban development had approached 20 percent in watersheds in the New England area, the aquatic invertebrate community had undergone a change in species composition of about 25 percent.
The study also found that the health of highly-degraded streams can be improved by implementing management actions that are designed to reduce specific stressors.
…[/font][/font]
http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1373/Released: 11/15/2012 10:12:33 AM
Contact Information:
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Office of Communications and Publishing
12201 Sunrise Valley Dr, MS 119
Reston, VA 20192
[font size=3]The loss of sensitive species in streams begins to occur at the initial stages of urban development, according to a new study by the USGS. The study found that streams are more sensitive to development than previously understood.
…
Contaminants, habitat destruction, and increasing streamflow flashiness resulting from urban development can degrade stream ecosystems and cause degradation downstream with adverse effects on biological communities and on economically valuable resources, such as fisheries and tourism.
For example, by the time urban development had approached 20 percent in watersheds in the New England area, the aquatic invertebrate community had undergone a change in species composition of about 25 percent.
The study also found that the health of highly-degraded streams can be improved by implementing management actions that are designed to reduce specific stressors.
…[/font][/font]