SDST Bioassessment Sampling Data - NEW!
The San Diego Stream Team is pleased to be able to present our bioassessment data collected in the San Diego region since 1999. We have teamed with Joe Purohit and Ecolayers to bring you Bug-It (Better use of geospatial Information Technology), a web based open source GIS application using Google Earth. Please go to
San Diego Benthic Taxa List
This is a list of the relevant taxa used in San Diego County for the calculation of the Index of Biotic Integrity. Click on this link to view an Excel spreadsheet.
San Diego Region Biocriteria Evaluation
Alex Pohlman, Kristofor A. Voss and Shekar Viswanathan, in collaboration with David Gibson and Joe Purohit, have written a great paper evaluating the biologic integrity of streams in the San Diego hydrologic region.
Abstract:
Environmental agencies across the United States have been struggling to find a method to
adequately assess anthropogenic impacts on the environment. The current chemically focused
management initiatives are not protecting aquatic life in the nation’s waters. Since 1980s,
biological assessment, the health of aquatic assemblages by collecting organisms and studying
the biological composition of the resulting samples, has surfaced as a new method to assess the
nation’s water. In this study, data regarding bioassessment were collected and analyzed along
with physical habitat, and chemical stressor data for streams and rivers in the San Diego basin
throughout the 1998-2005 time periods. Despite the fact that the sources from which the data
drawn represented both probabilistic and targeted designs, the water quality in the region, as
reflected in the SoCal B-IBI scores found to be quite poor based on temporal and spatial patterns
of biological integrity scores within watersheds and streams of the region. Additionally, this
study validated the completeness of the physical habitat metrics and the SoCal B-IBI by showing
their ability to differentiate between biologically impaired and unimpaired streams.
You can download this paper titled Evaluation of the Biological Integrity of Streams in the San Diego Hydrologic Region. The paper has great information regarding water quality in the region and the use of biological monitoring.
Student Research Project Paper
One of our fantastic volunteers, Amber Griffith, recently graduated from San Diego State University. During her last semester she conducted a research project for her biology class where she processed several bioassessment samples from the Adobe Falls area along Alvarado Creek. Alvarado Creek is a tributary to the San Diego River in the San Diego Watershed. The goal was to identify the various taxa in the samples and to look for trends over time. Amber wrote a great paper on the project which you can find here. The paper contains some interesting information on her results as well as general information on bioassessment in general. The SDST would like to thank Amber for her efforts and would also like to thank Professor Andrew Bohonak for his guidance and support.
New Zealand Mud Snail Information
The New Zealand Mud Snail poses an increasing threat to the biotic integrity of California rivers and streams. The CA DFG has conducted a survey of the spread of the med snail and drafted important information on controlling the spread of this invasive species.
Click here for the survey report.
Click here for more information on controlling the spread.
Click here for a poster on the mud snail.
Bioassessment Methods Comparison
Researchers David Herbst and Erik Silldorff conducted a comparison of various bioassessment methods. Click here to view this report.
Biological Monitoring Handbook
Public participation in biological monitoring is increasingly important. If you are working to start a bioassessment program the USDA has draft a handbook to help you get started. Click here to view the document.