Relationships among nutrients, algae, and land use in urbanized southern California streams

We surveyed algal cover, algal biomass, and physical and chemical factors at 14 sites representing a range of land use types in the Malibu Creek watershed in southern California, USA. We also conducted nutrient diffuser substrate experiments to identify the nutrient limiting algal growth. Algal biomass increased with urbanization, reaching very high levels in the most urbanized streams (up to 322.4 mg chlorophyll a·m-2). Total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and benthic and total chlorophyll concentrations were positively correlated with the proportion of upstream land covered by impervious surfaces. Relationships between land use and algal biomass or nutrient concentrations were evaluated at 100 m, 500 m, and whole subwatershed scales. The closest relationships were found at the 500 m scale, where 56% of the variation in total chlorophyll could be explained by the proportion of land within a 500 m radius upstream covered by impervious surfaces. Floating macroalgae were observed in the summer in pools with hi...

[1]  R. R. Horner,et al.  Nuisance biomass levels of periphytic algae in streams , 2004, Hydrobiologia.

[2]  S. Roberts,et al.  Catchment urbanisation and increased benthic algal biomass in streams: linking mechanisms to management , 2004 .

[3]  W. Dodds,et al.  Nutrient limitation of epilithic and epixylic biofilms in ten North American streams , 2003 .

[4]  Urbanization and stream ecology: an introduction to the series , 2005, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[5]  W. Rice.  ANALYZING TABLES OF STATISTICAL TESTS , 1989, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[6]  S. Norton,et al.  Framework for ecological risk assessment , 1992 .

[7]  B. Biggs,et al.  Eutrophication of streams and rivers: dissolved nutrient-chlorophyll relationships for benthic algae , 2000, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[8]  S. Francoeur.  Meta-analysis of lotic nutrient amendment experiments: detecting and quantifying subtle responses , 2001, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[9]  V. Acuña,et al.  Effects of nutrient inputs in a forested mediterranean stream under moderate light availability , 2005 .

[10]  S. Sabater,et al.  Variability of heterotrophic activity in Mediterranean stream biofilms: A multivariate analysis of physical-chemical and biological factors , 2000, Aquatic Sciences.

[11]  P. Groffman,et al.  The urban stream syndrome: current knowledge and the search for a cure , 2005, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[12]  F. Schanz,et al.  Two different methods of evaluating nutrient limitations of periphyton bioassays, using water from the River Rhine and eight of its tributaries , 1983, Hydrobiologia.

[13]  M. Winterbourn.  Interactions among nutrients, algae and invertebrates in a New Zealand mountain stream , 1990 .

[14]  R. Horner,et al.  Development of nuisance periphytic algae in laboratory streams in relation to enrichment and velocity , 1983 .

[15]  J. Meyer,et al.  Stream ecosystem function in urbanizing landscapes , 2005, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[16]  Walter K. Dodds,et al.  Nitrogen and phosphorus relationships to benthic algal biomass in temperate streams , 2002 .

[17]  F. Sabater,et al.  Algal biomass in a disturbed Atlantic river: water quality relationships and environmental implications. , 2000, The Science of the total environment.

[18]  W. Dodds,et al.  A technique for establishing reference nutrient concentrations across watersheds affected by humans , 2004 .

[19]  A. Cattaneo,et al.  Periphyton distribution and abundance on substrata of different size along a gradient of stream trophy de Montréal , 1997, Hydrobiologia.

[20]  Brian A. Whitton,et al.  Use of algae for monitoring rivers II , 1996 .

[21]  A. Butturini,et al.  Effects of removal of riparian vegetation on algae and heterotrophs in a Mediterranean stream , 1997 .

[22]  J. Melack,et al.  IMPACTS OF CALIFORNIA'S CLIMATIC REGIMES AND COASTAL LAND USE CHANGE ON STREAMFLOW CHARACTERISTICS 1 , 2003 .

[23]  A. Butturini,et al.  Ammonium and phosphate retention in a Mediterranean stream: hydrological versus temperature control , 1998 .

[24]  B. Biggs,et al.  Benthic community dynamics during summer low‐flows in two rivers of contrasting enrichment 1. Periphyton , 2003 .

[25]  Eugènia Martí,et al.  High Variability in Temporal and Spatial Nutrient Retention in Mediterranean Streams , 1996 .

[26]  K. Kjeldsen.  Regulation of algal biomass in a small lowland stream : field experiments on the role of invertebrate grazing, phosphorus and irradiance , 1996 .

[27]  V. Resh,et al.  Streams in Mediterranean Climate Regions: Abiotic Influences and Biotic Responses to Predictable Seasonal Events , 1999 .

[28]  Walter K. Dodds,et al.  Suggested classification of stream trophic state: distributions of temperate stream types by chlorophyll, total nitrogen, and phosphorus , 1998 .

[29]  S. Francoeur,et al.  Nutrient Limitation of Algal Biomass Accrual in Streams: Seasonal Patterns and a Comparison of Methods , 1999, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[30]  B. Biggs,et al.  A habitat matrix conceptual model for stream periphyton , 1998 .

[31]  S. Fisher,et al.  Nitrogen Limitation in a Sonoran Desert Stream , 1986, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[32]  W. Hill,et al.  NUTRIENT AND LIGHT LIMITATION OF ALGAE IN TWO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA STREAMS 1 , 1988 .

[33]  A. Butturini,et al.  Effects of riparian vegetation removal on nutrient retention in a Mediterranean stream , 2000, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[34]  J. Allan.  Landscapes and Riverscapes: The Influence of Land Use on Stream Ecosystems , 2004 .

[35]  F. Sabater,et al.  The Ter: a Mediterranean river case-study in Spain , 1995 .

[36]  N. Caraco,et al.  HUMAN IMPACT ON NITRATE EXPORT : AN ANALYSIS USING MAJOR WORLD RIVERS , 1999 .

[37]  J. Brinck.  World resources of phosphorus. , 1977, Ciba Foundation symposium.

[38]  R. Horner,et al.  Prediction of nuisance periphytic biomass: a management approach , 1989 .

[39]  G. Minshall,et al.  River and stream ecosystems , 1995 .

[40]  J. Omernik.  The influence of land use on stream nutrient levels , 1976 .

[41]  Richard R. Horner,et al.  Responses of periphyton to changes in current velocity, suspended sediment and phosphorus concentration , 1990 .

[42]  A. Herlihy,et al.  Linkages among land-use, water quality, physical habitat conditions and lotic diatom assemblages: A multi-spatial scale assessment , 2004, Hydrobiologia.

[43]  A. Dell'uomo.  Use of benthic macroalgae for monitoring rivers in Italy. , 1991 .

[44]  N retention and transformation in urban streams , 2005 .

[45]  A. Cattaneo,et al.  Control of Periphyton Biomass in Laurentian Streams (Québec) , 1998, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[46]  R. J. Stevenson,et al.  Algal ecology: freshwater benthic ecosystems , 1996 .

[47]  David L. Strayer,et al.  Effects of Land Cover on Stream Ecosystems: Roles of Empirical Models and Scaling Issues , 2003 .

[48]  B. Biggs,et al.  A survey of filamentous algal proliferations in New Zealand rivers , 1987 .

[49]  J. Yeakley,et al.  NEAR‐STREAM LANDUSE EFFECTS ON STREAMWATER NUTRIENT DISTRIBUTION IN AN URBANIZING WATERSHED 1 , 2001 .

[50]  S. Carpenter,et al.  NONPOINT POLLUTION OF SURFACE WATERS WITH PHOSPHORUS AND NITROGEN , 1998 .

[51]  T. Dudley.  Beneficial effects of herbivores on stream macroalgae via epiphyte removal , 1992 .

[52]  Max L. Bothwell,et al.  Phosphorus–Limited Growth Dynamics of Lotic Periphytic Diatom Communities: Areal Biomass and Cellular Growth Rate Responses , 1989 .

[53]  E. Welch,et al.  Establishing nutrient criteria in streams , 2000, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[54]  J. Gee,et al.  A simple periphyton sampler for algal biomass estimates in streams , 1993 .

[55]  J. Meyer,et al.  Streams in the Urban Landscape , 2001 .

[56]  P. Chambers,et al.  Periphyton, water quality, and land use at multiple spatial scales in Alberta rivers , 2005 .

[57]  B. Malmqvist,et al.  Threats to the running water ecosystems of the world , 2002, Environmental Conservation.

[58]  M. G. Ryon,et al.  Light limitation in a stream ecosystem: responses by primary producers and consumers , 1995 .

[59]  K. Sundbäck,et al.  Response of benthic microbial mats to drifting green algal mats , 1996 .

[60]  J. Valderrama,et al.  The simultaneous analysis of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in natural waters , 1981 .

[61]  R. Stevenson,et al.  Effects of algal density and current on ion transport through periphyton communities , 1993 .

[62]  M. Meybeck.  Global analysis of river systems: from Earth system controls to Anthropocene syndromes. , 2003, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.

[63]  M. Pace,et al.  Human influence on river nitrogen , 1991, Nature.