A Stream Contains a Universe
Fish
Aquatic Invertebrates
Algae
USGS aquatic bioassessment data
Access biological community and physical habitat data collected by USGS scientists from stream ecosystems across the nation
Who lives in your stream? Rivers and streams, even small ones, are teeming with a vast number of species, including fish, aquatic invertebrates, and algae. Stream ecology is the study of those aquatic species, the way they interrelate, and their interactions with all aspects of these flowing water systems.
Streams are home to countless species, some of which we’re familiar with, and some less so. The aquatic organisms in streams include fish, of course, but go far beyond that. Molluscs, like clams and mussels. Amphibians, like salamanders and frogs. The larvae of many insects, like dragonflies, damselflies, and mayflies. Algae and bacteria.
![Aquatic invertebrates, dragonfly, amphibian, and algae from RSQA stream sampling](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/streamecologyphotos.png?itok=ocWy6xzh)
Stream ecology encompasses the study of these aquatic organisms, but also the study of the riparian zone, sediment transport, the movement of energy and nutrients within the stream, and a host of other aspects of stream ecosystems. USGS National Water-Quality Program studies of stream ecology seek to:
-
Assess the status and trends of aquatic ecological conditions (invertebrates, fish, algae and habitat) in rivers and wadeable streams.
-
Relate ecological conditions to chemical stressors (such as nutrients and pesticides) and physical disturbances (such as habitat and hydrologic alterations) in the context of different environmental settings and land uses.
-
Enhance understanding of factors that influence the biological integrity of streams and how stream ecosystems may respond to diverse natural and human factors.
-
Develop key ecological indicators of aquatic health.
How Healthy Are Our Streams?
Healthy functioning stream ecosystems provide society with many benefits, including water purification, flood control, nutrient recycling, waste decomposition, fisheries, and aesthetics. Access a national assessment of the ecological health of our nation’s streams.
Water Quality and Ecology of Small Streams (RSQA)
The Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA) is studying the relations between stressors (chemical and physical) and stream ecology (fish, algae, and aquatic invertebrates) at hundreds of small streams across five major regions of the United States. Users can access an online mapping tool to see scorecards that summarize stream health at each stream site and to compare water quality at small streams across a region. Users also can download data for hundreds of chemical compounds measured in streams.
Humans, just like aquatic organisms, need water, but flood control, urban infrastructure, irrigation of agriculture, and myriad other ways we manage water affect the natural flow of streams and rivers. Learn how the ways we manage land and water affects the natural patterns of streamflow and the ecosystems that depend on them.
Nutrients and Stream Ecosystems
Intensive studies by the USGS National Water Quality Program in agricultural areas provide insight into how nutrients associated with agricultural activities have affected algal and invertebrates communities in agricultural streams.
Effects of Urban Development on Stream Ecosystems
Nowhere are the environmental changes associated with urban development more evident than in urban streams. Contaminants, habitat destruction, and increasing streamflow flashiness resulting from urban development have been associated with the disruption of biological communities, particularly the loss of sensitive aquatic species. Read about a comprehensive study of effects of urban development on stream ecosystems in nine major metropolitan areas of the U.S.
Learn about USGS research related to stream ecology at the links below.
Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA)
Water-Quality Benchmarks for Contaminants
NWQP Research on Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)
Nutrients and Eutrophication
Urban Land Use and Water Quality
Water Quality in the Nation’s Streams and Rivers – Current Conditions and Long-Term Trends
Agriculture and the Quality of the Nation's Waters
Coal-Tar-Based Pavement Sealcoat, PAHs, and Environmental Health
Pesticides and Water Quality
Mercury
Streamflow Alteration
Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA)
Surface-Water Quality and Ecology
Use the links below to access data used in USGS studies of stream ecology.
Concentrations of Pesticide, Pharmaceutical, and Organic Wastewater Contaminants from a Multi-Regional Assessment of Wadeable USA Streams, 2014-17
Pesticide and transformation product concentrations and risk quotients in U.S. headwater streams
Data set for an ecological risk assessment of Firpronil compounds in US streams
Dissolved Pesticides in Weekly Water Samples from the NAWQA Regional Stream Quality Assessments (2013-2017)
Pesticide Toxicity Index (PTI) and maximum Toxic Unit (TUmax) scores and information for fish, cladocerans, and benthic invertebrates from water samples collected at National Water Quality Network sites during Water Years 2013-2017
Concentrations of pesticides associated with streambed sediment and biofilm in California streams, 2017
Hydrophobic (sediment-associated) pesticides were measured in sediment samples collected from 82 wadeable streams and in biofilm in 54 of those streams in the Central California Foothills and Coastal Mountains ecoregion.115 current-use and 3 legacy pesticides were measured in stream sediment; 93 of the current-use pesticides and the same 3 legacy pesticides were measured in biofilm. On average 4 t
Pesticides in Daily and Weekly Water Samples from the NAWQA Midwest and Southeast Stream Quality Assessments (2013-2014)
Ecological community datasets used to evaluate the presence of trends in ecological communities in selected rivers and streams across the United States, 1992-2012
Periphyton (1993-2011) and Water Quality (2014) Data for ET&C Article Entitled Spatial and Temporal Variation in Microcystins Occurrence in Wadeable Streams in the Southeastern USA
Access the most recent publications on USGS research on stream ecology below. Additional USGS publications can be found at the USGS Publications Warehouse.
The quality of our Nation’s waters--ecological health in the Nation's streams, 1993-2005
Inclusion of pesticide transformation products is key to estimating pesticide exposures and effects in small U.S. streams
Multi-region assessment of chemical mixture exposures and predicted cumulative effects in USA wadeable urban/agriculture-gradient streams
Chemical-contaminant mixtures are widely reported in large stream reaches in urban/agriculture-developed watersheds, but mixture compositions and aggregate biological effects are less well understood in corresponding smaller headwaters, which comprise most of stream length, riparian connectivity, and spatial biodiversity. During 2014–2017, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured 389 unique orga
Biofilms provide new insight into pesticide occurrence in streams and links to aquatic ecological communities
Multi-region assessment of pharmaceutical exposures and predicted effects in USA wadeable urban-gradient streams
Daily stream samples reveal highly complex pesticide occurrence and potential toxicity to aquatic life
Projected urban growth in the Southeastern USA puts small streams at risk
Historical changes in fish communities in urban streams of the southeastern U.S. and the relative importance of water-quality stressors
Chemical and physical controls on mercury source signatures in stream fish from the northeastern United States
Effects of urban multi-stressors on three stream biotic assemblages
Linking the agricultural landscape of the Midwest to stream health with structural equation modeling
Mixed-chemical exposure and predicted effects potential in wadeable southeastern USA streams
A database of natural monthly streamflow estimates from 1950 to 2015 for the conterminous United States
Below are news stories associated with this project.
Isotopic tracers in fish in Northeast provide clue to mercury sources
Isotopes of mercury in fish can indicate the source of that mercury, reports a new study from the USGS Regional Stream Quality Assessment.
Who lives in your stream? Rivers and streams, even small ones, are teeming with a vast number of species, including fish, aquatic invertebrates, and algae. Stream ecology is the study of those aquatic species, the way they interrelate, and their interactions with all aspects of these flowing water systems.
Streams are home to countless species, some of which we’re familiar with, and some less so. The aquatic organisms in streams include fish, of course, but go far beyond that. Molluscs, like clams and mussels. Amphibians, like salamanders and frogs. The larvae of many insects, like dragonflies, damselflies, and mayflies. Algae and bacteria.
![Aquatic invertebrates, dragonfly, amphibian, and algae from RSQA stream sampling](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/streamecologyphotos.png?itok=ocWy6xzh)
Stream ecology encompasses the study of these aquatic organisms, but also the study of the riparian zone, sediment transport, the movement of energy and nutrients within the stream, and a host of other aspects of stream ecosystems. USGS National Water-Quality Program studies of stream ecology seek to:
-
Assess the status and trends of aquatic ecological conditions (invertebrates, fish, algae and habitat) in rivers and wadeable streams.
-
Relate ecological conditions to chemical stressors (such as nutrients and pesticides) and physical disturbances (such as habitat and hydrologic alterations) in the context of different environmental settings and land uses.
-
Enhance understanding of factors that influence the biological integrity of streams and how stream ecosystems may respond to diverse natural and human factors.
-
Develop key ecological indicators of aquatic health.
How Healthy Are Our Streams?
Healthy functioning stream ecosystems provide society with many benefits, including water purification, flood control, nutrient recycling, waste decomposition, fisheries, and aesthetics. Access a national assessment of the ecological health of our nation’s streams.
Water Quality and Ecology of Small Streams (RSQA)
The Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA) is studying the relations between stressors (chemical and physical) and stream ecology (fish, algae, and aquatic invertebrates) at hundreds of small streams across five major regions of the United States. Users can access an online mapping tool to see scorecards that summarize stream health at each stream site and to compare water quality at small streams across a region. Users also can download data for hundreds of chemical compounds measured in streams.
Humans, just like aquatic organisms, need water, but flood control, urban infrastructure, irrigation of agriculture, and myriad other ways we manage water affect the natural flow of streams and rivers. Learn how the ways we manage land and water affects the natural patterns of streamflow and the ecosystems that depend on them.
Nutrients and Stream Ecosystems
Intensive studies by the USGS National Water Quality Program in agricultural areas provide insight into how nutrients associated with agricultural activities have affected algal and invertebrates communities in agricultural streams.
Effects of Urban Development on Stream Ecosystems
Nowhere are the environmental changes associated with urban development more evident than in urban streams. Contaminants, habitat destruction, and increasing streamflow flashiness resulting from urban development have been associated with the disruption of biological communities, particularly the loss of sensitive aquatic species. Read about a comprehensive study of effects of urban development on stream ecosystems in nine major metropolitan areas of the U.S.
Learn about USGS research related to stream ecology at the links below.
Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA)
Water-Quality Benchmarks for Contaminants
NWQP Research on Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)
Nutrients and Eutrophication
Urban Land Use and Water Quality
Water Quality in the Nation’s Streams and Rivers – Current Conditions and Long-Term Trends
Agriculture and the Quality of the Nation's Waters
Coal-Tar-Based Pavement Sealcoat, PAHs, and Environmental Health
Pesticides and Water Quality
Mercury
Streamflow Alteration
Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA)
Surface-Water Quality and Ecology
Use the links below to access data used in USGS studies of stream ecology.
Concentrations of Pesticide, Pharmaceutical, and Organic Wastewater Contaminants from a Multi-Regional Assessment of Wadeable USA Streams, 2014-17
Pesticide and transformation product concentrations and risk quotients in U.S. headwater streams
Data set for an ecological risk assessment of Firpronil compounds in US streams
Dissolved Pesticides in Weekly Water Samples from the NAWQA Regional Stream Quality Assessments (2013-2017)
Pesticide Toxicity Index (PTI) and maximum Toxic Unit (TUmax) scores and information for fish, cladocerans, and benthic invertebrates from water samples collected at National Water Quality Network sites during Water Years 2013-2017
Concentrations of pesticides associated with streambed sediment and biofilm in California streams, 2017
Hydrophobic (sediment-associated) pesticides were measured in sediment samples collected from 82 wadeable streams and in biofilm in 54 of those streams in the Central California Foothills and Coastal Mountains ecoregion.115 current-use and 3 legacy pesticides were measured in stream sediment; 93 of the current-use pesticides and the same 3 legacy pesticides were measured in biofilm. On average 4 t
Pesticides in Daily and Weekly Water Samples from the NAWQA Midwest and Southeast Stream Quality Assessments (2013-2014)
Ecological community datasets used to evaluate the presence of trends in ecological communities in selected rivers and streams across the United States, 1992-2012
Periphyton (1993-2011) and Water Quality (2014) Data for ET&C Article Entitled Spatial and Temporal Variation in Microcystins Occurrence in Wadeable Streams in the Southeastern USA
Access the most recent publications on USGS research on stream ecology below. Additional USGS publications can be found at the USGS Publications Warehouse.
The quality of our Nation’s waters--ecological health in the Nation's streams, 1993-2005
Inclusion of pesticide transformation products is key to estimating pesticide exposures and effects in small U.S. streams
Multi-region assessment of chemical mixture exposures and predicted cumulative effects in USA wadeable urban/agriculture-gradient streams
Chemical-contaminant mixtures are widely reported in large stream reaches in urban/agriculture-developed watersheds, but mixture compositions and aggregate biological effects are less well understood in corresponding smaller headwaters, which comprise most of stream length, riparian connectivity, and spatial biodiversity. During 2014–2017, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured 389 unique orga
Biofilms provide new insight into pesticide occurrence in streams and links to aquatic ecological communities
Multi-region assessment of pharmaceutical exposures and predicted effects in USA wadeable urban-gradient streams
Daily stream samples reveal highly complex pesticide occurrence and potential toxicity to aquatic life
Projected urban growth in the Southeastern USA puts small streams at risk
Historical changes in fish communities in urban streams of the southeastern U.S. and the relative importance of water-quality stressors
Chemical and physical controls on mercury source signatures in stream fish from the northeastern United States
Effects of urban multi-stressors on three stream biotic assemblages
Linking the agricultural landscape of the Midwest to stream health with structural equation modeling
Mixed-chemical exposure and predicted effects potential in wadeable southeastern USA streams
A database of natural monthly streamflow estimates from 1950 to 2015 for the conterminous United States
Below are news stories associated with this project.
Isotopic tracers in fish in Northeast provide clue to mercury sources
Isotopes of mercury in fish can indicate the source of that mercury, reports a new study from the USGS Regional Stream Quality Assessment.