A comparative bioassessment of rural and urban stream communities

Biological assessments of the resident fish community, using Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) methodology, and benthic macroinvertebrates were conducted in three East Tennessee streams (of similar size, flow, and morphology) to compare their relative "health" or quality. The streams selected were a highly impacted municipal stream (Second Creek), a marginally impacted stream (Love Creek) on the outskirts of the municipality, and an undisturbed stream (Fisher Creek) in a nearby rural county.

Stream biology assessments indicated that Second Creek (below an industrial site) and Love Creek were in "poor" condition (IBI = 32). Second Creek (below a more rural area) scored 36, placing it in the "poor to fair" range. Fisher Creek, serving as the control stream, had a score of 58, indicating that it was in excellent condition at the time of sampling. These findings were confirmed by macroinvertebrate samples at all but one station. Generally, however, the more pollution-tolerant chironomid and oligochaete taxa dominated in streams considered to be in poor condition, and the less tolerant Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera dominated in streams in better condition.