Using Benthic Macroinvertebrates to Assess Freshwater Aquatic Habitat in Copeland Creek, an Urban Sonoma County Waterway

Abstract

Benthic Macroinvertebrates (BMI) play crucial roles in establishing the trophic structure and function of aquatic ecosystems. Research has shown that natural creek structures significantly influence biodiversity within these ecosystems. Channelization of the creeks of Rohnert Park
have prioritized drainage over preserving habitat quality and biodiversity. The extensive deterioration of local freshwater ecosystems highlights the urgent need for their evaluation and restoration. Instead of solely measuring the oxygen and pH levels of water, which only provide immediate reports on its quality, BMI uses the invertebrates' ability to tolerate pollution as a more comprehensive indicator of water quality. As a result, BMI provides a longer-term assessment of habitat quality. Sampling sites along the waterways were selected to represent reaches of the creeks that display a gradient of urbanization, from undisturbed to highly modified flood control channels. The degree of urban disturbance appears to influence the biotic community profile in these habitats, with increased disturbance resulting in fewer “pollution sensitive” taxa in affected areas. Continued sampling will be performed by the Geist lab to add further data to the profile of taxon richness of BMI within the Laguna de Santa Rosa Watershed.

Results

Key Terms: headwaters, Sonoma Mountain, agriculture, urbanized, kicknets, dip nets, tributary, laboratory, weather, abundance, diversity, EPT index, physicochemical