PURPOSE: The Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET) was created to study the performance of hurricane protection and damage reduction systems and consequences of structural failures, including potential impacts on biological resources, following Hurricane Katrina. This technical note describes the results of an IPET study funded to examine the impact of floodwater pumping on benth...

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Benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages, environmental variables, and associated mine density were evaluated during the summer of 2000 at 18 reference and test sites in the Coeur d’Alene and St. Regis River basins, northwestern USA as part of the US Geological Survey’s National WaterQuality Assessment Program. Concentrations of Cd, Pb, and Zn in water and (or) streambed sediment at test sites in ...

A 5-yr study was conducted to measure the rates of recovery of fish and invertebrate communities following reclamation of a watershed impacted by an abandoned coal surface mine in Southwest Missouri. Quarterly monitoring of water quality information (pH, conductivity, and alkalinity) was conducted at 10 sites. Annual monitoring of biological (benthic invertebrate and fish community structure), ...

Global plastic production has exceeded 300 million tons per year (Plastics Europe, 2015). In the marine and freshwater environments, larger plastics abrade and photo-degrade resulting in persistent environmental microplastics that are not effectively removed by existing wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The ecological effects of microplastics on the marine environment are poorly understood, ...

Patchy occurrences of benthic drift algae (i.e. loose lying macroalgal mats) may increase habitat complexity on normally bare soft bottoms, but at the same time, extensive amounts of drifting algal mats are known to stress the benthic fauna. This paper presents results of the first detailed study of the fauna associated with drift algal mats in the northern Baltic Sea. In order to assess the im...

Nematomorph parasites manipulate crickets to enter streams where the parasites reproduce. These manipulated crickets become a substantial food subsidy for stream fishes. We used a field experiment to investigate how this subsidy affects the stream community and ecosystem function. When crickets were available, predatory fish ate fewer benthic invertebrates. The resulting release of the benthic ...

One of the most pervasive human impacts to salt marshes around the world is the introduction of nonnative species. Plant introductions to salt marsh systems have resulted in significant changes ranging from species replacement to broad-scale alteration of ecosystem properties. In this chapter, we examine the changes produced by the invasive Atlantic smooth cordgrass Spartina alterniflora in two...