Many factors must be studied to accurately determine the health of an ecosystem. Aquatic environments respond to a wide variety of cumulative factors, both natural and human induced. Because of this, several different measurements of aquatic health, including macroinvertebrate communities (larval insects, snails, clams, etc.), algal communities and water quality, are routinely performed to determine the status of a system. Expected ranges for these measurements for typical, undisturbed communities have been established for streams, and comparisons can be made.

Invertebrate Communities:

Invertebrate communities are sampled using DEP's BioRecon procedure. The BioRecon is a rapid, cost effective screening method for the identification of biological impaired systems.

Algal Communities:

A high amount of algae (algal density or chlorophyll a) or changes in species composition implies nutrient stress. For example, a decreased diatom to blue-green algae ratio often indicates high nutrient levels in flowing streams.

Springs Initiative Funded Research:

• General Biological Structure of Volusia Blue Spring Run (.pdf, 320kb)
• Estimation of Autochthonous Sources of C, N, and P in Florida Springs (.pdf, 400kb)
• Diatom Indicators of Ecological Condition in Florida Springs (.pdf, 250kb)
• Macroalgal Responses to Nitrate in Recirculating Stream Channels (.pdf, 150kb)
• Stable Isotope Compositions of Macroalgae, Sediment, and Nitrate in Florida Springs (.pdf, 210kb)
• Laboratory Experiments and Disturbance Study for Determining Nutrient Thresholds for Macroalgae in Florida Springs (.pdf, 2.4mb)
• Survey for Determining Nutrient Thresholds for Macroalgae in Florida Springs (.pdf, 25mb)
• Ecological Condition of Algae and Nutrients in Florida Springs: The Synthesis Report (.pdf, 1.5mb)

Water Quality:

• Monitoring Report for Eighteen State and Federally Managed Spring Systems in Florida Year 2000 to 2007.

• Turbidity and Color: Measures of water clarity and light transparency. Nutrients: Different types of nitrogen and phosphorus species are analyzed to determine the source of the water. Microbiology: Measured for human health considerations.
• A more in-depth explanation of ecological assessments.
• Search for reports

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