Taxonomic standards developed to support biological indicators for dry streams

SCCWRP and its partners have developed taxonomic data standards for terrestrial arthropods and bryophytes, paving the way for these organisms to be used as routine bioassessment indicators for tracking the health of streams that do not flow year-round.

The standardization work, which was completed in October, is designed to facilitate management adoption of a prototype scoring tool co-developed by SCCWRP for assessing the ecological condition of dry streams. Taxonomic standards help ensure laboratories can generate high-quality, comparable bioassessment data.

The dry streams scoring tool is modeled after the California Stream Condition Index and Algal Stream Condition Index, which were co-developed by SCCWRP for use in perennial streams. Dry streams make up about 60% of all streams in Southern California.

Like the dry streams tool, the CSCI and ASCI already have been subjected to taxonomic standardization.