Technical Bulletin No. 0880: An Evaluation of Habitat Assessment Methods for Determining Gradients on Rivers Using Long-Term Receiving Water Study Data from Codorus Creek, Pennsylv

This study investigated the sensitivity of three methods of habitat assessment in defining gradients potentially associated with aquatic communities and possible sources of stress as part of the larger Long-Term Receiving Water Study (LTRWS), the 10- to 20-year study NCASI began in 1998 encompassing both biotic and abiotic components. Aquatic community characteristics have been linked to habitat parameters at multiple spatial scales and magnitudes of effect; identifying the potential habitat drivers of aquatic community composition is crucial when interpreting community data from rivers, particularly those with multiple stressors. The three methods evaluated differed in levels of spatial scale and sampling effort.