Using species traits in biological assessment: integrating predictive models and life history

Description Urbanization and population growth over the past two hundred years in North America has caused multiple and cumulative changes in the natural environment in the form of pollution, habitat fragmentation, and destructive land use. These changes to the environment often affect surface water quality, impacting drinking water reserves, wildlife habitat, and industries such as commercial and recreational fishing. In the Pacific Northwest, the success of the salmon industry relies on both specialized spawning habitat and clean water. Although direct sampling of water chemistry is often performed when assessing environmental impacts, biological monitoring is a superior alternative because benthic macroinvertebrates are long lived; they reflect prolonged exposure to environmental impacts compared to instantaneous water chemistry analysis. Biomonitoring to assess water quality is based on the premise that changes in community structure are a reflection of changes in water quality and habitat.