Creation And Assessment Of An Index Of Biotic Integrity For Coldwater, Southeastern Minnesota Streams

Based upon fish collections from 50 stream locations (40 coldwater sites) in southeastern Minnesota, a coldwater Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) was developed to assess water and habitat quality within streams of this region. Eight fish community characteristics or metrics were determined to be useful in assessing water and habitat quality at the sites examined, and were used to determine an IBI score for each stream site. These metrics included: 1) proportion of individuals as trout and sculpin, 2) proportion of individuals as tolerant, 3) proportion of Individuals as Intolerant, 4) proportion of individuals as creek chubs and blacknose dace, 5) proportion of individuals as generalist feeders, 6) proportion of individuals as insectivores, 7) coldwater fish per 150 m, and 8) proportion of individuals with anomalies. Based upon this coldwater IBI, 24 of the coldwater sites examined were rated as good" or "fair"