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MONTANA  STATE  LIBRARY 


3  0864  0015  4556  8 


BIOLOGICAL  INTEGRITY 

OF  BEAR  CREEK,  PARK  COUNTY,  MONTANA 

BASED  ON  THE  COMPOSITION  AND  STRUCTURE 

OF  THE  BENTHIC  ALGAE  COMMUNITY 

Prepared  for: 


/"  ". 


State  of  Montana 
Department  of  Environmental  Quality 
P.O.  Box  200901 
Helena,  Montana   59620-0901 

Project  Officer:   Patrick  Newby 
DEQ  Contract  No.  200012-2 


Prepared  by: 

Loren  L .  Bahl s ,  Ph . D . 
Hannaea 
1032  Twelfth  Avenue 
Helena,  Montana   59601 

September  1,  2000 


'^T/\TE  DOCUmms  COLLECTION 

^"i^y  2  S  200Z 

MONTANA  STATE  LIBRARY 
ur,  ,-^^^5  E-  6th  AVE 
HELENA,  MONTANA  59620 


Printed  on   lOOt  Recycled   Post -Consumer  Paper 


SUMMARY 

On  July  13,  2000,  a  composite  periphyton  sample  was 
collected  from  natural  substrates  at  the  mouth  of  Bear  Creek  in 
the  upper  Yellowstone  River  drainage  of  southcentral  Montana  for 
the  purpose  of  assessing  whether  Bear  Creek  is  water-quality 
limited  and  in  need  of  TMDLs .   The  sample  was  collected  following 
DEQ  standard  operating  procedures,  processed  and  analyzed  using 
standard  methods  for  periphyton,  and  evaluated  following  modified 
USEPA  rapid  bioassessment  protocols  for  wadeable  streams. 

The  periphyton  of  Bear  Creek  was  dominated  by  diatoms,  the 
chrysophyte  Hydrurus   foetidus,    and  by  the  filamentous  green  alga 
Ulothrix.      Cyanobacteria  (blue-green  algae)  were  of  secondary- 
importance  in  Bear  Creek,  indicating  that  the  stream  might  be 
receiving  some  cultural  inputs  of  nutrients.   Typically,  green 
and  blue-green  algae  share  dominance  in  streams  of  the  Middle 
Rockies  Ecoregion  and  dominance  by  diatoms  and  green  algae  may 
indicate  higher  than  normal  levels  of  nutrient  enrichment. 

The  diatom  flora  of  Bear  Creek  was  dominated  by  Hannaea 
arcus,    the  unofficial  State  Diatom  of  Montana.   This  species 
prefers  cold,  flowing  waters  and  is  reported  to  be  indifferent  to 
small  amounts  of  organic  pollution.   Major  diatom  taxa  in  Bear 
Creek  also  included  one  other  "sensitive"  species  and  two  species 
that  are  somewhat  tolerant  of  pollution. 

Diatom  association  metrics  indicated  good  to  excellent  water 
quality,  little  or  no  impairment,  and  full  support  of  aquatic 
life  uses,  except  for  a  borderline  percent  dominant  species  value 
(50.85%),  which  indicated  moderate  impairment.   This  dominance  by 
Hannaea  arcus   also  resulted  in  a  depressed  species  diversity 
index  that  indicated  minor  impairment.   A  small  percentage 
(0.24%)  of  abnormal  diatom  cells  (again,  Hannaea   arcus)    may 
indicate  chronic  toxicity  from  heavy  metals  in  Bear  Creek. 


INTRODUCTION 

This  report  evaluates  the  biological  integrity,  support  of 
aquatic  life  uses,  and  probable  causes  of  impairment  to  those 
uses,  in  Bear  Creek  near  Gardiner,  Montana.   The  purpose  of  this 
report  is  to  provide  information  that  will  help  the  State  of 
Montana  determine  whether  Bear  Creek  is  water-quality  limited  and 
in  need  of  TMDLs . 

The  federal  Clean  Water  Act  directs  states  to  develop  water 
pollution  control  plans  (Total  Maximum  Daily  Loads  or  TMDLs)  that 
set  limits  on  pollution  loading  to  water-quality  limited  waters. 
Water-quality  limited  waters  are  lakes  and  stream  segments  that 
do  not  meet  water-quality  standards,  that  is,  that  do  not  fully 
support  their  beneficial  uses.   The  Clean  Water  Act  and  USEPA 
regulations  require  each  state  to  (1)  identify  waters  that  are 
water-quality  limited,  (2)  prioritize  and  target  waters  for 
TMDLs,  and  (3)  develop  TMDL  plans  to  attain  and  maintain  water- 
quality  standards  for  all  water-quality  limited  waters. 

Evaluation  of  use  support  in  this  report  is  based  on  the 
species  composition  and  structure  of  the  periphyton  (benthic 
algae,  phytobenthos)  community  at  a  single  stream  site  that  was 
sampled  on  July  13,  2000.   The  periphyton  community  is  a  basic 
biological  component  of  all  aquatic  ecosystems.   Periphyton 
accounts  for  much  of  the  primary  production  and  biological 
diversity  in  Montana  streams  (Bahls  et  al .  1992). 

Plafkin  et  al .  (1989)  and  Stevenson  and  Bahls  (1999)  list 

several  advantages  of  using  periphyton  in  biological  assessments 

of  streams: 

•    Algae  are  universally  present  in  large  numbers  in  all 

streams  and  unimpaired  periphyton  assemblages  typically 
support  a  large  number  (>30)  of  species; 


•  Algae  have  rapid  reproduction  rates  and  short  life  cycles, 
making  them  useful  indicators  of  short-term  impacts; 

•  As  primary  producers,  algae  are  most  directly  affected  by 
physical  and  chemical  factors,  such  as  temperature, 
nutrients,  dissolved  salts,  and  toxins; 

•  Sampling  is  quick,  easy  and  inexpensive,  and  causes  minimal 
damage  to  resident  biota  and  their  habitat; 

•  Standard  methods  and  criteria  exist  for  evaluating  the 
composition,  structure,  and  biomass  of  algal  associations; 

•  Identification  to  species  is  straightforward  for  the 
diatoms,  for  which  there  is  a  large  body  of  taxonomic  and 
ecological  literature; 

•  Excessive  algae  growuh  in  streams  is  often  correctly 
perceived  as  a  problem  by  the  public. 

•  Periphyton  and  other  biological  communities  reflect  the 
biological   integrity^   of  waterbodies;  restoring  and 
maintaining  the  biological  integrity  of  waterbodies  is  a 
goal  of  the  federal  Clean  Water  Act; 

•  Periphyton  and  other  biological  communities  integrate  the 
effects  of  different  stressors  and  provide  a  measure  of 
their  aggregate  impact;  and 

•  Periphyton  and  other  biological  communities  may  be  the  only 
practical  means  of  evaluating  impacts  from  non-point  sources 
of  pollution  where  specific  ambient  criteria  do  not  exist 
(e.g.,  impacts  that  degrade  habitat  or  increase  nutrients). 

Periphyton  is  a  diverse  assortment  of  simple  photosynthetic 
organisms  called  algae,  and  other  microorganisms  that  live 
attached  to  or  in  close  proximity  of  the  stream  bottom.   Most 
algae,  such  as  the  diatoms,  are  microscopic.   Diatoms  are 
distinguished  by  having  a  cell  wall  composed  of  opaline  glass- - 
hydrated  amorphous  silica.   Diatoms  often  carpet  a  stream  bottom 
with  a  slippery  brown  film. 


^  Biological    integrity   is  defined  as  "the  ability  of  an 
aquatic  ecosystem  to  support  and  maintain  a  balanced,  integrated, 
adaptive  community  of  organisms  having  a  species  composition, 
diversity,  and  functional  organization  comparable  to  that  of 
natural  habitats  within  a  region"  (Karr  and  Dudley  1981)  . 


Some  algae,  such  as  the  filamentous  greens,  are  conspicuous 
and  their  excessive  growth  may  be  aesthetically  displeasing, 
deplete  dissolved  oxygen,  interfere  with  fishing  and  fish 
spawning,  clog  irrigation  intakes,  create  tastes  and  odors  in 
drinking  water,  and  cause  other  problems. 


PROJECT  AREA  AND  SAMPLING  SITES 

The  project  area  is  located  in  southern  Park  County  in 
southcentral  Montana.   Bear  Creek  heads  in  the  Absaroka-Beartooth 
Wilderness,  flows  south  past  the  mining  town  of  Jardine,  and 
enters  the  Yellowstone  River  about  two  miles  east  of  Gardiner, 
Montana  just  north  of  Yellowstone  National  Park  (Map  1) . 

The  Bear  Creek  watershed  is  within  the  Middle  Rockies 
Ecoregion  of  North  America  (Woods  et  al .  1999) .   The  surface 
geology  consists  of  Lower  Tertiary  volcanic  rocks  with  granitic 
intrusives,  and  undifferentiated  Precambrian  metamorphic  rocks 
(Renfro  and  Feray  1972)  .   Vegetation  is  alpine  tundra  in  the 
headwaters,  mixed  conifer  forest  at  middle  elevations,  and  mixed 
grassland  at  lower  elevations  (USDA  1976) . 

A  single  periphyton  sample  was  collected  at  a  site  near  the 
mouth  of  Bear  Creek  on  July  13,  2000  (Map  1) .   This  site  is 
situated  at  an  elevation  of  5,300  feet  at  Latitude  45  01  55 
North,  Longitude  110  39  56  West.   Bear  Creek  is  classified  B-1  in 
the  Montana  Surface  Water  Quality  Standards. 

METHODS 

The  periphyton  sample  was  collected  by  Patrick  Newby  of  the 
MDEQ  Monitoring  and  Data  Management  Bureau  following  standard 
operating  procedures  of  the  MDEQ  Planning,  Prevention,  and 
Assistance  Division. 


Using  appropriate  tools,  microalgae  were  scraped,  brushed, 
or  sucked  from  natural  substrates  in  proportion  to  the  rank  of 
those  substrates  at  the  study  site.   Macroalgae  were  picked  by 
hand  in  proportion  to  their  abundance  at  the  site.   All 
collections  of  microalgae  and  macroalgae  were  pooled  into  a 
common  container  and  preserved  with  Lugol's  solution. 

The  sample  was  examined  to  estimate  the  relative  abundance 
and  rank  by  biovolume  of  diatoms  and  genera  of  soft  (non-diatom) 
algae  according  to  the  method  described  in  Bahls  (1993)  .   Soft 
algae  were  identified  using  Dillard  (1999),  Prescott  (1978), 
Smith  (1950) ,  and  Whitford  and  Schumacher  (1984)  .   These  books 
also  served  as  references  on  the  ecology  of  the  soft  algae,  along 
with  Palmer  (1977) . 

After  the  identification  of  soft  algae,  the  raw  periphyton 
sample  was  cleaned  of  organic  matter  using  sulfuric  acid,  and  two 
permanent  diatom  slides  were  prepared  using  Naphrax,  a  high 
refractive  index  mounting  medium,  following  Standard  Methods   for 
the  Examination   of  Water  and  Wastewater    (APHA  1998)  .   Four 
hundred  and  eleven  diatom  cells  (822  valves)  were  counted  at 
random  and  identified  to  species.   The  following  were  used  as  the 
main  taxonomic  and  autecological  references  for  the  diatoms : 
Krammer  and  Lange-Bertalot  1986,  1988,  1991a,  1991b;  Patrick  and 
Reimer  1966,  1975.   Lowe  (1974)  was  also  used  as  an  ecological 
reference  for  the  diatoms. 

The  diatom  proportional  count  was  used  to  generate  an  array 
of  diatom  association  metrics  (Table  1) .   A  metric  is  a 
characteristic  of  the  biota  that  changes  in  some  predictable  way 
with  increased  human  influence  (Barbour  et  al .  1999). 

Metric  values  from  Bear  Creek  were  compared  to  numeric 
biocriteria  developed  for  streams  in  the  Rocky  Mountain 
Ecoregions  of  Montana  (Table  2) .   These  criteria  are  based  on 


metric  values  measured  in  least -impaired  reference  streams  (Bahls 
et  al .  1992)  and  on  metric  values  measured  in  streams  that  are 
known  to  be  impaired  by  various  sources  and  causes  of  pollution 
(Bahls  1993) .   Only  periphyton  samples  collected  in  summer  (June 
21-September  21)  can  be  compared  with  confidence  to  reference 
stream  samples  because  metric  values  change  seasonally  and  summer 
is  the  season  in  which  reference  streams  and  impaired  streams 
were  sampled  for  the  purpose  of  biocriteria  development. 

The  criteria  in  Table  2  distinguish  among  four  levels  of 
impairment  and  three  levels  of  aquatic  life  use  support:   no 
impairment  or  only  minor  impairment  (full  support) ;  moderate 
impairment  (partial  support) ;  and  severe  impairment  (nonsupport) . 
These  impairment  levels  correspond  to  excellent,  good,  fair,  and 
poor  biological    integrity,    respectively. 


Quality  Assurance.   Several  steps  were  taken  to  assure  that 
the  study  results  are  accurate  and  reproducible. 

Upon  receipt  of  the  sample,  station  and  sample  information 
were  recorded  in  a  laboratory  notebook  and  the  sample  was 
assigned  a  unique  number  compatible  with  the  Montana  Diatom 
Database:   0787-05.   The  first  part  of  this  number  (0787) 
designates  the  sampling  site  (Bear  Creek  at  mouth) ;  the  second 
part  of  the  number  (05)  designates  the  number  of  periphyton 
samples  that  have  been  collected  at  this  site  to  date  for  which 
data  have  been  entered  into  the  Montana  Diatom  Database. 

Sample  observations  and  analyses  of  soft  (non-diatom)  algae 
were  recorded  in  a  lab  notebook  along  with  station  and  sample 
information  provided  by  MDEQ .   A  portion  of  the  raw  sample  was 
used  to  make  duplicate  diatom  slides.   Following  the  diatom 
proportional  count,  the  slide  used  for  the  count  will  be 
deposited  in  the  University  of  Montana  Herbarium  in  Missoula. 
The  other  slide  will  be  retained  by  Hannaea   in  Helena. 

On  completion  of  the  project,  station  information,  sample 
information,  and  diatom  proportional  count  data  will  be  entered 
into  the  Montana  Diatom  Database. 


RESULTS  AND  DISCUSSION 

Results  are  presented  in  Tables  3  and  4,  located  near  the 
end  of  this  report  following  the  Literature  Cited  section. 
Spreadsheets  containing  completed  diatom  proportional  counts, 
with  species'  pollution  tolerance  classes  (PTC)  and  percent 
abundances,  are  attached  as  Appendix  A. 

SAMPLE  NOTES 


Bear  Creek  at  mouth.  Hannaea  arcus   was  present  as  an 
epiphyte  on  Hydrurus   foetidus   and  cells  were  erect  and  oriented 
perpendicular  to  the  surface  of  the  host.   A  large  stalked 
Gomphoneis    (Gomphoneis  minuta)    was  also  present. 


NON- DIATOM  ALGAE 

The  benthic  flora  of  Bear  Creek  was  dominated  by  diatoms,  by 
another  chrysophyte- -Hydrurus  foetidus- -and  by  an  attached 
filamentous  green  alga,  Ulothrix    (Table  3).   However,  only  small 
patches  of  filamentous  green  algae  were  present  in  Bear  Creek  and 
the  amount  in  the  sample  probably  overestimates  the  amount  in  the 
creek  relative  to  the  other  algae  that  were  present  (Patrick 
Newby,  MDEQ,  personal  communication) .    Hydrurus   is  a  common  alga 
of  cold  mountain  streams,  and  is  particularly  abundant  in  the 
Spring.  Ulothrix   also  prefers  cold  waters  with  moderate  nutrient 
enrichment . 

Cyanobacteria,  formerly  called  blue-green  algae,  were  of 
secondary  importance  in  Bear  Creek.   In  Rocky  Mountain  streams, 
cyanobacteria  seem  to  prefer  cold  waters  and  low  concentrations 
of  nutrients.   In  reference  streams  of  the  Middle  Rockies 
Ecoregion,  green  and  blue-green  algae  were  co-dominants,  whereas 
blue-green  algae  dominated  the  benthic  floras  of  less  productive 
streams  in  the  Northern  Rockies  Ecoregion  (Bahls  et  al .  1992). 


Dominance  by  diatoms  and  green  algae  in  Bear  Creek  may  indicate 
somewhat  elevated  concentrations  of  nutrients  from  natural  and/or 
cultural  origins. 

DIATOMS 

The  diatom  association  of  Bear  Creek  was  dominated  by 
Hannaea   arcus ,    which  contributed  just  over  half  of  the  diatom 
cells  (Table  4) .  Hannaea   arcus   is  the  unofficial  State  Diatom  of 
Montana  (Bahls  1974)  and  the  namesake  of  my  consulting  business. 
Patrick  and  Reimer  (1966)  report  it  from  cool,  flowing  waters. 
In  a  review  of  11  diatom  ecology  papers,  Lowe  (1974)  found 
Hannaea   arcus   to  prefer  cold,  flowing,  and  somewhat  alkaline 
waters,  and  to  be  indifferent  to  light  organic  pollution.   In 
Montana,  this  species  is  most  abundant  in  mountain  streams  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Continental  Divide  (unpublished  data) . 

A  recent  query  to  the  Internet  Diatom  List  regarding  the 
ecology  of  this  species  yielded  15  replies.   To  summarize  the 
replies,  Hannaea   arcus   seems  to  prefer  circumneutral  fresh 
waters,  and  mountain  streams  and  large  cold  lakes  in  northern 
latitudes,  including  Himalayan  streams  and  Lakes  Superior  and 
Baikal.   It  has  also  been  reported  from  high  southern  latitudes 
(Antarctica  and  South  Georgia  Island) .   One  researcher  reported 
the  taxon  to  be  sensitive  to  pollution  from  sewage. 

The  abundance  of  Hannaea  arcus   in  Bear  Creek  probably 
reflects  the  abundance  of  a  preferred  host  alga  (Hydrurus)    and 
suitable  water  quality.   Some  nutrient  enrichment  may  also  be 
implied  by  the  dominance  of  Hannaea   arcus   at  this  site. 

Although  it  contributed  only  about  5%  of  the  cells, 
Gomphoneis  minuta   likely  contributed  a  much  larger  share  of  the 
biovolume  at  this  site  because  of  its  relatively  large  size. 
Gomphoneis  minuta   is  found  predominantly  in  the  lower  reaches  of 


rivers  and  inland  lakes,  from  British  Columbia  south  to  Arizona, 
and  east  to  the  Atlantic  coast  in  North  America,  and  in  Chile  in 
South  America;  it  appears  to  grow  in  situations  receiving  organic 
inputs  (Kociolek  and  Stoermer  1988) . 

The  other  two  major  diatom  species  in  Bear  Creek- -Fragi I aria 
vaucheriae   and  Synedra   ulna- -are   somewhat  tolerant  of  organic 
pollution  and  nutrient  enrichment  (Lange-Bertalot  1979)  . 
Altogether,  the  major  diatom  species  of  Bear  Creek  indicate  cool, 
flowing,  and  circumneutral  waters  with  moderate  concentrations  of 
dissolved  salts  and  algal  nutrients  (nitrogen  and  phosphorus) . 

With  one  exception,  the  diatom  metrics  of  Bear  Creek 
indicated  good  to  excellent  water  quality  and  full  support  of 
aquatic  life  uses  (Table  4) .   Because  of  the  large  percent 
abundance  of  Hannaea   arcus    (50.85%),  the  percent  dominant  species 
metric  slightly  exceeded  the  threshold  for  moderate  impairment. 
Since  Hannaea   arcus   may  occasionally  be  found  in  large  numbers  in 
relatively  pristine  waters  (unpublished  data) ,  its  dominance  in 
Bear  Creek  may  not  be  due  entirely  to  cultural  enrichment. 

The  Shannon  species  diversity  index  was  also  a  bit  low  in 
Bear  Creek  (Table  4),  owing  in  large  part  to  dominance  by  Hannaea 
arcus.      The  low  diversity  index  indicated  minor  impairment  but 
still  full  support  of  aquatic  life  uses. 

Two  teratological  cells  of  Hannaea   arcus   were  observed 
during  the  diatom  proportional  count,  indicating  minor  impairment 
of  aquatic  life  uses  (Table  4) .   Although  diatoms  in  this  family 
(Fragilariaceae)  are  prone  to  deformities,  these  two  abnormal 
cells  may  nevertheless  indicate  chronic  toxicity  from  heavy- 
metals  in  Bear  Creek. 


LITERATURE  CITED 

APHA.   1998.   Standard  Methods  for  the  Examination  of  Water  and 
Wastewater.   20th  Edition.   American  Public  Health 
Association,  Washington,  D.C. 

Bahls,  L.L.   1974.   A  State  Water  Plant?   Montana  Outdoors, 
May/ June,  pages  40-42. 

Bahls,  L.L.   1979.   Benthic  diatom  diversity  as  a  measure  of 
water  quality.   Proc .  Mont.  Acad.  Sci .  38:1-6. 

Bahls,  L.L.   1993.   Periphyton  Bioassessment  Methods  for  Montana 
Streams  (Revised) .   Montana  Department  of  Health  and 
Environmental  Sciences,  Helena. 

Bahls,  L.L.,  Bob  Bukantis,  and  Steve  Tralles.   1992.   Benchmark 

Biology  of  Montana  Reference  Streams.   Montana  Depe^j-tment  of 
Health  and  Environmental  Sciences,  Helena. 

Barbour,  M.T.,  J.  Gerritsen,  B.D.  Snyder,  and  J.B.  Stribling. 

1999.   Rapid  Bioassessment  Protocols  for  Use  in  Streams  and 
Wadeable  Rivers:   Periphyton,  Benthic  Macroinvertebrates  and 
Fish.   Second  Edition.   EPA/841-B-99-002 .   U.S.  EPA,  Office 
of  Water,  Washington,  D.C. 

Dillard,  G.E.   1999.   Common  Freshwater  Algae  of  the  United 
States.   J.  Cramer,  Berlin. 

Johansen,  J.R.  1999.  Diatoms  of  Aerial  Habitats.  Chapter  12  in 
Stoermer,  E.F.,  and  J. P.  Smol  (eds.).  The  Diatoms,  Cambridge 
University  Press,  New  York. 

Karr,  J.R.,  and  D.R.  Dudley.   1981.   Ecological  perspectives  on 
water  quality  goals.   Environmental  Management  5:55-69. 

Kociolek,  J. P.,  and  E.F.  Stoermer.   1988.   Taxonomy, 

ultrastructure  and  distribution  of  Gowphoneis  herculeana, 
G.    eriense   and  closely  related  species  (Naviculales: 
Gomphonemataceae) .   Proceedings  of  The  Academy  of  Natural 
Sciences  of  Philadelphia  140 (2)  :  24-97 . 

Krammer,  K.,  and  H.  Lange-Bertalot .   1986.   Bacillariophyceae, 
Part  2,  Volume  1:   Naviculaceae .  In   Ettl,  H.,  J.  Gerloff, 
H.  Heynig,  and  D.  Mollenhauer  (eds.),  Freshwater  Flora  of 
Middle  Europe.   Gustav  Fischer  Publisher,  New  York. 

Krammer,  K.,  and  H.  Lange-Bertalot.   1988.   Bacillariophyceae, 
Part  2,  Volume  2:   Bacillariaceae,  Epithemiaceae, 
Surirellaceae.  In   Ettl,  H.,  J.  Gerloff,  H.  Heynig,  and  D. 
Mollenhauer  (eds.).  Freshwater  Flora  of  Middle  Europe. 
Gustav  Fischer  Publisher,  New  York. 


Krammer,  K.,  and  H.  Lange-Bertalot .   1991a.   Bacillariophyceae, 
Part  2,  Volume  3:   Centrales,  Fragilariaceae,  Eunotiaceae. 
In   Ettl,  H.,  J.  Gerloff,  H.  Heynig,  and  D.  Mollenhauer 
(eds.),  Freshwater  Flora  of  Middle  Europe.   Gustav  Fischer 
Publisher,  Stuttgart. 

Krammer,  K.,  and  H.  Lange-Bertalot.   1991b.   Bacillariophyceae, 
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10 


^ 


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11 


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Table  3.   Relative  abundance  of  cells  and  rank  by  biovolume  of 

diatoms  and  genera  of  non-diatom  algae  in  a  periphyton 
sample  collected  from  the  mouth  of  Bear  Creek  near 
Gardiner,  Montana  on  July  13,  2000. 


Taxa 


Relative  Abundance 


Rank 


Chlorophyta  (green  algae) 
Ulothrix 


abundant^ 


Chrysophyta  (golden  algae) 

Bacillariophyceae  (diatoms] 
Hydrurus   foetidus 


dominant 

abundant 


1 
2 


Cyanophyta  (cyanobacteria) ^ 
Calothrix 
Oscillatoria 

Phorrni  di  urn 


occasional 

common 

frequent 


6 
5 
4 


^  Only  small  patches  of  filamentous  green  algae  were  present  in 
Bear  Creek.   The  amount  of  filamentous  green  algae  in  the  sample 
probably  overestimates  the  amount  in  Bear  Creek  relative  to  other 
algae  (Patrick  Newby,  MDEQ,  personal  communication) . 


Formerly  known  as  blue-green  algae. 


Table  4.   Percent  abundance  of  major  diatom  species^  and  values 

of  selected  diatom  association  metrics  for  a  periphyton 
sample  collected  from  the  mouth  of  Bear  Creek  near 

Gardiner,  Montana  on  July  13,  2000. 

Species/Metric  Percent  Abundance/Metric  Value^ 
(Pollution  Tolerance  Class) ^ 

Fragilaria   vaucheriae    (2)  15.69 

Gomphoneis  winuta    (3)  5.11 

Hannaea   arcus    (3)  50.85 

Synedra   ulna    (2)  5.4  7 

Cells  Counted  411 

Total  Species  32 

Species  Counted  30 

Species  Diversity  2 . 82 

Percent  Dominant  Species  50.85 

Disturbance  Index  0.73 

Pollution  Index  2.74 

Siltation  Index  2.18 

Percent  Abnormal  Cells  0 .24 

Percent  Epithemiaceae  0.24 


^  A  major  diatom  species  is  here  considered  to  be  one  that 
accounts  for  5%  or  more  of  the  cells  in  one  or  more  samples 
of  a  sample  set . 

^  Underlined  values  indicate  good  biological  integrity,  minor 
impairment,  and  full  support  of  aquatic  life  uses;  bold  values 
indicate  fair  biological  integrity,  moderate  impairment,  and 
partial  support  of  aquatic  life  uses,-  all  other  values 
indicate  excellent  biological  integrity,  no  impairment,  and 
full  support  of  aquatic  life  uses. 


3 


3  =  sensitive  to  pollution;  2  =  tolerant  of  pollution; 

1  =  most  tolerant  of  pollution  (no  class  1  diatoms  were  major 

species  in  this  sample) . 


APPENDIX  A:   DIATOM  PROPORTIONAL  COUNT 


Bear  Creek  at  mouth  (07/13/00) 


8/31/00 


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078705Achnanthes  lanceolata 

2 

9 

1.09 

078705  Achnanthidium  minutissimum 

3 

6 

0.73 

078705  Cocconeis  placentula 

3 

5 

0.61 

078705  Cymbella  cymbiformis 

3 

1 

0.12 

078705 

Diatoma  mesodon 

3 

19 

2.31 

078705 

Epithemia  turgida 

3 

2 

0.24 

078705 

Fragilaria  brevistriata 

3 

14 

1.70 

078705 

Fragilaria  construens 

3 

4 

0.49 

078705 

Fragilaria  leptostauron 

3 

5 

0.61 

078705 

Fragilaria  pinnata 

3 

2 

0.24 

078705 

Fragilaria  vaucheriae 

2 

129 

15.69 

078705 

Gomphoneis  eriense 

3 

24 

2.92 

078705 

Gomphoneis  minuta 

3 

42 

5.11 

078705 

Gomphonema  angustatum 

2 

5 

0.61 

078705 

Gomphonema  mexicanum 

2 

2 

0.24 

078705 

Gomphonema  minutum 

3 

8 

0.97 

078705 

Gomphonema  olivaceoides 

3 

13 

1.58 

078705 

Gomphonema  olivaceum 

3 

9 

1.09 

078705 

Gomphonema  pumilum 

3 

8 

0.97 

078705 

Hannaea  arcus 

3 

418 

50.85 

078705 

Meridion  circulare 

3 

4 

0.49 

078705 

Navicula  absoluta 

2 

0 

0.00 

078705 

Navicula  minima 

1 

2 

0.24 

078705 

Nitzschia  dissipata 

3 

8 

0.97 

078705 

Nitzschia  palea 

1 

0 

0.00 

078705 

Nitzschia  paleacea 

2 

3 

0.36 

078705 

Nitzschia  perminuta 

3 

4 

0.49 

078705 

Reimeria  sinuata 

3 

1 

0.12 

078705 

Rhoicosphenia  curvata 

3 

16 

1.95 

078705 

Stephanodiscus  hantzschii 

2 

1 

0.12 

078705 

Stephanodiscus  medius 

2 

13 

1.58 

078705 

Synedra  ulna 

2 

45 

5.47 

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