National Aquatic Resource Surveys

Journal Articles Applying National Aquatic Resource Survey Data

In addition to development of the National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS) reports on the condition of the nation's waters, the data from the surveys are used by scientists and researchers to conduct additional research. 

The following is a collection of citations of peer-reviewed scientific journal articles that apply NARS data. These articles are organized by water resource type.


Coastal Waters and the Great Lakes

Gillett, D.J., S.B. Weisberg, T. Grayson, et al. 2015. Effect of ecological group classification schemes on performance of the AMBI benthic index in US coastal waters. Ecological Indicators 50:99-107.Exit

Hobbs, W.O., B.M. Lafrancois, and E. DiDonato. 2016. Nearshore conditions in the Great Lakes national parks: A baseline water quality and toxicological assessment. Park Science 32(2):36-45.Exit

Kelly, J.R., P. Yurista, M. Starry, J. Scharold, W. Bartsch, and A. Cotter. 2015. Exploration of spatial variability in nearshore water quality using the first Great Lakes National Coastal Condition Assessment survey. Journal of Great Lakes Research 41(4):1060-1074.Exit

Lietz, J.E., J.R. Kelly, J.V. Scharold, and P.M. Yurista. 2015. Can a rapid underwater video approach enhance the benthic assessment capability of the National Coastal Condition Assessment in the Great Lakes? Environmental Management 55(6):1446-1456.Exit

Scharold, J.V., T.D. Corry, P.M. Yurista, and J.R. Kelly. 2015. Benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages in the US nearshore zone of Lake Erie, 2009: Status and linkages to landscape-derived stressors. Journal of Great Lakes Research 41(2):338-347.Exit

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Lakes

Beaver, J.R., E.E. Manis, K.A. Loftin, J.L. Graham, A.I. Pollard, and R.M. Mitchell. 2014. Land use patterns, ecoregion, and microcystin relationships in U.S. lakes and reservoirs: A preliminary evaluation. Harmful Algae 36:57-62. Exit

Ferrey, M.L., S. Heiskary, R. Grace, M.C. Hamilton, and A. Lueck. 2015. Pharmaceuticals and other anthropogenic tracers in surface water: A randomized survey of 50 Minnesota lakes. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 34(11):2475-2488. doi:10.1002/etc.3125.Exit

Kaufmann, P.R, R.M. Hughes, J. Van Sickle, T.R. Whittier, C.W. Seeliger, and S.G. Paulsen. 2014. Lakeshore and littoral physical habitat structure: A field survey method and its precision. Lake and Reservoir Management 30(2):157-176. Exit

Kaufmann, P.R, R.M. Hughes, T.R. Whittier, S.A. Bryce, and S.G. Paulsen. 2014. Relevance of lake physical habitat assessment indices to fish and riparian birds. Lake and Reservoir Management 30(2):177-191. Exit

Kaufmann, P.R, D.V. Peck, S.G. Paulsen, C.W. Seeliger, R.M. Hughes, T.R. Whittier, and N.C. Kamman. 2014. Lakeshore and littoral physical habitat structure in a national lakes assessment. Lake and Reservoir Management 30(2):192-215. Exit

Peck, D.V., A.R. Olsen, M.H. Weber, S.G. Paulsen, C. Peterson, and S.M. Holdsworth. 2013. Survey design and extent estimates for the National Lakes Assessment. Freshwater Science 32(4):1231-1245. Exit

Stahl, L.L., B.D. Snyder, A.R. Olsen, and L.S. Walters. 2013. A national probabilistic study of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in fish from US lakes and reservoirs. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 185(12):10351-10364. Exit

Stoddard, J.L., J. Van Sickle, A.T. Herlihy, J. Brahney, S. Paulsen, D.V. Peck, R. Mitchell, and A.I. Pollard. 2016. Continental-scale increase in lake and stream phosphorus: are oligotrophic systems disappearing in the United States? Environmental Science and Technology 50(7):3409-3415. doi:10.1021/acs.est.5b05950Exit

Van Sickle, J. 2013. Estimating the risks of multiple, covarying stressors in the National Lakes Assessment. Freshwater Science 32(1):204-216. Exit

Whittier, T.R., S.G. Paulsen, D.P. Larsen, S.A. Peterson, A.T. Herlihy, and P.R. Kaufmann. 2002. Indicators of ecological stress and their extent in the population of Northeastern lakes: a regional-scale assessment. Bioscience 52(3):235-247.Exit

Yuan, L.L., and A.I. Pollard. 2015. Classifying lakes to quantify relationships between epilimnetic chlorophyll a and hypoxia. Environmental Management 55(3):578-587. Exit

Yuan, L.L., and A.I. Pollard. 2015. Deriving nutrient targets to prevent excessive cyanobacterial densities in U.S. lakes and reservoirs. Freshwater Biology 60(9):1901-1916. doi:10.1111/fwb.12620Exit

Yuan, L.L., A.I. Pollard, S. Pather, J.L. Oliver, and L. D’Anglada. 2014. Managing microcystin: identifying national-scale thresholds for total nitrogen and chlorophyll a. Freshwater Biology 59(9):1970-1981. Exit

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Rivers and Streams

Batt, A.L., T.M. Kincaid, M.S. Kostich, J.M. Lazorchak, and A.R. Olsen. 2016. Evaluating the extent of pharmaceuticals in surface waters of the United States using a national-scale rivers and streams assessment survey. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 35(4):874-881. doi:10.1002/etc.3161.Exit

Bryce, S.A., G.A. Lomnicky, and P.R. Kaufmann. 2010. Protecting sediment-sensitive aquatic species in mountain streams through the application of biologically based criteria streambed sediment criteria. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 29(2):657-672.Exit

Faustini, J.M., and P.R. Kaufmann. 2007. Adequacy of visually classified particle count statistics from regional stream habitat surveys. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 43(5):1293-1315.Exit

Faustini, J.M., P.R. Kaufmann, and A.T. Herlihy. 2009. Downstream variation in bankfull width of wadeable streams across the conterminous United States. Geomorphology 108:292-311.Exit

Hill, B.H., and D.W. Bolgrien. 2011. Nitrogen removal by streams and rivers of the Upper Mississippi River basin. Biogeochemistry 102:183-194. DOI 10.1007/s10533-010-9431-8.Exit

Hill, B.H., D.W. Bolgrien, A.T. Herlihy, T.M. Jicha, and T.R. Angradi. 2011. Synoptic survey of nitrogen and phosphorus in tributary streams and great rivers of the Upper Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio River Basins. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 216:605–619. DOI 10.1007/s11270-010-0556-0.Exit

Hill, B.H., R.K. Kolka, F.H. McCormick, and M.A. Starry. 2014. A synoptic survey of ecosystem services from headwater catchments in the United States. Ecosystem Services 7:106-115. Exit

Hubler, S., D.D. Huff, P. Edwards, and Y. Pan. 2016. The Biological Sediment Tolerance Index: Assessing fine sediments conditions in Oregon streams using macroinvertebrates. Ecological Indicators 67:132-145.Exit

Hughes, R.M, A.T. Herlihy, and P.R. Kaufmann. 2010. An evaluation of qualitative indices of physical habitat applied to agricultural streams in ten U.S. States. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 46(4):792-806.Exit

Hughes, R.M., P.R. Kaufmann, and M. Weber. 2011. National and regional comparisons between Strahler order and stream size. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 30(1):103-121.Exit

Jessup, B.K., P.R. Kaufmann, F. John, L.S. Guevara, and S. Joseph. 2014. Bedded sediment conditions and macroinvertebrate responses in New Mexico streams: A first step in establishing sediment criteria. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 50(6):1558-1574. doi:10.1111/jawr.12224.Exit

Kaufmann, P.R., and J.M. Faustini. 2012. Simple measures of channel habitat complexity predict transient hydraulic storage in streams. In a special issue: The Importance of Habitat Complexity in Waterscapes Hydrobiologia 685(1):69-95. Exit

Kaufmann, P.R., J.M. Faustini, D.P. Larsen, and M.A. Shirazi. 2008. A roughness-corrected index of relative bed stability for regional stream surveys. Geomorphology 99:150-170.Exit

Kaufmann, P.R., D.P. Larsen, and J.M. Faustini. 2009. Bed stability and sedimentation associated with human disturbances in Pacific Northwest streams. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 45(2):434-459.Exit

Kaufmann, P.R., P. Levine, E.G. Robison, C. Seeliger, and D.V. Peck. 1999. Quantifying physical habitat in wadeable streams. EPA 620/R-99/003. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Corvallis, OR.

Kaufmann, P.R., and R.M. Hughes. 2006. Geomorphic and anthropogenic influences on fish and amphibians in Pacific Northwest coastal streams. In: R.M. Hughes, L. Wang and P.W. Seelbach (Editors), Landscape Influences on Stream Habitats and Biological Assemblages. American Fisheries Society Symposium 48:429-455, Bethesda, Maryland.Exit (28 pp, 834 K, About PDF)

Pan, Y., R.M Hughes, A.T. Herlihy, and P.R. Kaufmann. 2012. Non-wadeable river bioassessment: spatial variation of benthic diatom assemblages in Pacific Northwest rivers, USA. Hydrobiologia 684(1):241-260. Exit

Scott, T. 2015. Does collaboration make any difference? Linking collaborative governance to environmental outcomes. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 34(3):537-566. doi:10.1002/pam.21836Exit

Stoddard, J.L., J. Van Sickle, A.T. Herlihy, J. Brahney, S. Paulsen, D.V. Peck, R. Mitchell, and A.I. Pollard. 2016. Continental-scale increase in lake and stream phosphorus: are oligotrophic systems disappearing in the United States? Environmental Science and Technology 50(7):3409-3415. doi:10.1021/acs.est.5b05950Exit

Stribling, J.B., K.L. Pavlik, S.M. Holdsworth, and E.W. Leppo. 2008. Data quality, performance, and uncertainty in taxonomic identification for biological assessments. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 27(4):906-919. doi: 10.1899/07-175.1.Exit

Van Metre, P.C., J.W. Frey, M. Musgrove, N. Nakagaki, S. Qi, B.J. Mahler, M.E. Wieczorek, and D.T. Button. 2016. High nitrate concentrations in some midwest United States streams in 2013 after the 2012 drought. Journal of Environmental Quality 45:1696–1704.Exit

Van Metre, P.C., D.A. Alvarez, B.J. Mahler, L. Nowell, M. Sandstrom, and P. Moran. 2016. Complex mixtures of pesticides in midwest U.S. streams indicated by POCIS time-integrating samplers. Environmental Pollution http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2016.09.085.Exit

Wathen, J.B., J.M. Lazorchak, A.R. Olsen, and A. Batt. 2015. A national statistical survey assessment of mercury concentrations in fillets of fish collected in the U.S. EPA national rivers and streams assessment of the continental USA. Chemosphere 122:52-61. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.11.005. Exit

Wilkerson, G.V., D.R. Kandel, L.A. Perg, W.E. Dietrich, P.R. Wilcock, and M.R. Whiles. 2014. Continental-scale relationship between bankfull width and drainage area for single-thread alluvial channels. Water Resources Research 50(2):919-936. doi:10.1002/2013WR013916.Exit

Yuan, L.L., C.P. Hawkins, and J. Van Sickle. 2008. Effects of regionalization decisions on an O/E index for the US national assessment. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 27(4):892-905.Exit

Yuan, L.L. 2010. Estimating the effects of excess nutrients on stream invertebrates from observational data. Ecological Applications 20(1):110-125.Exit

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Wetlands

Hansen, V.D., and J.A. Nestlerode. 2014. Carbon sequestration in wetland soils of the northern Gulf of Mexico coastal region. Wetlands Ecology and Management 22(3):289-303. doi:10.1007/s11273-013-9330-6. Exit

Nahlik, A.M., and M.S. Fennessy. 2016. Carbon storage in US wetlands. Nature Communications 7:13835 doi: 10.1038/ncomms13835Exit

Nestlerode, J.A., V.D. Hansen, A. Teague, and M.C. Harwell. 2014. Application of a three-tier framework to assess ecological condition of Gulf of Mexico coastal wetlands. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 186(6):3477-3493. Exit

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