Aquatic biota in urban areas

Abstract

Urbanization alters aquatic ecosystems to a fundamental degree, with the intensity of the effects varying with the relative sizes and types of the urban centers and receiving waters, the natural and historical conditions of those centers and waters, and the types and amounts of industries and rehabilitation practices. Urbanization affects multiple factors that have direct and indirect effects on salmonids and other aquatic biota (Fig. 11.1). Because there are many interdependent ecological factors, it is very difficult to attempt to separate single urban stressors causing alterations in aquatic assemblages (i.e., the subsets of a community that share a common ancestry) and salmonid populations. The responses of aquatic biota to urbanization also vary with ecoregion, climate, season, topography, soil, potential natural vegetation, and historical land use (Coles et al. 2012). In this chapter we review the literature regarding the effects of urbanization on nonnative species and algae, macroinvertebrates, fish, and amphibians. Salmonids are further addressed in Chap. 12.