Abstract
Physical habitat is the living space of in-stream biota which is an important factor that can affect both the quality and quantity of available habitat and the structure and composition of resident biological communities. It is a spatially and temporally dynamic entity determined by the interaction of the structural features of the channel and hydrological regime. Ganjal River is a left bank tributary of River Narmada and Morand river is the major tributary of it. At these rivers Physical Habitat Assessment was carried out using USEPA Rapid Bioassessment Protocols to know habitat suitability conditions in rivers for aquatic life thrive in. In the study habitat assessment parameters were scored according to the existing conditions for each section of the rivers and were categorised under four conditions i.e. optimal, suboptimal, marginal and poor. On the basis of result obtained from the study Habitat Suitability Map (HSM) was generated using GIS as an interface and it suggests that the habitat quality of both rivers is suitable for aquatic life.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adeyemo, O. K. (2008). Habitat assessment for seasonal variation of river pollution in Ibadan, Nigeria, in a geographic information system interface. Vertinaria Italiana, 44(2), 361–371.
Bain, M. B., & Boltz, J. M. (1989). Regulated stream flow and warm water stream fish: A general hypothesis and research agenda. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Report, 89(18), 1–28.
Ball, J. (1982). Stream classification guidelines for Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Technical Bulletin. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Barbour, M. T., & Stribling, J. B. (1991). Use of habitat assessment in evaluating the biological integrity of stream communities. In G. Gibson (Ed.), Biological criteria: Research and regulation, proceedings of a symposium, 12–13 December 1990, Arlington, Virginia. Office of Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. EPA-440-5-91-005.
Barbour, M. T., Gerritsen, J., Griffith, G. E., Frydenborg, R., McCarron, E., White, J. S., & Bastian, M. L. (1996). A framework for biological criteria for Florida streams using benthic macro invertebrates. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 15(2), 185–211.
Barbour, M. T., Gerritsen, J., Synder, B. D., & Stribling, J. B. (1999). Rapid bioassessment protocols for use in streams and wadeable river: Periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish (2nd ed., pp. 1–339). (EPA 841-B-99-002). United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Beechie, T. J., & Sibley, T. H. (1997). Relationships between channel characteristics, woody debris, and fish habitat in northwest Washington streams. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 126, 217–229.
Beschta, R. L., & Platts, W. S. (1986). Morphological features of small streams: Significance and function. Water Resource Bulletin, 22(3), 369–379.
Brown, A. V., & Brussock, P. P. (1991). Comparisons of benthic invertebrates between riffles and pools. Hydrobiologia, 220, 99–108.
Cushman, R. M. (1985). Review of ecological effects of rapidly varying flows downstream from hydroelectric facilities. North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 5, 330–339.
Dutta, R., & Baruah, D. (2013). Physical habitat quality assessment of three ephemeral streams of Lakhimpur, North-Eastern India. Advances in Applied Science Research 4(4), 405–408. ISSN: 0976-8610. CODEN (USA): AASRFC.
Gislason, J. C. (1985). Aquatic insect abundance in a regulated stream under fluctuating and stable diel flow patterns. North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 5, 39–46.
Gordon, N. D., McMahon, T. A., & Finlayson, B. L. (1992). Stream hydrology: An introduction for ecologists. West Sussex: John Wiley and Sons. Inc.
Hicks, B. J., Beschta, R. L., & Harr, R. D. (1991). Long-term changes in streamflow following logging in western Oregon and associated fisheries implications. Water Resources Bulletin, 27(2), 217–226.
Hup, C. R., & Simon, A. (1991). Bank accretion and the development of vegetated depositional surfaces along modified alluvial channels. Geomorphology, 4, 111–124.
Hupp, C. R. (1992). Riparian vegetation recovery patterns following stream channelization: A geomorphic perspective. Ecology, 73(4), 1209–1226.
Hupp, C. R., & Simon, A. (1986). Vegetation and Bank-slope development. In Proceedings of the fourth federal interagency sedimentation conference 4 (pp. 83–92).
MacDonald, L. H., Smart, A. W., & Wissmar, R. C. (1991). Monitoring guidelines to evaluate effects of forestry activities on streams in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Prepared for Region 10, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Seattle, Washington. EPA 910/9-91-001.
Maddock, I. (1999). The importance of physical habitat assessment for evaluating river health. Freshwater Biology, 41, 373–391.
Plafkin, J. L., Barbour, M. T., Porter, K. D., Gross S. K., & Huges, R. M. (1989). Rapid bioassessment protocols for use in streams and rivers: Benthic macroinvertebrates and fish. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water Regulations and Standards, Washington, D.C. EPA 440-4-89-001.
Platts, W. S., Megahan, W. F. & Minshall, G. W. (1983). Methods for evaluating streams, riparian, and biotic conditions. U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Ogden, Utah. General Technical Report INT-138.
Rankin, E. T. (1991). The use of qualitative habitat evaluation index for use attainability studies in streams and Rivers in Ohio. In George (ed.), Biological criteria: Research and regulation, Office of Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. EPA 440/5-91-005.
Rosgen, D. L. (1985). A stream classification system. In Proceedings of the first North American riparian conference riparian ecosystem and their management: Reconciling conflicting uses. U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Tucson, Arizona. General Technical Report RM-120.
Southwood, T. R. E. (1977). Habitat, the templet for ecological strategies? Journal of Animal Ecology, 46, 337–365.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.EPA). (1983). Technical support manual: Water body surveys and assessments for conducting use attainability analyses Volumes 1–3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water Regulations and Standards, Washington, D.C.
Vyas, V., Kumar, A., Parashar, V., & Tomar, S. (2013). Physical habitat assessment of river Denwa using GIS techniques. Journal of Indian Society of Remote Sensing, 41(1), 127–139. doi:10.1007/s12524-011-0191-2.
Wentz, N. J., Henderson, N. D., & Christian, A. D. (2011). Assessment and characterisation of physical habitat, water quality and biotic assemblages of the Tyronza River, Arkansas. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, 65, 143–150.
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to Prof. Pradeep Shrivastawa, Head of the Department of Zoology and Applied Aquaculture, Barkatullah University, Bhopal, India for permission to use Remote Sensing and GIS software. Thanks are due to Dr. Dinesh Damde and Kripal Singh Vishwakarma who helped us in field visits during the study period.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Sharma, R., Kumar, A. & Vyas, V. Physical Habitat Assessment of the Ganjal and Morand River Using GIS Techniques. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 46, 443–450 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-017-0700-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-017-0700-z