Connoquenessing Creek Watershed Conservation Plan - Western ...

Connoquenessing Creek Watershed Conservation PlanAPPENDIX M: AQUATIC COMMUNITY CLASSIFICATIONWhat information is used to describe the communities and their habitats?Community IndicatorsThe animals that are most commonly associated with each community type are listed. While notevery organism described in a given community will occur in each location where this community isfound, organisms listed in this section give a general account of which organisms to expect in thatcommunity’s habitat.State and Global Rank DescriptionsSpecies of Conservation ConcernFish and mussels that are associated with acommunity and are tracked for their rarity arenoted.HabitatAverage values of the communitycharacteristics across their entire range arepresented. Size of the stream’s watershed, gradient(slope) and elevation are a few habitatcharacteristics that may be important to thecommunity type. Local conditions are alsomentioned.Land Use Composition - Trends in land-usepatterns were calculated for each streamreach as percentages of the entire contributingwatershed. Different amounts of urban,agricultural, or forested area in watershedscan directly influence stream habitat andresident organisms. For example, someState/GlobalRankSX/GXSH/GHS1/G1S2/G2S3/G3S4/G4S5/G5Rank DescriptionExtirpated – Element is believed tobe extirpated/extinct from the state/ itsentire global rangeHistorical – Only known fromhistorical recordsCritically Imperiled – Criticallyimperiled because of extreme rarity orbecause of vulnerability to extirpationImperiled – Imperiled because ofextreme rarity or because ofvulnerability to extirpationVulnerable – Vulnerable because rareand uncommon, or found only in arestricted rangeApparently Secure – Uncommon butnot rare, and usually widespreadSecure – Demonstrably widespread,abundant, and secureorganisms are only found in heavily forested (undisturbed) watersheds, while others can tolerate thealtered habitat types that are found in heavily agricultural or urbanized settings.Community Quality RatingCommunity types are generally ranked as low, medium, or high quality indicated by their associatedhabitat, water chemistry, and the sensitivity of the community’s common organisms to pollution.Community RarityRarity in watersheds within Pennsylvania was determined by examining the number and distributionof community occurrences.ThreatsPotential pollution sources, where known, or other threats that may alter the natural state of thecommunity are described.Conservation RecommendationsIssues for natural resource managers and land planners to consider in the protection and managementof watersheds and communities are described.Appendix M. Aquatic Community Classification Page 1 of 8