Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Overview of findings and implications -- Highlights of major findings and implications -- Biological condition and land use -- Factors associated with stream health -- Streamflow modification -- Elevated nutrients -- Elevated salinity -- Contaminant toxicity in stream water and sediments -- Priorities for filling information gaps for the biological health of streams -- 2. Stream ecology primer -- Biological communities and water quality -- Algae -- Macroinvertebrates -- Fish -- Environmental factors that influence stream biological communities -- Natural river and altered landscape -- Environmental factors influenced by agriculture and urban land use -- Dynamics of a natural stream ecosystem -- Dynamics of an agricultural ecosystem -- Dynamics of an urban stream ecosystem -- 3. Approach to assessing biological condition -- Targeted sampling across the nation's diverse land uses and natural settings -- Features of NAWQA's biological assessment -- NAWQA's biological assessment in a national context -- Chemical and physical measurement and assessment -- Biological sampling -- Assessing biological condition : the reference concept -- Assessing biological condition : general approach -- 4. National assessments of physical and chemical factors that influence stream health -- Land and water management across the nation -- Streamflow modification -- Streamflow modification and land use -- Stream temperature -- Stream riparian zones -- Stream-water salinity -- Nutrients in stream water -- Dissolved pesticides in stream water -- Pesticides and other organic contaminants in stream sediments -- Estimating the potential toxicity of streambed-sediment contaminants -- 5. Biological-condition assessment -- Integrated assessments of algal, macroinvertebrate, and fish communities -- Assessments of algal, macroinvertebrate, and fish communities -- Introduced fish species : occurrence and relations to biological condition -- Introduced macroinvertebrate species : occurrence and relations to biological condition -- 6. Factors associated with diminished biological condition -- Factors associated with diminished biological condition : summary -- Streamflow modification -- Cache La Poudre River, Colorado -- Land development within stream riparian zones -- Bachman Run and Muddy Creek, Pennsylvania -- Shingle Creek, Minnesota -- Elevated salinity -- Elevated nutrients -- Pesticides in stream water -- Zollner Creek, Oregon -- Contaminants in stream sediments -- Glossary.

Staff. Public.

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