8172

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8172
• Author: Jacobi, G. Z., J. E. Sublette, S. J. Herrmann, D. E. Cowley and M. D. Hatch.
• Title: Final Report
• USFW Year: 1998.
• USFW - Doc Type: Investigations of an Index of Biotic Integrity in New Mexico.
• Copyright Material: NO

an underlying similarity among sites that is more related to elevation and growing season length
rather than to physiography, surface or subsurface geology.
In anticipation of developing fish-based IBI's, we examine the degree of spatial concordance of
fish faunal regions with environmental-based aquatic ecoregions of the state. There was little
correspondence between fish faunal regions and aquatic ecoregions. It remains to be determined
if the aquatic ecoregion classification will provide an adequate framework, or, if one of the fish
faunal region classifications will prove more useful.
Statewide analysis of data for benthic macroinvertebrates and chironomids remains to be done,
although exploratory analyses of a subset of this data has been completed for the upper. Rio
Grande drainage of the state (Appendix 1).
To facilitate application of an IBI, taxonomic keys of invertebrates and a photographic atlas of
chironomid pupal exuviae are being developed (appendices 4-8). Recommendations for future
research are offered.
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