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We describe a process for developing an index of biotic integrity (IBI) for resident fish communities in an ecoregion that exhibits low natural species richness. From 1990 to 2006, fish community samples were collected by the North Carolina Division of Water Quality (NCDWQ) at 36 sample sites in the Cape Fear, Lumber, and Yadkin river basins within the Sandhills region of North Carolina. The NCDWQ does not currently have an IBI capable of distinguishing significant differences between reference and non-reference streams. To develop a more robust method of measuring responses to anthropogenic disturbance, we delineated contributing watersheds for each of the 36 sample sites using a geographic information system, hydrologic modeling, and 20-foot-resolution digital elevation models derived from light-detection and ranging data. The 2001 National Land Cover Database (NLCD) and in situ habitat data were used to determine various land-use/land-cover and hydrologic variables within each watershed. These variables were then used to select the sites with absolute minimal anthropogenic impacts. We used the Kruskal-Wallis test to identify 11 fish-community metrics, 2 chemical metrics, and 9 individual species that were significantly different between reference and non-reference sites. Of the final 15 metrics, only 3 exhibited higher values in reference streams. Our results demonstrate that the abundance and richness of the Sandhills fish fauna are greater in areas more highly impacted by anthropogenic activities. By automating the process by which reference sites are chosen, we were able to produce a multi-metric IBI that reflects the varying levels of anthropogenic impacts on wadeable streams in the Sandhills.
