Assessment of stream ecosystem function and sensitivity in the Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming.

This paper presents a hierarchical analysis of stream ecosystem distribution and sensitivity to natural and anthropogenic disturbances for the Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming. We designated stream gradient, flow regime, and lithology as environmental parameters that would result in the most robust, readily applied, and parsimonious description of physical and chemical characteristics of individual stream segments. We used these parameters to map the spatial distribution and relative abundance of stream habitats in the study area.