DOI: 10.5061/dryad.0cfxpnw89
title: Hydrological, chemical and biological assessment of two New Mexico headwater streams (2023)

description: Headwater streams play a crucial role in arid and semiarid regions. They
 provide freshwater to adjacent lowlands and temporarily store water as
 snowpack and groundwater. Downstream users – both humans specifically and
 ecosystems more broadly – depend on the delayed release, particularly
 during dry seasons. Headwater streams are highly vulnerable to climate
 change through shifts in snowmelt dynamics, changes in precipitation,
 evapotranspiration, and wildfire prevalence, among other factors.
 Monitoring headwater streams in dryland areas over time is therefore of
 critical importance. Each year, graduate students enrolled in the Water
 Resources Program at the University of New Mexico monitor hydrological,
 chemical, and biological characteristics of two headwater streams in
 central New Mexico as part of a field methods class. This dataset contains
 measurements from the 2023 field campaign. At each stream site,
 measurements were repeated for three separate transects.   Las
 Huertas Creek (LH), the first monitoring site, is the only perennial
 stream in the Sandia Mountains. The stream drains north from the
 northeastern slope of the Sandias towards the town of Placitas, running
 through a narrow and heavily forested canyon. Transects range in elevation
 from 2190 m – 2320 m above sea level and were sampled on September 30,
 2023. The second monitoring site is on the East Fork of the Jemez River
 (JR) within the Valles Caldera National Preserve. The stream runs through
 montane grasslands of the caldera, a 20 km circular depression formed by a
 large volcanic eruption and subsequent land subsidence approximately 1.2
 million years ago. Transects are located at an elevation of approximately
 2560 m above sea level and were sampled on October 7, 2023.
description: <strong>Discharge and Sediment
 </strong> Discharge at each transect was
 estimated using two methods: (1) the velocity-area method, with velocity
 measured using a Marsh-McBirney Flow-Mate Model 2000 flow meter, and (2)
 the salt dilution (or dry injection) method after Hudson and Fraser
 (2005). Electrical conductivity (EC) for the salt dilution method was
 monitored in 5-second increments using a YSI Professional Plus
 multiparameter meter, and in 1-second increments using an Arduino-based EC
 probe and datalogger built as part of the class. Particle size
 distribution of the channel bed surface was characterized based on the
 pebble count method (Wolman, 1954) by randomly selecting 100 pebbles along
 a zig-zag pattern (Bevenger and King, 1995) and measuring them with a
 gravelometer. In addition to the pebble count, a grab sample
 (approximately 500 g) of stream sediment was collected with a trowel at
 each transect and subjected to sieve analysis based on ASTM D6913 (ASTM,
 2009).   <strong>Water
 Chemistry</strong> The following water
 chemistry parameters were measured at one central location per transect:
 temperature (°C), conductivity (µS/cm), specific conductivity (µS/cm), pH,
 and dissolved oxygen (mg/L and %). The parameters were measured with a YSI
 Professional Plus multiparameter meter. Turbidity (NTU) was also measured
 at one central location per transect using a Hach 2100P portable
 turbidimeter.   Water
 samples were taken to measure alkalinity in a lab environment;
 approximately 50 mL of unfiltered water was collected at one location per
 transect and placed in a centrifuge tube, which was stored under
 refrigeration until lab testing. Alkalinity was determined by using
 endpoint titration; the titrant was 0.02 N sulfuric acid, while indicator
 solutions used were phenolphthalein (for carbonate) and bromocresol green
 (for bicarbonate).  
 Additional water samples were collected to test the anion and
 cation concentrations in a lab environment. At one central point per
 transect, approximately 50 mL of water was collected, filtered through a
 0.45 µm glass fiber filter, and stored in a 50 mL centrifuge tube. A few
 drops of dilute nitric acid were added to only the cation samples, while
 nothing was added to the anion samples. All samples were stored under
 refrigeration until lab analysis. Cation concentrations were analyzed
 using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES)
 with a PerkinElmer Optima 5300DV. Anion concentrations were analyzed using
 ion chromatography (IC) with a Dionex 1100 IC.
   <strong>Organic Matter and
 Benthic Macroinvertebrates</strong> Organic
 matter was qualitatively sampled from three points (left bank, center,
 right bank) at each transect.  Substrate was collected with a trowel while
 samples from the water column were collected in one liter Nalgene
 bottles.  In the lab, water and substrate samples were processed for Ash
 Free Dry Mass (AFDM) (Steinman et al., 2017). The water samples were
 filtered through a 1.5 µm glass fiber filter. The filters and substrate
 samples were dried for 24 hours at 60°C, weighed, ashed at 500°C for 4
 hours in a muffle furnace and reweighed. The difference in the weights was
 calculated as the % organic matter as AFDM.
   Aquatic macroinvertebrates were
 collected from a known area (measured in m2) at each transect using a
 D-frame net. Samples were preserved in 70% ethanol and stored in whirlpak
 bags.  In the lab, invertebrates were separated from organic/inorganic
 matter using forceps and a dissecting microscope, enumerated, and
 identified to Order (in most cases), using taxonomic references including
 Voshell (2002). Macroinvertebrate densities were calculated from raw
 counts as individuals/m2.  
 <strong>References</strong>
 ASTM, 2009. Standard test methods for particle-size
 distribution (gradation) of soils using sieve analysis. ASTM
 D6913-04(2009)e1. West Conshohocken, PA. Bevenger,
 G.S., 1995. A pebble count procedure for assessing watershed cumulative
 effects (Vol. 319). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky
 Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins,
 CO. Hudson, R. and Fraser, J., 2005. The mass
 balance (or dry injection) method. Streamline Watershed Management
 Bulletin, 9(1), pp.6-12. Steinman, A.D., Lamberti,
 G.A., Leavitt, P.R., and D.G. Uzarski. 2017. Biomass and pigments of
 benthic algae, pp. 223-241 in (Hauer, F.R. and G.A. Lamberti eds) Methods
 in Stream Ecology: Vol. 1 Ecosystem Structure, Third Edition. Academic
 Press, Cambridge, MA. Voshell, J.R., 2002. A Guide
 to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America. University of
 Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE. Wolman, M.G., 1954. A
 method of sampling coarse river‐bed material. EOS, Transactions American
 Geophysical Union, 35(6), pp.951-956.
description: # Hydrological, chemical, and biological assessment of two New Mexico
 headwater streams (2023) 
 Headwater streams play a crucial role in arid and semiarid regions. They
 provide freshwater to adjacent lowlands and temporarily store water as
 snowpack and groundwater. The delayed release is particularly important
 during the dry season. Headwater streams are highly vulnerable to climate
 change, and monitoring over time is of critical importance. Each year,
 graduate students enrolled in the Water Resources Program at the
 University of New Mexico monitor hydrological, chemical, and biological
 characteristics of two headwater streams in central New Mexico as part of
 a field methods class. The two sites are Las Huerts Creek (LH) and East
 Fork Jemez River (JR). This dataset contains measurements from the 2023
 field campaign. ## Description of the data and file structure Dataset
 consists of 12 .csv files. Each file contains 8 columns of data: Column 1:
 Parameter description Column 2: Units Column 3: LH1 (Las Huertas transect
 1) Column 4: LH2 (Las Huertas transect 2) Column 5: LH3 (Las Huertas
 transect 3) Column 6: JR1 (Jemez River transect 1) Column 7: JR2 (Jemez
 River transect 2) Column 8: JR3 (Jemez River transect 3) Description of
 the content for individual files are included below. ##### AFDM AFDM.csv
 lists ash free dry mass (AFDM) of the substrate and water column in %
 determined form samples collected at 6 transects. ##### Alkalinity
 Alkalinity.csv contains alkalinity in mg/L as CACO3 determined from water
 samples collected at 6 transects. ##### Anions Anions.csv contains
 concentration in mg/L for 7 anions based on water samples collected at 6
 transects. ##### Canopy cover Canopy_cover.csv contains tree canopy cover
 in % measured with a spherical densiometer at 6 transects. ##### Cations
 Cations.csv includes concentration in mg/L for 30 cations based on water
 samples collected at 6 transects. ##### Discharge Discharge.csv lists
 estimated discharge for 6 transects in L/s using the velocity-area method
 and the salt dilution method. ##### Macroinvertebrates
 Macroinvertebrates.csv lists benthic macroinvertebrate densities reported
 as individuals/m^2; each row contains the density for each recorded taxon
 at 6 transects. ##### Multiparameter meter Multiparameter_meter.csv
 contains the following parameters measured with a handheld meter at 6
 transects: Water temperature (°C), specific conductance (µS/cm at 25 °C),
 conductivity (µS/cm), dissolved oxygen (%), dissolved oxygen (mg/L), and
 pH. ##### Pebble count Pebble_count.csv contains grain size distribution
 (% finer) for 6 transects using the pebble count method. ##### Sieve
 analysis Sieve_analysis.csv lists grain size distribution (% finer) of a
 grab sample at each of 6 transects using sieve analysis. ##### Site
 locations Site_locations.csv contains latitude and longitude of 6
 transects in decimal degrees. ##### Turbidity Turbidity.csv lists
 turbidity in nephelometric turbidity units (NTU) determined from water
 samples collected at 6 transects.