Effectiveness of the river environment classification in the Auckland Region

: The River Environment Classification (REC) provides a GIS‐based tool to differentiate between biophysical attributes of river systems. This study tests the effectiveness of the REC as a tool to differentiate physical habitat and macroinvertebrate assemblages between four classes of stream in the Auckland region. Results indicate significant within‐class variability in physical habitat and macroinvertebrate assemblages, with considerable overlap among the four classes. Biophysically meaningful stream classes cannot be identified from GIS‐derived data applied in this research. Field analyses of physical habitat (i.e. geomorphic river condition) are required as a supplementary tool to interpret ecological relationships for differing stream types.