1. The Use of Benthic Macroinvertebrates to Assess Water Quality in an Urban WV Stream Laura Canton and Thomas Ford, PhD Concord University Brush Creek ~Originates North of Bluefield, WV, a suburban landscape, and flows northward through Princeton, WV ~Then flows through a forested area before joining with the Bluestone River ~Brush Creek extends for 20.3 miles before joining the Bluestone River 5 ~I-77 passes near Princeton, along with Highway 460 which runs along Brush Creek as it travels east/west ~Princeton’s population has been about 7,400 people for the past 70 years 6 ~However, development has drastically increased over the past few decades – many people travel on I-77, and therefore there are now an abundance of hotels, gas stations, restaurants, and other businesses ~Assess the water quality of Brush Creek using benthic macroinvertebrates as bioindicators ~By sampling different points along the stream (Figure 1) we will be able to evaluate the impact that different land uses have on Brush Creek ~Study the effects of low-density urbanization and industrialization Objectives Five sites were picked… Confluence Falls Brickyard Princeton Glenwood Bowman 2006, Unpublished Study Figure 1. Different Sampling Points Along Brush Creek Figure 2. Brush Creek Falls Sample Area Figure 4. Glenwood Sample Area Figure 3. Princeton Sample Area Brush Creek In a healthy stream ecosystem there is usually a very diverse macroinvertebrate community present Macroinvertebrates are bottom-dwelling organisms that are visible to the naked eye Macroinvertebrates are: -aquatic insects (e.g. mayflies and stoneflies) -snails -mussels -aquatic worms -crayfish Benthic macroinvertebrates are an important food source for fish, AND facilitate nutrient cycling through the break down of larger particulate matter into forms that are more bioavailable 1 If few macroinvertebrates are found in a stream, or if diversity is low, then water quality is probably quite poor Streams can be negatively impacted by a variety of factors 2 : -industrial effluent -urban storm water runoff -eutrophication -organic pollution (fertilizer, animal waste, untreated sewage) -anthropogenic activities (mining, agriculture, industrial processing) These factors result in various pollutants to a stream 2 : -fecal coliforms -various chemical pollutants -elevated levels of arsenic, zinc, lead, and copper Pollutants often eliminate sensitive taxa, leaving only the tolerant ones In assessing water quality, benthic macroinvertebrates are often chosen as bioindicators because: - they are one of the most reliable measures for evaluating water quality 3 -they provide a variety of responses to different disturbances 4 - More so than fish communities, they respond to slight changes in aquatic environments due to human activities 2 Introduction Figure 5. Using a Kick Net Methods Samples will be taken from different points along Brush Creek (Figure 1-3) At each point random samples will be taken throughout a 100 m area Sediment will be disturbed in an area, allowing benthos to flow downstream into a kick net (Figure 5) The macroinvertebrates will be laid out on a grid and random samples will be identified to the family level Expected Results Macroinvertebrate diversity will be greater in the forested area of Brush Creek Diversity will be low in the headwaters, which flow through a suburban landscape Diversity will be lowest in the urban, Princeton area, of Brush Creek, with fewer pollution sensitive macroinvertebrate taxa present The benthic community will make a recovery after flowing through the more forested areas References 1 Gomi, T., Sidle R.C., Richardson J.S. 2002. Understanding processes and downstream linkages of headwater systems. BioScience 52:905- 916. 2 West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. 2006. West Virginia State of the Environment Report. 2nd ed. 7-10. 3 Valenti, T.W. et al. 2005. Bioassessment of an appalachian headwater stream influenced by and abandoned arsenic mine. Environmental Contamination Toxicology 49: 488-496. 4 Rosenberg, D.M., and V.H. Resh. 1993. Introduction to freshwater derivation and list of tolerance values, with criteria for assigning water-quality ratings. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 12:279–290. 5 Bowman, Sherrie, Darrell Crick. 2006. The water quality of Brush Creek: A Baseline Study. Unpublished Study 6 U.S Census Bureau. 1930-1980. Characteristics of population: total population. Washington D.D. 1, 50: West Virginia.