Welcome to the

3rd Annual

Ve r m o n t E P S C o R

W a t e r s h e d P r o j e c t

S p r i n g S y m p o s i u m

April 26th, 2011

Burlington, Vermont

Funded by NSF EPS Grants #0701410 & #0918284

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Welcome and thank you for attending the 3rd Annual Watershed Project Symposium!

The Watershed Project is excited to showcase the hard work of participat-ing high schools and colleges in studying the streams of Vermont, New York, Puerto Rico, Delaware and Rhode Island. Participants have worked to col-lect and analyze data on water quality and watershed land use. This sympo-sium provides an opportunity for students, faculty, and other interested state and local groups to share their findings and network with others work-ing on watershed issues. Researching the connections between land use and water quality is important work, and the Watershed Project is proud to have worked with so many wonderful young scientists in this effort. Thank you for a fun and successful year of the Watershed Project. Your passion and dedication makes this possible! We would like to thank the following individuals for their assistance with this event: Lydia Pitkin, Miranda Lescaze, Catherine Duck, Lexie Haselton, Meredith Simard, Steve Exler, Nora Joyal, Lillian Gamache, and Judy Van Houten, VT EPSCoR; Declan McCabe, Saint Michael’s College, and Eric Smeltzer, VT Agency of Natural Resources

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Agenda

2:00-3:00 Registration in Lobby

Welcome & Presentation Session -Green Mountain Ballroom

3:00 Welcome: Dr. Judith Van Houten, Director, VT EPSCoR

Introductions: Miranda Lescaze, Streams Project Director and Dr. Declan McCabe, Streams Project Science Adviser

3:15 Eric Smeltzer, VT Agency of Natural Resources The Phosphorus Problem in Lake Champlain

3:30 Declan McCabe, Saint Michael’s College Techniques and Indices for Biomonitoring

3:40 Eamon Harrity, University of Vermont North American Beaver and E.coli: An investigation of the impacts of

beaver activity on the E. coli levels in Duck Brook of Bolton, Vermont

3:50 Saul Blocher, Johnson State College

Water-born E. coli and Land Use: Three Years of Microbial Source Tracking in Vermont’s Lamoille River Watershed

4:00 Maria Gamache, Carl Lavigne and Jeff Rouleau, Bellows Free Academy -St. Albans

A Comparison of E. coli Levels in an Urban Streams in St. Albans to Other Streams in Urban, Agricultural and Forested Areas in Vermont

Break and Poster Session — Mezzanine

4:10 Break and Poster Session—see poster titles on p. 5

Presentation Session— Green Mountain Ballroom

4:40 Bridget Levine, Saint Michael’s College

A Comparison of Macroinvertebrate Diversity in Riffles Versus Pools of Urban and Forested Stream Sites Using Three Sampling Methods

4:50 Alayna Hauke, Nathan Callas and Sharon Boardman, Rice Memorial High School An Analysis of Water Quality vs. Land Use for Seven Streams

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Presentation Session Continued—Green Mountain Ballroom 5:00 Isardo Braverman, Laura Roldan and Yiria Muniz, Jose E. Aponte

de la Torre High School, Puerto Rico Maracuto Stream Project: Comparison of Total Phosphorus and

Macroinvertebrates and the Impact of Land Use on Water Quality

5:10 Mohammad Mollick, Mirza Rivera and Joan McMahon, DeWitt Clinton High School, New York

Urban Streams in Summer and Winter

5:20 Maya Thomas, University of Vermont

Roads and Water Quality in Vermont: A Statistical Analysis

5:30 Noah Lowenthal, Julia Lees, Kayla Davis and Scott Worland, Long Trail School A Comparison of Chemical and Biological Indicators of Water Qual-

ity Between a Forested and Agricultural Site Along the Mettawee River

5:40 Evelyn Boardman, University of Vermont Influence of Urbanization on the Physical, Chemical and Biological Characteristics of Streams

5:50 Erin Hayes-Pontius, University of Vermont Effect of Land Use on Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Metrics in Vermont Streams

Dinner — Lake Champlain Salon

6:00-7:00 Pasta Dinner

Poster Session — Mezzanine

7:00-8:00 Poster Session—see poster titles on pages 5-7

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Posters - Macroinvertebrate Ecology

Evelyn Boardman, University of Vermont Factors Controlling Insect Assemblages in Headwater Streams Along Elevation Gradient

Yeseira Lazzu Lopez, Universidad Metropolitana, Puerto Rico Macroinvertebrate Comparison Between Wetlands and Ponds

Ramon Pena, Universidad Metropolitana Relationships Between pH and Benthic Macroinvertebrate Indices in Vermont Streams

Scott Ritter, University of Vermont A Comparison of Macroinvertebrate Samples Collected by High School Volunteers and Undergraduate Interns

Janel Roberge, Saint Michael’s College The Effects of Land Use on Phosphorus and Benthic Macroinvertebrates in the Lake Champlain Basin

Natalia Santiago-Merced, Universidad Metropolitana Relationships of Lotic Macroinvertebrate Communities to Phosphorus and Suspended Solids

Stephanie Rivera, Jorge Rosario and Frank Torres, University Gardens High School, Puerto Rico The Effect of Temperature on Macroinvertebrate Abundance in the Riveras and Señorial Streams in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Tyler Gillingham, Saint Michael’s College Habitat Rugosity and Macroinvertebrate Communities in Vermont Streams

Angelique Cooley, Brianna Cooley, Holly Webb, and Dale Lynn Dearnley, Central Falls High School, RI and Philip Veillette, University of Rhode Island Ecological Comparison of a Rural and Urban Stream in Rhode Island

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Posters - Water Quality and Nutrient Dynamics

Aimee Welch, University of Rhode Island Woody Debris and Biofilm Impacts on Nitrate-N Disappearance in Fluvial Systems

Maggie Ecker, Saint Michael’s College The Effectiveness of Rain Gardens at Reducing Total Phosphorus and Suspended Solids in Storm Water Runoff

Desirae Daniels, Haley Helstein, Moses Manning, Nicholas McClure, David Williams and Sylvia Dodge, Lyndon Institute Data Comparison of Agricultural vs. Forested Rivers in Vermont

Benjamin Massey, Johnson State College Assessing Nutrient-Loading to Freshwater Systems in the Lamoille River Watershed

Karoline Rios, Universidad Metropolitana A Solution to Excess Phosphorus in Streams? Looking at Biochar Filters on Shelburne Farms, Shelburne Vermont

Dorielys Valentin Ortiz, Universidad Metropolitana Examining Effects of a Capped Landfill on Groundwater and Alluvial Soils Near Indian Brook in Essex, Vermont

Edgardo Martinez, University of Puerto Rico Effect of Land Uses at Different Scales on Escherichia coli and Total Phosphorus in Thatcher Brook Watershed

Kirk Jones, University of Vermont Spatially Determining Potential Phosphorus Sources and Agricultural Buffers in the Lamoille River Watershed

Danielle Mendes, Johnson State College Effect of Riparian Conditions on Total Phosphorus Loading in Streams

Sarah Burridge, Rachel Emerson and Carl Hildebrandt, Oxbow High School Human Activity and it’s Impact on Vermont Streams

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Calines Guerrero, Universidad Metropolitana and Harold Manrique, University of Puerto Rico Impact of Crossroads on Streams Water Quality During Base Blow and Storm Flow in Burlington, Vermont

Elise Huntley, Alexis Huntley, Zachary Richter and Christine Colella, Home School/Twin Valley Union High School A Comparison Between E. coli Concentrations and Land Uses in Vermont Through GIS Analysis

Allyson Chapman, Taylor Small and Kara Lenorovitz, Colchester High School Mixing Macroinvertebrates and Phosphorus: Perfect Match or Perfect Disaster?

Ryan Joy, Johnson State College Water Chemistry and Source Species of E. coli in the Lamoille Valley Watershed

Nelybeth Santiago-Yance, Universidad Metropolitana Quantifying the effects of Wetlands on Stream Water Quality in Central Vermont Using GIS

Perla Martinez, Universidad Metropolitana Effect of Agricultural and Urban Areas Measured at Different Scales on E. coli in Thatcher Brook, VT

Henry Moncure IV, Emma Rice, Charter School of Wilmington, Yanni Kaliakin, Wilmington Christian School, Tyler Dougherty, Kayla Iuliano, Audrey Yorke, Sarah Chatterson, Erin McVey, Stacey Mack, and Gerald Kauffman, University of Delaware The White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic River Watershed: The Relationship Between Water Quality, Habitat, Macroinvertebrates and Surrounding Land Use

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Funding Sources & Partners

National Science Foundation

Vermont EPSCoR

Northeast Cyberinfrastructure Consortium

Delaware EPSCoR

Rhode Island EPSCoR

Johnson State College

Saint Michael’s College

Sterling College

Middlebury College

Norwich University

University of Vermont

Vermont Genetics Network

McNair Scholars Program, UVM

UVM Watershed Alliance

Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation

Vermont Clean and Clear

Vermont Agency of Transportation

University of Puerto Rico

El Verde Field Station, Puerto Rico

Universidad Metropolitana

Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Lab, UVM