The Use of Benthic Macroinvertebrates to Assess Water Quality in an Urban WV Stream

Laura Canton and Thomas Ford, PhDConcord 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 River5

~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 years6

~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…

0 7,900 15,800 23,700 31,6003,950Feet

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Bowman 2006, Unpublished Study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 bioavailable1

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 factors2:-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 stream2:-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 quality3

-they provide a variety of responses to different disturbances4

- More so than fish communities, they respond to slight changes in aquatic environments due to human activities2

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

1Gomi, T., Sidle R.C., Richardson J.S. 2002. Understanding processes and downstream linkages of headwater systems. BioScience 52:905-916.

2West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. 2006. West Virginia State of the Environment Report. 2nd ed. 7-10.

3Valenti, T.W. et al. 2005. Bioassessment of an appalachian headwater stream influenced by and abandoned arsenic mine. Environmental Contamination Toxicology 49: 488-496.

4Rosenberg, 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.

5Bowman, Sherrie, Darrell Crick. 2006. The water quality of Brush Creek: A Baseline Study. Unpublished Study

6U.S Census Bureau. 1930-1980. Characteristics of population: total population. Washington D.D. 1, 50: West Virginia.