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Benthic Macroinvertebrate Subsampling Effort And Taxonomic Resolution For Bioassessments Of Streams In The James River Watershed Of Virginia, Laurel Williams May 2014

Benthic Macroinvertebrate Subsampling Effort And Taxonomic Resolution For Bioassessments Of Streams In The James River Watershed Of Virginia, Laurel Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Benthic macroinvertebrate diversity influences stream food web dynamics, nutrient cycling and material exchange between the benthos and the water column. Stream bioassessment has moved to the forefront of water quality monitoring in terms of benthic macroinvertebrate diversity in the recent past. The objectives of this study were to determine optimum subsample size and level of taxonomic resolution necessary to accurately and precisely describe macroinvertebrate diversity in streams flowing in the Piedmont province of the James River watershed in Virginia. Forty-nine sampling sites were selected from streams within the Piedmont Physiographic Province of the James River watershed. Ten sites were randomly …


Using Macroinvertebrate Community Composition To Distinguish Between Natural And Anthropogenic Sedimentation, Amanda E. Schutt Sep 2012

Using Macroinvertebrate Community Composition To Distinguish Between Natural And Anthropogenic Sedimentation, Amanda E. Schutt

Theses and Dissertations

Excess fine sediment from human activity is a major pollutant to streams across the U.S.; however, distinguishing human-induced sedimentation from natural fine sediment is complex. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently implemented a protocol for the quantitative field assessment of human-induced sedimentation using measurements of stream geomorphology. Macroinvertebrate community composition, streambed sediment stability, and sediment composition were studied at 49 sites in the James River watershed in central Virginia. Sediment composition was found to be a stronger driver of community composition than sediment stability. Although I was not able to show that macroinvertebrate metrics were related to sediment stability independently …


Development Of A Multi-Scale Management Perspective For Wadeable Stream Fisheries In Mississippi, John Brian Alford Aug 2008

Development Of A Multi-Scale Management Perspective For Wadeable Stream Fisheries In Mississippi, John Brian Alford

Theses and Dissertations

I used multivariate, hierarchical analyses to examine the relative influence of watershed-, riparian- and channel-scale environmental characteristics on catch per unit effort (CPUE: fish/angler-hour) and species composition of sport fisheries in Mississippi wadeable streams. Partial canonical correspondence analyses indicated that riparian-scale variables (31.1%) explained more variation in sport fish relative abundances compared to watershed-scale (24.4%) and channel-scale variables (18.9%). Largemouth bass M. salmoides and longear sunfish Lepomis megalotis were more abundant in smaller-watershed streams with dense forest cover and greater woody debris, alkalinity and diverse substrates. Spotted bass M. punctulatus and bluegill L. macrochirus were more abundant in larger-watershed streams …