Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Study Of Periphyton, Sediment And Diatom Community Structure As Monitors Of Heavy Metal Pollution In The Embarras River And Brushy Fork, David L. Vaultonburg

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate periphyton (diatom) and sediment heavy metal content and diatom community structure as potential monitors of heavy metal pollution in the upper reaches of the Embarras River system. The study was initiated due to recent industrialization in the area which could potentially contribute to the present heavy metal burden of Brushy Fork and the Embarras River. These streams are already subject to agricultural runoff, wastewater plant effluent, landfill leachate and other miscellaneous urban and highway runoff. The Embarras River system drains an area of approximately 2800 square miles in 11 east-central Illinois counties …

The Distribution And Relative Abundance Of Aquatic Oligochaeta In The Upper Cache River System, Southern Illinois, In Relation To Water Quality, Mark Julian Wetzel

Masters Theses

Species composition, distribution, abundance, and water quality relationships of aquatic oligochaetes occurring in the upper Cache River system, southern Illinois were investigated. Forty-two taxa of oligochaetes including 16 naidids, 22 tubificids and representatives of the families Aeolosomatidae, Branchiobdellidae, Enchytraeidae, and Lumbriculidae were collected. Four species of oligochaetes new to Illinois, Limnodrilus psammophilus Loden, L. rubripenis Loden, Psammoryctides (Spencerius) californianus Brinkhurst, and Haemonais waldvogeli Bretscher were collected during this study. Another species of Limnodrilus new to science is reported here, as yet undescribed. The thesis that aquatic oligochaetes can be used as true water quality indicator organisms is rejected. It is …

Analysis Of Lead In Freshwater Clams From The Embarrass River, Coles County, Illinois, Kwaku D. Nantwi

Masters Theses

Twenty-two freshwater clams of various genera were collected by hand from two sites on the Embarrass River located at 240 meters and 400 meters downstream from the dam at Lake Charleston and at depths of .4 and 2.5 meters. Ten grams of gill tissue from each clam was prepared by furnace ashing, dissolved in 30 ml. of acid mixture and analyzed for lead content using an atomic absorption spectrometer. The average lead concentration for the clams was 3.60 ppm, while that of the ambient water was 0.33 ppm indicating that these local bivalves show a lead biocentration of about ten …

Use Of Fishes And Macroinvertebrates In The Assessment Of Water Quality In An Illinois Stream Receiving Sewage Effluents, Robert George Mosher

Masters Theses

Kickapoo Creek is a medium sized, warm water stream located in the central part of Coles County, Illinois. The creek is the receiving stream for the sewage effluent of the cities of Mattoon and Charleston which recently began treating sewage to the tertiary level. In 1967-70, the fish population of the creek was intensively surveyed at a time when a less advanced method of sewage treatment was employed. This study provided a baseline of information from which a portion of the present study is founded.

Fish were collected from 5 sampling stations utilizing capture techniques comparable with those used in …

A Survey Of The Water Quality And Fishes Of Rocky Branch Nature Preserve, Clark County, Illinois, Larry J. Decker

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Rate Of Growth As A Method Of Assessing Water Quality, George L. Johnston

Masters Theses

A study of the Embarras River basin was conducted to determine if rate of growth could be used as an indicator of water quality. Six species of sucker were collected from five locations using hand seines and electrofishing gear from December 1970 to December 1971. Tests of eighteen water quality parameters were conducted from November 1970 to November 1971.

The fish were measured and scale samples taken. The rate of growth of the fish taken at the five stations was analyzed and compared using the single classification analysis of variance. Condition factors were also compared.

Although there was some difference …

Biomonitoring Of Organochlorine Insecticides Using The Clam, Amblema Plicata, Terry M. Hogan

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.