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The Streamers:The Streamers:The Effect of Environmental The Effect of Environmental
Stress on Vulnerable Stress on Vulnerable StreamsStreams
Elizabeth Nellums, Mark Momper, Elizabeth Nellums, Mark Momper, Craig Riffle, Jesse MurphyCraig Riffle, Jesse Murphy
IntroductionIntroduction
Our group set out to explore the way that drought affects streams that are damaged from pollution and compare them to undamaged streams that have also been negatively impacted by drought.
HypothesisHypothesis Our hypothesis is that the diversity of both streams will be statistically lowered due to the drought, but that Collins Run, a stream that was affected by human development, will be statistically more damaged than Harkers Run, which flows through a preserve.
PurposePurpose
The purpose of our experiment is to measure the effects the recent drought has had, using diversity as an indicator of health. We will compare the data we collect to the research done by the Fishbusters lab group in 2001, which acts as our control, since it gives us the streams health when there was no drought. The Fishbusters lab group measured the diversity of fish populations in Collins and Harkers Run and then compared the data between the two.
Relevance of Research QuestionRelevance of Research Question
“Once the causes of decline are addressed, the ecological resiliency . . . takes over, often leading to the dramatic
recovery of the system.”
We are testing whether or not this is true. We are seeing if damaged ecosystems are able to suffer through
environmental stress.
Specific PredictionsSpecific Predictions
- Rainfall significantly affects the diversity in an ecosystem. Due to the drought this year, the fish diversity in both Collins and Harkers Run should be less compared to a non-drought year.
- As found in the Fishbusters study, the diversity in a damagedecosystem is considerably less than in a relatively undisturbed ecosystem (2001). This should still hold true for this year.
- We predict that the diversity in the disturbed stream, Collins Run, will be more affected by this year’s drought than the undisturbed stream, Harkers Run, due to human influence.
Methods
Went to bothstreams and capturedFish using an Electric fish shocker.
Also went toStreams and siftedThrough dirt to findInvertebrates.
Collins Run Fish SampleCollins Run Fish SampleCenteral Stoneroller - 50 Emerald Shiner - 1
Bluntnosed Minnow - 39 Orange Throat Darters - 7
Creek Chub - 27 Green Sunfish - 2
Blacknosed Dace - 35 Bluegill Sunfish - 1
Silverjaw Minnow - 5 Striped Shiner - 21
Whitesucker - 7
Golden Redhorse Sucker - 1
Spotfin Shiner - 74
Harkers Run SampleHarkers Run SampleNorthern Hogsucker - 3 Carp Sucker -1
Sliverjaw Minnow - 4 Green Sunfish - 4
Golden Redhorse - 1 Whitesucker - 7
Blacknosed Dace - 38 Chubs - 105
Striped Shiner - 12 Central Stoneroller - 85
Mimic Shiner - 2 Bluntnose - 57
Spotfin Shiner - 4
Orange throat Darters - 7
Harkers run present black redhorse sucker
blacknosed dace
bluegill sunfish
bluntnosed minnow
carp sucker
centeral stoneroller
creek chub
emerald shiner
Fantail Darter
golden redhorse sucker
Green Side Darter
green sunfish
hog suckers(n)
hybrid sunfish (stress)
Long ears
mimic shiner
Northern Hogsucker
orange throat darter
rainbow darter
red belly dace
silverjaw minnow
small mouth bass
spotfin shiner
striped shiner
whitesucker
Harkers Run Present
Collins run presentblack redhorse sucker
blacknosed dace
bluegill sunfish
bluntnosed minnow
carp sucker
centeral stoneroller
creek chub
emerald shiner
Fantail Darter
golden redhorse sucker
Green Side Darter
green sunfish
hog suckers(n)
hybrid sunfish (stress)
Long ears
mimic shiner
Northern Hogsucker
orange throat darter
rainbow darter
red belly dace
silverjaw minnow
small mouth bass
spotfin shiner
Collins Run Present
Index of Similarity = .889
Describes how similar the two measured streams are to each other. 0=Not Similar, 1=Similar
Shannon Index of General Diversity
Harkers = .7901Collins = .9076
Describes how diverse the stream is. 0=Not Diverse, 1=Very Diverse
Index of Dominance
Harkers = .2135Collins = .1649
Describes how much the stream is dominated by individual species.
Total Number of Fish Number of Species
Fishbusters
Collins’ Run
409 22
Fishbusters
Harkers’ Run
310 16
Streamers
Collins’ Run
270 13
Streamers
Harkers’ Run
332 15
Present & Past Comparison
Shannon Index of General Diversity
Fishbusters: Harkers = .888Fishbusters: Collins= .784
“Streamers”: Harkers = .790“Streamers”: Collins = .908
Fishbusters, Collins’ runTotal number of fish: 409Number of species: 22Dominant: central stonerollerBlacknosed daceCreek chubLeast dominant: bluegill, greensunfish, hogsuckers, hybrid sunfish, longears, redbellydace, smallmouth bassSpotfin shiner number: 11 (low)
Fishbusters, Harkers runTotal number of fish: 310Number of species: 16Dominant: redbelly daceMimic shinerBlacknosed daceNumber of chubs: 14 (low)Least dominant: bluegill, hogsuckers, striped shiners, white suckers
day two, Harkers, present -total: 332number of species: 15dominant: chubscentral stonerollerbluntnosedleast: carpsucker/redhorse
Collins' Run Invertebrate Sampling Results
Type 1 Taxa Type 2 Taxa Type 3 Taxa Invasive Species
Caddis Fly Larvae Crayfish Aquatic Worms ClamsOther Snails Damselfly Nymphs SlugsRifle Beetles
Harkers' Run Invertebrate Sampling Results
Type 1 Taxa Type 2 Taxa Type 3 Taxa Invasive Species
Rifle Beetles Damselfly NymphsAquatic WormsSnails Dragonfly Nymphs