The purpose of the lab is to measure the biological diversity to assess the overall health of local streams. The more diverse the stream is with insects the healthier it is. Benthic macro-invertebrates are organisms that live underwater in streams. The Shannon diversity index is another index that is commonly used to characterize species diversity in a community. We also used an EPT index which ultimately measures the quality of the water based on the absence or presence of certain benthic macroinvertebrates. The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water. The Hester-Dendy sampler where aquatic macro-invertebrates will colonize the spaces between the rough textured plates of the sampler. The National …show more content…
Peters Creek is a 16.8-mile-long tributary of the Monongahela River and part of the Ohio River and Mississippi River watersheds, flowing through southwestern Pennsylvania. The Peters Creek watershed is a diverse fifty square miles in southwestern Allegheny County and northeastern Washington County. From the heavy industry in the east where Peters Creek enters the Monongahela River, to the commercial northeast, the suburban northern communities, and the still rural and farming south, the watershed is a veritable patchwork of land use types. There is also a county park, a turnpike, a landfill, and a coal mining legacy to add to the mix. Some communities are relatively stable while others are undergoing rapid development. Peters Creek and its tributaries provide utility to them all in a myriad of …show more content…
The stream sits approximately 1,257 feet (383 meters) above sea level. Little Salmon Creek is a small fourth order trout stream located in Forest County, Pennsylvania that is part of the Tionesta Watershed and ultimately part of the Allegheny, Ohio, and Mississippi River watershseds. The headwaters of this creek is fed by mountain springs and is void of anthropogenic pollutants with the exception of some logging roads that litter the surrounding area. This watershed is located in the heart of the Allegheny National Forest and its mouth empties into the Tionesta creek just below the small town of Kelletville, PA. This stream will serve as a baseline for our study primarily because we are already familiar with its high biodiversity and abundance of EPT's living within all stretches of the watershed. It is a great creek to drink from if you ever get
Hägglund, Å., & Sjöberg, G. (1999). Effedts of beaver dams on the fish fauna of the forest streams. Forestry Ecology and Management, 115, 259-266.
Many variations and species of plants can be found all around the world and in different habitats. These variations and characteristics are due to their adaptations to the natural habitat surrounding them. In three of many climatic zones, the arid, tropical and temperate zone, plants that vary greatly from each other are found in these locations. In this experiment, we’ll be observing the connection between the adaptations of the plants to their environment at the Fullerton Arboretum. The arboretum is a space containing numerous plants from different environments. The plants are carefully looked after and organized into their specific habitat. Therefore, we’ll be able to take a look at the plants within multiple
The PBS documentary begins by explaining the normal life cycle of salmon, focusing primarily on the sockeye salmon population. This Pacific salmon once was found abundantly in the Columbia and Snake River, but as rivers were straightened and dams were built to meet the needs of population growth the fish population has diminished by the thousands.
Kennedy, Victor S. and Kent Mountford. (2001). Human Influences on Aquatic Resources in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Darters are an important part of any stream ecosystem. They generally play the crucial role of secondary consumers, comprising most of their diet of soft-bodied animal...
Fish habitat is the underwater world which many people do not see. It is just like the world that people live. Fish and plants reproduce, eat, and live in this environment, and even face challenges such as invasive species. It is said that “Invasive species are non-native species that threaten the diversity or abundance of native species due to their uncontrollable population growth, causing ecological or economic impacts” (“Invasive” par. 1). Vegetation plays a big role for fish habitat and for a lake itself. Aquatic habitat provides living space for not only fish but also for many aquatic insects. These insects then in turn provide fish and other species of animals with food (“Native” par. 4).
Kennedy, Victor S. and Kent Mountford. (2001). Human Influences on Aquatic Resources in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
USGS. "Water Resources Inventory Area 1 Watershed Management." USGS Science for a Changing World. U.S. Geological Survey , 18 Jun 2013. Web. 7 Apr 2014. .
... the residual effects of pollution left behind by both mining in the Chesapeake Bay area around rivers, such as the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, that feed into the Chesapeake Bay. Lutz also had quoted John Dawes, now the executive director of the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, on the damage done to streams and to the aquatic life in the streams. Dawes told Lutz "'we're looking at 4,600 miles of dead streams in Pennsylvania'" in reference to the vitality in polluted regions. This can occur in several ways but the two generally accepted causes are the toxicity levels in the water are too high to support life and the contaminated water is slowly killing off members of the food chains for the aquatic life. In either theory, the death of fish and their food chain caused by AMD is impacting the billion dollar fishing industry that calls Chesapeake Bay home.
Species of fish in streams and lakes in the Hudson Plains include northern pike, walleye, and brook trout.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Environmental Health Health Studies Branch Kevin Amos, National Aquatic Animal Health Coordinator, NOAA Fisheries Salmon of the Americas SOTA is an organization of salmon-producing companies in Canada, Chile and the United States whose mission is to improve health, awareness and dining enjoyment of consumers in North America by providing timely, complete, accurate and insightful information about salmon on behalf of the member companies. Ashley Dean, Shwartz,. Mark 2003. Salmon farms pose significant threat to salmon fisheries in the Pacific Northwest, researchers find. Stanford University American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, April 2002, 76:608-613.
Mills, Scott L., Daniel F. Doak, and Michael E. Soule. "The Keystone-species Concept in Ecology and Conservation." BioScience 43.4 (1993): 219-25. Apr. 1993. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (hereafter: “CBD”) is an international treaty adopted by United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held at Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 and came into force on December 29, 1993. Initially when it came into force there were 168 members now it is 193 in total. The aim to protect biodiversity and the dramatic steps taken for conservation, sustainable use and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits attracted the world communities to become members (History of the Convention, n.d). In principle the convention on biological diversity changed the ownership concept of biodiversity protection i.e. (“common heritage of humankind”) to the “sovereign right” of each member country (Hirsch, 2012). It is the responsibility of the each member to develop and implement policies in a way that helps in the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources. It also recognizes the knowledge of local and indigenous people for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity (Brahmi et al., 2004).The article 8(j) of CBD has an important provision which gives the member state rights to “respect, preserve and maintain” traditional style and knowledge about the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. The protection must promote the wider application of such knowledge and stimulate innovation and also ensure that the benefits are shared in fair and equitable manner to the communities.
The effects of clear cutting can be felt on stream ecosystems for up to 60 years
The study area consisted of Latah and Benewoh in Idaho, USA. The research used a total of 105 sites to collect data; ranking the areas from lowest to highest elevation. The methods implemented in this research consisted of wetland sampling, mail survey and habitat modelling. The combined results allowed for better insight for the conservation of these species. The first section of the experiment consist...