Poster Details
USING FUNCTIONAL TRAIT METRICS TO MONITOR SHORT-TERM CHANGES IN MACROINVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES FOLLOWING RESTORATION OF AGRICULTURALLY IMPAIRED STREAMS
Changes in physical habitat and water quality of freshwater ecosystems as a result of degradation are reflected in the taxonomic and functional trait composition of biological communities. The response of biological communities to perturbation and recovery following management is an important and informative component of biomonitoring. Efforts to monitor restored streams however are rare and often short in duration. Thus, additional metrics documenting improvements shortly after project implementation could serve to improve assessment and inform restoration efforts. Changes in functional composition (feeding or habit organization) of insect communities may occur over shorter time scales than conventional metrics and may serve to more immediately inform projected success of restoration efforts. This study details the results from a field survey of three agricultural streams in central Pennsylvania one year prior and three-four years after undergoing restoration. We compared taxonomic and functional trait diversity between sites along the same stream as well as between streams of restored, unmanaged, and near pristine condition. As biotic indices reflective of the invertebrate community have shown little improvement, our goal is to investigate changes in functional trait diversity that may provide insight about biological responses to restoration.
Catherine Bille (Primary Presenter/Author), Stroud Water Research Center, kbille@stroudcenter.org;
Matthew McTammany (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Bucknell University, mmctamma@bucknell.edu;
Jonathan Niles (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Susquehanna University, niles@susqu.edu;
Michael Bilger (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Susquehanna University, mdbilger@verizon.net;
Matthew Wilson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Susquehanna University, mjw029@bucknell.edu;