Poster Details
A COMPARISON OF HISTORICAL AND CURRENT MACROINVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES IN THE GRAND CALUMET RIVER AREA OF CONCERN, INDIANA
More than 150 years of industrial and chemical manufacturing, channelization and urbanization have resulted in extensive degradation of the Grand Calumet River (GCR) basin, a small (175 km2) watershed in northwest Indiana flowing into southern Lake Michigan and the Illinois River Basin. The GCR basin has been designated as a Great Lakes Area of Concern (AOC) requiring a Remedial Action Plan to improve 12 current beneficial use impairments (BUIs). The Indiana Department of Environmental Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Indiana Department of Natural Resources conducted intensive biomonitoring surveys in 2013 and 2015 collecting fish and macroinvertebrate communities, fish and sediment contaminants, sediment toxicity data, in-situ water chemistry and habitat information at numerous locations in the GCR AOC. Comparison of current macroinvertebrate communities in the GCR with results from nearly 50 previous years of sampling indicate that recent sediment removal and capping remediation projects have generally been effective in improving the diversity of macroinvertebrates in the GCR AOC. However, while macroinvertebrate communities in sections of the GCR AOC have improved, overall they have not met requirements for the removal of BUIs relating to the degradation of benthos.
Paul D. McMurray Jr. (Primary Presenter/Author), Indiana Department of Environmental Management, paul.mcmurray79@gmail.com;
Dr. Daniel W. Sparks (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serivce, daniel_sparks@fws.gov;
James R. Stahl (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Indiana Department of Environmental Management, jstahl@idem.in.gov;
Anne L. Kominowski (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Indiana Department of Environmental Management, aremek@idem.in.gov;
Dr. James R. Smith (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Indiana Department of Environmental Management, ewefishfarm@gmail.com;