Effects of Antimycin Ttreatment on Benthic Macroinvertebrates in Sams Creek and Starkey Creek, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Walker CA. 2003. Effects of Antimycin Ttreatment on Benthic Macroinvertebrates in Sams Creek and Starkey Creek, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The fish toxicant antimycin was applied to Sams Creek and Starkey Creek in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Blount/Sevier counties, Tennessee to eradicate non-native rainbow trout (Oncorhyncus mykiss). Potassium permanganate was applied downstream to detoxify the antimycin. Benthic macroinvertebrate samples were taken at 9 sites inside and outside the treatment zone before and after treatment. Numbers of taxa and individuals declined at all treatment sites in samples taken soon after treatment. Mayflies were almost completely eliminated at the station below the potassium permanganate application. Mayfly taxa and specimens at the potassium permanganate treatment site returned to pre-treatment conditions 5 months after treatment. Numbers of taxa and individuals at antimycin treatment sites returned to pre-treatment conditions and treatment sites resembled control sites 9 months after treatment. Community composition also returned to pre-treatment conditions and resembled control sites 9 months after treatment. Antimycin does not appear to have had long-term detrimental effects on benthic macroinvertebrates in this system.

Type
Academic
Authors
Walker, Craig
Date of Issue
2003-08
Units
GRSM
Keywords
antimycin, Brook Trout, Macroinvertebrates, Oncorhynchus, Rainbow Trout, Salvelinus, thesis
Subjects
Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Aquatic Macroinvertebrates and Algae , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Freshwater Communities

Browse the catalog