Aquatic invertebrate monitoring at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield: 1996–2016 status report
David EB, Cribbs JT, Hinsey JA, Williams JM. 2020. Aquatic invertebrate monitoring at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield: 1996–2016 status report. Natural Resource Report. NPS/HTLN/NRR—2020/2204. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/nrr-2282120
Aquatic invertebrates are an important tool for understanding and detecting changes in ecosystem integrity over time. Invertebrate and habitat samples were collected from Wilson’s Creek, Skegg’s Branch, and Terrell Creek at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, and data were compared to previous years. Three invertebrate samples were collected per riffle, resulting in nine samples per stream. A Surber stream bottom sampler was used to collect the samples. Diversity and community metrics calculated for the invertebrate communities included taxa rich-ness; Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera, Plecoptera (EPT) richness; EPT ratio (EPT/[EPT + Chironomidae]); Shan-non diversity index; Shannon evenness index; and Hilsenhoff biotic index (HBI). These metrics are considered sufficiently sensitive to detect potential pollution problems in streams throughout the region. Additionally, the Missouri Stream Condition Index (SCI) was used to compare the invertebrate communities to reference stream conditions in the region. Metric and diversity values for samples collected in 2016 fell within their respective control limits, with the exception of the Shannon evenness index for Skegg’s Branch. SCI values for all three streams exceeded 16, indicating the streams were fully biologically supporting at the time of sampling. Urbaniza-tion in the Wilson’s Creek and Skegg’s Branch watersheds continues to threaten those resources.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- David, E.; Cribbs, J.; Hinsey, Janice; Williams, Jeff
- Date of Issue
- 2020-12
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.36967/nrr-2282120
- Units
- HTLN , NRSS , WICR
- Keywords
- aquatic invertebrates, water quality, wilson's creek national battlefield
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Aquatic Macroinvertebrates and Algae