Aquatic invertebrate monitoring at George Washington Carver National Monument: 2005-2007 Report.

Bowles, D

In the late 1980’s, the National Park Service (NPS) began an intensive program to monitor water quality and invertebrate community structure in prairie streams at several midwestern parks. Included in this baseline study was George Washington Carver National Monument (GWCA). Some preliminary monitoring was conducted at GWCA in 1988 and 1996, but monitoring was discontinued thereafter. These previous sampling efforts suggested that stream condition at gwca was not impaired. Monitoring was re-initiated at GWCA in 2005 based on a monitoring protocol developed by the heartland network using revised methodology from previous protocols. The objectives of current monitoring are to: 1) determine the status and trends of invertebrate species diversity, abundance, and community metrics, and 2) relate the invertebrate community to overall water quality through quantification of metrics related to species richness, abundance, diversity, and region-specific multi-metric indices as indicators of water quality and habitat condition.water quality, habitat, and invertebrate community metrics were generally consistent among sampling years and streams sampled. Although some minor differences were observed, they most likely are not biologically important. The data currently are insufficient to determine trends in the resource although they suggest that stream condition at GWCA is relatively unimpaired. Additional monitoring data will allow a more extensive analysis for trends. Based on the calculated invertebrate metrics as a whole and supporting habitat and water quality information, it appears that stream condition at GWCA is generally good, although there may be some mild impairment attributed to activities in the watersheds outside the park boundaries.

Aquatic invertebrate monitoring at George Washington Carver National Monument: 2005-2007 Report.

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