The Impact of Anthropogenic Pollution to Stream Communities Vincent Riemer Bio 1010-03 !Purpose/Hypothesis !The purpose of this lab is to compare the stream ecologies of the Kromme Kill and Fox Creek

streams and come to a conclusion as to whether or not anthropogenic impacts aect the

structure of the invertebrate community. We will be looking at the benthic macro-

invertebrates, or animals without a backbone which can be seen with the naked eye and live at

the bottom of a body of water, which are good indicators of stream quality because certain

species of benthic macro-invertebrates are pollution resistant and others are not. Specically,

the Plecoptera, Ephemeroptera, and Tricoptera (EPT) are helpful to indicate the quality of the

water within the stream because they are sensitive to pollution. I hypothesize that the EPT

index of the Fox Creek, an unimpacted stream, will be signicantly dierent and higher than

the EPT index of the Kromme Kill, a highly impacted stream.

!Materials and Methods !The samples required to complete the lab were collected using the kick sampling method. The

kick sampling method involves using a Surber Fauna Bottom Sampler which is secured to the

stream using rocks. Once secured, the lab assistants move 5 meters upstream and begin

kicking the streambed while moving towards the collection location. This means that the test

will give an idea of the organisms that can be found within a 10 meter length of the stream. The

kicking will kick up the streambed into the stream current where it gets collected by the

Surber Fauna Bottom Sampler. This procedure was done at The Kromme Kill, an impacted

stream, and Fox Creek, a pristine stream.

!After the samples were brought to the lab, we then began identifying macro-invertebrates.

Each lab group is then given a portion of the sample which is placed into a tray. Then the

groups looked through the tray looking for organisms. Upon nding one, the organism is then

transferred from the tray to a petrie dish for further examination under a microscope. If the

identied organism was one of note, then a photo was taken of the organism through the

microscope. Ive included photographs of Black Flies, an Earthworm, an Ephemeroptera, a

Midge, and a Plecoptera.

For assessing the stream quality we made note of the number & kinds of organisms found

within the entire lab and used those results to calculate the Shannon Diversity Index and

Evenness Index. The Shannon Index tells us the number of species present and the evenness

of each individual species throughout the community. The equation used to calculate this

value is :

!!

The equation we used to calculate the evenness value is:

!!

Instead of looking at all of the organisms found we can look at just the pollution sensitive

organisms and calculate an EPT (Ephemeropera, Plecoptera, and Trichopera) Index to

determine the quality of the stream. The equation used to calculate the EPT Index is:

!!

!!

H = P pi ln pi

J = HHmax =H

ln(s)

!Once we calculate the EPT Index of each of the streams we can compare the two to determine

the stream quality of them and conrm or reject our initial hypothesis.

!Results !In our own lab, we found 11 taxa and 144 total organisms in the Fox Creek stream. For the

Kromme Kill stream we found a total of 127 organisms and 13 taxa. In Fox Creek there was an

primarily an abundance of Stoneies, Mayies, and Flies. The Kromme stream had specically

a very high number of Midges. Looking at Table 1 we can see for Fox Creek an H value of

1.6823, a J value of 0.7016, and an EPT Index of 57.6. In the same table we can also see for

Kromme Kill stream an H value of 1.7286, a J value of 0.6739, and an EPT index of 13.39.

!In Table 2 we can see the average results from all the lab sections which went through the

same lab. For Fox Creek there was an average of 11 taxa, 154 organisms, 1.9160 for an H

value, 0.8058 for a J value, and 40.7555 for an EPT Index. In Kromme Kill there was an average

of 13.5 taxa, 191 organisms, 1.7647 H value, 0.6823 J value, and a 9.8587 EPT index.

!Lastly, to compare the results from the two streams we calculated the T-test values for the H,

J and EPT Index values. The result for the H-values was 0.1051 which means the dierence is

insignicant. The result for the J-Values was 0.005865 which is highly signicant. Lastly, the

result for the EPT index was 0.0000586 which is also highly signicant.

!!

Figures and Tables!!TABLE 1 - SECTION RESULTS

Taxon Fox Creek

Pi lnPi Pi(lnPi)Odonata - Dragonflies, damselflies 11 0.076 -2.572 0.196

Ephemeroptera - Mayflies 37 0.257 -1.359 0.349

Plecoptera- Stoneflies 45 0.313 -1.163 0.363Trichoptera - Caddisflies (case-building) 1 0.007 -4.970 0.035Trichoptera - Caddisflies (net/free-living) 6 0.042 -3.178 0.132 EPT INDEX - FOX CREEK

Hemiptera - Bugs 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 Ephmeroptera 37

Diptera - Fly larvae, flies 35 0.243 -1.414 0.344Plecoptera- Stoneflies 45

Diptera - Chironomidae - Midges 4 0.028 -3.584 0.100

Trichoptera - Caddisflies (case-building) 1

Coleoptera - Beetles 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 Total EPT 83

Megaloptera - Dobsonflies 2 0.014 -4.277 0.059 EPT INDEX = 57.6

Decapoda - Crayfish 0 0.000 0.000 0.000Amphipoda - Amphipod crustaceans 1 0.007 -4.970 0.035

Isopoda - Sow Bugs 0 0.000 0.000 0.000

Gastropoda - Snails 1 0.007 -4.970 0.035

Nematoda - Round Worms 1 0.007 -4.970 0.035Annelida -Segmented Worms 0 0.000 0.000 0.000

Arachnida - Spiders 0 0.000 0.000 0.000

Collembola - Springtails 0 0.000 0.000 0.000Maxillopoda - Copepod crustaceans 0 0.000 0.000 0.000Platyhelmenthes - planaria 0 0.000 0.000 0.000Total Number of Organisms 144

Total Taxa 11 H= 1.6823

J= 0.7016

Taxon Kromme Kill

Pi lnPi Pi(lnPi)Odonata - Dragonflies, damselflies 1 0.008 -4.844 0.038Ephemeroptera - Mayflies 2 0.016 -4.151 0.065

Plecoptera- Stoneflies 15 0.118 -2.136 0.252Trichoptera - Caddisflies (case-building)

00.000 0.000 0.000

Trichoptera - Caddisflies (net/free-living)

130.102 -2.279 0.233 EPT INDEX - KROMME KILL

Hemiptera - Bugs 0 0.000 0.000 0.000Ephmeroptera 2

Diptera - Fly larvae, flies

140.110 -2.205 0.243

Plecoptera- Stoneflies 15

Diptera - Chironomidae - Midges 63 0.496 -0.701 0.348

Trichoptera - Caddisflies (case-building) 0

Coleoptera - Beetles 4 0.031 -3.458 0.109 Total EPT 17Megaloptera - Dobsonflies 1 0.008 -4.844 0.038

EPT INDEX = 13.39

Decapoda - Crayfish 0 0.000 0.000 0.000Amphipoda - Amphipod crustaceans 2 0.016 -4.151 0.065

Isopoda - Sow Bugs 3 0.024 -3.746 0.088

Gastropoda - Snails 0 0.000 0.000 0.000Nematoda - Round Worms 0 0.000 0.000 0.000Annelida -Segmented Worms 6 0.047 -3.052 0.144

Arachnida - Spiders 1 0.008 -4.844 0.038

Collembola - Springtails 0 0.000 0.000 0.000

!TABLE 2 - CLASS RESULTS

Maxillopoda - Copepod crustaceans 2 0.016 -4.151 0.065Platyhelmenthes - planaria 0 0.000 0.000 0.000Total Number of Organisms 127

Total Taxa 13 H= 1.7286

J= 0.6739

Fox - Thacher Park

Section # Species # Organisms H J EPT Index01 - Calvin 12 160 2.0263 0.8154 35.601 - Dr. Michelena 10 71 1.9321 0.8391 25.403 - Christine 11 100 1.9967 0.8327 39.003 - Dr. Michelena 11 144 1.6823 0.7016 57.604 - Alex 14 217 2.0522 0.7776 38.204 - Sameer 8 232 1.8062 0.8686 48.7

Averages 11.0000 154.0000 1.9160 0.8058 40.7555

Kromme Kill - Albany Rural Cemetery

Section # Species # Organisms H J EPT Index01 - Calvin 14 240 1.8551 0.7029 9.601 - Dr. Michelena 12 135 1.8553 0.7466 10.403 - Christine 12 120 1.8642 0.7502 10.803 - Dr. Michelena 13 127 1.7286 0.6739 13.404 - Alex 18 365 1.8077 0.6254 9.304 - Sameer 12 159 1.4773 0.5945 5.7

Averages 13.5000 191.0000 1.7647 0.6823 9.8587

!!!!

!!FIGURE 1 : PLECOPTERA - STONEFLY

P-value

T-test for H-values: 0.1051

T-test for J-values: 0.005865

T-test for EPT Index: 0.0000586

FIGURE 2 : DIPTERA - MIDGE

!!FIGURE 3 : EPHEMEROPTERA - MAYFLY

!FIGURE 4 : ANNELIDA - EARTHWORM

!FIGURE 5 : DIPTERA - BLACKFLY

!FIGURE 6 : DIPTERA - BLACKFLY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!FIGURE 7 : ORGANISMS FOUND IN FOX CREEK AND THE KROMME KILL !Discussion !The dierences in the two streams only seems to manifest in the the evenness and EPT

indexes. I think that because the Shannon Diversity Index isnt specic enough and the total

populations for both creeks could likely be the same. According to Figure 8 The most

abundant taxons in Fox Creek stream were the Plecoptera and Ephemeroptera and while

Kromme Kill also has Plecoptera as one of its most abundant taxon, the Diptera Taxon is more

abundant by a large margin. Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera are pollution sensitive so their

abundant presence in Fox Creek but not Kromme Kill suggests that Kromme Kill is a polluted

stream. This is further conrmed when you look at Table 2 , more specically the EPT Indexes,

Num

ber o

f Org

anism

s

0

35

70

Taxon Name

Hem

ipter

a

Coleo

pter

a

Deca

poda

Isopo

da

Anne

lida

Arac

hnida

Colle

mbo

la

Max

illopo

da

Plat

yhelm

enth

es

Trich

opte

ra (c

ase)

Amph

ipoda

Gastr

opod

a

Nem

atod

a

Meg

alopt

era

Dipt

era

- Midg

es

Trich

opte

ra (f

ree)

Odon

ata

Dipt

era

- F

ly lar

vae,

flies

Ephe

mer

opte

ra

Plec

opte

ra

Fox Creek Kromme Kill

the higher EPT Index in Fox Creek means that it is less polluted than Kromme Kill. Considering

what we care about the streams is its water quality it would make sense to only look at the

organisms that are aected by the presence of pollution and that is exactly what the EPT

Index provides, and its the results of the EPT Index with supports the hypothesis that a creeks

water quality is reected in the organisms present in its community.

!Mayies are a pollution sensitive organism which is interesting because of its extremely short

adult life span. Even though the organisms nymph stage usually lasts around a year, the adult

lifespan of a mayy is around 1 day. The mayy has six legs, an undivided thorax, gills, 3 tails,

and 1 pair of wing pads. During the nymph stage the mayy uses gills to get dissolved oxygen.

This is important towards the pollution sensitivity that the mayy has because when theres

pollution present in the stream where it lives, that pollution can obstruct the gills of the mayy

and keep it from properly getting oxygen. This feature is also common in the stoney which is

also considered to be a pollution sensitive species.

!Blackies are pollution tolerant as they do not rely on oxygen obtained through the use of gills

as the organisms in the previous paragraph. Blackies have a bowling pin shape and use

hooks to attached to the substrate of the stream. They then use their two fans on their head

(and around their mouths) to catch passing debris for nutrients. From this behavior Im actually

confused that it is classied as a pollution tolerant organism because it would most likely pick

up the pollution as debris and cause serious damage to itself in doing so. At the very least

blackies should be classied as moderately tolerant.

!Looking at Table 2 we can see that there are some dierences in stream quality based o of

the H, J, and EPT indices between the dierent sections of the entire lab. Based on the T-test,

the H-values were not signicantly dierent yet the J and EPT values were both considered

highly signicant. My hypothesis is that because total number of organisms was not

signicantly dierent between the two streams it aected the H value T test to result the way

it did but the evenness and presence of the EPT organisms was signicantly dierent. This

supports the hypothesis that Thacher Park has higher quality water both due to the fact that it

has a higher EPT index than Kromme Kill but also because the T Test determined that the

dierences were highly signicant.

!!!!!!!!