Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2012KY198B

Quantifying benthic macroinvertebrate communities and habitat in a recently restored stream in eastern Kentucky

Institute: Kentucky
Year Established: 2012 Start Date: 2012-03-01 End Date: 2013-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $4,138 Total Non-Federal Funds: $8,676

Principal Investigators: Amy Braccia

Project Summary: The purpose of this project is to begin long-term studies of benthic macroinvertebrates (primarily aquatic insects) and aspects of their habitat in a recently restored stream in eastern Kentucky. Benthic organic matter and inorganic substrates are important variables that are known to influence the abundance and distribution of macroinvertebrates in streams. Sampling methods will result in simultaneous collections of macroinvertebrates, benthic organic matter, and inorganic substrate, which is an approach that is not used in most monitoring studies. Quantitative methods will allow us to relate densities and community measures of macroinvertebrates to changes in benthic habitat as the macroinvertebrate community becomes established in the restored stream. The objective is to quantify and compare the benthic macroinvertebrate communities and benthic habitat (inorganic substrate and benthic organic matter) between a channelized stream (pre-restoration reference site) and a recently restored stream (restoration site; Slabcamp Creek).