2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference

March 13 - 15, 2022

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5/27/2021  |   2:00 PM - 3:30 PM   |  SEASONAL PERIPHYTON RESPONSE TO LOW-LEVEL NUTRIENT EXPOSURE IN A LEAST-DISTURBED MOUNTAIN STREAM, THE BUFFALO RIVER, ARKANSAS   |  Virtual Platform

SEASONAL PERIPHYTON RESPONSE TO LOW-LEVEL NUTRIENT EXPOSURE IN A LEAST-DISTURBED MOUNTAIN STREAM, THE BUFFALO RIVER, ARKANSAS

The Buffalo River in Arkansas generally has excellent water quality, but water quality concerns were magnified in 2013 when a large confined animal feeding operation(CAFO)was established in the Big Creek watershed. From June 2017 to February 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey collected monthly nutrient samples and seasonal periphyton samples at a site on Big Creek downstream of the CAFO, two Buffalo River control sites upstream of the confluence with Big Creek, and three test sites downstream of the confluence with Big Creek. Nutrient and periphyton data exhibited more temporal than spatial variability. Although nutrient concentrations were generally highest at the Big Creek site, concentrations at the three test sites were low (near laboratory reporting limits) and rarely exceeded concentrations of the two upstream control sites. Although an index developed with three periphyton metrics suggested that ecological conditions at control sites were slightly more favorable compared to test sites, scouring of periphyton during high flows often exceeded the potential positive effects that low-level nutrients had on productivity. These findings emphasize the importance of data collection across extended temporal scales, particularly when working with low-level nutrient gradients.

  • Stressor
  • Ecohydrology
  • Energy flows

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Presenters/Authors

Billy Justus (), USGS, Little Rock, AR, bjustus@usgs.gov;


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Lucas Driver (), USGS, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center, ldriver@usgs.gov;


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David Burge (), Science Museum of Minnesota, dburge@smm.org ;


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