2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference
March 13 - 15, 2022
6/06/2017 | 12:15 PM - 12:30 PM | Structural and Functional Effects of Mining on Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Communities in Surface Mined Streams of the Cumberland Mountains in East Tennessee | 302C
Structural and Functional Effects of Mining on Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Communities in Surface Mined Streams of the Cumberland Mountains in East Tennessee
Recovery of streams impacted by contour strip mining in the New River watershed of the Cumberland Mountains of eastern Tennessee was assessed using Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Multimetric Macroinvertebrate Index. Bioassessments from the present study were compared to those from 2008, 2011, and 2016. Study sites included nine previously mined and two never-mined headwater streams. To assess differences in macroinvertebrate community function we performed a mixed-model ANOVA testing differences in relative abundances of functional feeding groups among treatments. A mixed model ANOVA was also used to test for differences in Shannon-Weaver diversity among treatments. Bioassessments characterized two of the mined streams as “slightly impaired” and remaining streams as “not impaired”. Other recent bioassessments generally found no impairment, but collector-gatherer were found to approach a significant difference (p=0.055) among treatments. Although no significant difference in predator abundance was detected among treatments (p=0.22), predators were more abundant in streams draining previously mined watersheds. Shannon-Weaver diversity has increased in mined streams over time, as predicted by previous researchers, and is similar to that of reference streams (p=0.21).
- C03 Invertebrates
- C22 Disturbance
- C17 Bioassessment
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Presenters/Authors
Gordon Counts
(), Austin Peay State University, gcounts@my.apsu.edu;
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Joseph R. Schiller
(), Austin Peay State University, schillerj@apsu.edu;
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