EARLY HEARING DETECTION AND INTERVENTION VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
MARCH 2-5, 2021
(Virtually the same conference, without elevators, airplane tickets, or hotel room keys)
5/24/2021 | 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM | Macroinvertebrate and benthic algae recovery after abandoned mine remediation in a Pennsylvania headwater stream | Virtual Platform
Macroinvertebrate and benthic algae recovery after abandoned mine remediation in a Pennsylvania headwater stream
Acid-mine drainage (AMD) has caused significant ecological damage in the Appalachian Region. Iron pyrite exposed during coal mining increases acidity and metal concentrations in streams, which could be detrimental to biology. While remediation is generally effective, why ecosystem components recover at different rates remains uncertain. The Bear Run Watershed presents an ideal study where the fish community and water quality have improved following remediation, but macroinvertebrate recolonization has been slow. To examine whether substrate embeddedness and metal precipitates on substrate are impairing recovery, we sampled macroinvertebrates and algae on artificial and natural substrates in AMD and unimpaired stream reaches in fall 2019. We predicted that algae and macroinvertebrates in AMD reaches would colonize artificial substrates because they lack the metal precipitates that embed natural sediments. While there was no difference in algal responses between AMD and unimpaired reaches, macroinvertebrate abundance showed a trend toward a reach-substrate interaction. This may indicate that the macroinvertebrates are available to recolonize recovering stream reaches, but substrate quality is preventing them from increasing in abundance. We recommend further exploration of how substrate embeddedness caused by metal precipitates may impair macroinvertebrate recolonization after coal mine remediation.
- Stream restoration
- Vertebrates
- Contaminants
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Presenters/Authors
Alexa Hershberger
(), Indiana University of Pennsylvania, JLWY@iup.edu;
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David Janetski
(), Indiana University of Pennsylvania, janetski@iup.eud;
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Tom Clark
(), Susquehanna River Basic Commission, tclark@srbc.net;
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