Semester
Spring
Date of Graduation
2001
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
College
Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design
Department
Wood Science and Technology
Committee Chair
Kyle J. Hartman.
Abstract
Excess fine sediment negatively influences the fauna of North American streams. With the current emphasis on multiple-use forests, the question is not whether fine sediment is detrimental, but what is the threshold of fine sediment that is tolerable?;To determine a threshold tolerance of fine sediment, a two-part project investigated the influence of fine sediment upon benthic macroinvertebrates. The first part encompassed two experiments in sediment manipulation in 1999 and 2000. The experiments tested benthic macroinvertebrate metric sensitivity to a range of fine sediment treatments. The second part involved four seasonal surveys of seven streams to determine the threshold amount of fine sediment.;The fine sediment experiments revealed EPT taxa richness and % climber to be sensitive to increasing proportions of fine sediment. The stream surveys identified significant declines (p < 0.0001) in EPT taxa richness occurring when fine sediment exceeded approximately 1% of the substrate composition.
Recommended Citation
Kaller, Michael Douglas, "Effects of sediment upon benthic macroinvertebrates in forested northern Appalachian streams" (2001). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 1256.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/1256