PA Stream Degradation with Aquatic Insects as a Guide. (Video)
L
lycoflyfisher
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Thanks for sharing this was a great presentation. I agree with many of Mr. Jackson's points. There are still too many farm animals in and along our streams. Paired with farming, and urban activity encroaching right up to the stream bank is a widespread problem.
I also appreciated the slide looking at new chemicals that are affecting our streams and groundwater. Along with new herbicides a d pesticides, I believe pharmaceuticals present a major challenge that that few if any agencies want to touch. Forget improper disposal just the act of taking all the medicines we do in society, those chemicals end up in our urine and there is very little treatment available at this time to remove those chemicals from our wastewater. Consider how common birth control is now to just 20 years ago, consider how common other prescriptions are as well.
I also appreciated the slide looking at new chemicals that are affecting our streams and groundwater. Along with new herbicides a d pesticides, I believe pharmaceuticals present a major challenge that that few if any agencies want to touch. Forget improper disposal just the act of taking all the medicines we do in society, those chemicals end up in our urine and there is very little treatment available at this time to remove those chemicals from our wastewater. Consider how common birth control is now to just 20 years ago, consider how common other prescriptions are as well.
afishinado
Moderator
Staff member
^ Excellent video.
A must see.
Thanks for link.
A must see.
Thanks for link.
T
troutbert
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It's an excellent video, and raises a lot of interesting questions.
He talked about the forested riparian buffers they did on White Clay Creek. Has the diversity of aquatic invertebrates gone up on that stream? He didn't present data on that.
He focused on the causes of low invertebrate diversity from farming practices. But in urban and suburban streams with no farming, how is the insect diversity? I think that in urban streams it's low, for sure. And in many suburban streams I think it's pretty low also.
On another sub-topic, there is an assumption that all streams had a similar high level of invertebrate diversity originally. But that may not be true.
At the present time, low gradient spring creeks have lower diversity than medium gradient streams. This may be due to their physical habitats being less diverse, and so they may have had lower diversity even in their natural state.
It should be possible to test this in places in the western US that are much less disturbed, by comparing the diversity of low gradient spring creeks vs streams with higher gradients.
The large increase in use of herbicides and pesticides certainly raises a lot of questions. I didn't realize that was going up so much.
It's interesting that during the same time we're seeing organic foods appearing in all the major grocery stores, that the use of these poisons is going way up.
He talked about the forested riparian buffers they did on White Clay Creek. Has the diversity of aquatic invertebrates gone up on that stream? He didn't present data on that.
He focused on the causes of low invertebrate diversity from farming practices. But in urban and suburban streams with no farming, how is the insect diversity? I think that in urban streams it's low, for sure. And in many suburban streams I think it's pretty low also.
On another sub-topic, there is an assumption that all streams had a similar high level of invertebrate diversity originally. But that may not be true.
At the present time, low gradient spring creeks have lower diversity than medium gradient streams. This may be due to their physical habitats being less diverse, and so they may have had lower diversity even in their natural state.
It should be possible to test this in places in the western US that are much less disturbed, by comparing the diversity of low gradient spring creeks vs streams with higher gradients.
The large increase in use of herbicides and pesticides certainly raises a lot of questions. I didn't realize that was going up so much.
It's interesting that during the same time we're seeing organic foods appearing in all the major grocery stores, that the use of these poisons is going way up.
redietz
Well-known member
Excellent. Thanks for posting.
larkmark
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Assume the high use of herbicides and pesticides is related to farm use more than residential? A result of going to no till method?
M
Mike
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- Nov 10, 2006
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troutbert,
Most urban and suburban streams have fair macroinvertebrate diversity at the Family level plus some at the Class level. It is not hard to find the following in most urban streams.....Baetids, Heptagenids (2 mayflies), Gyrinids (Beetle), Hydropsychids (Caddis), Gomphids (Dragonfly), Chironomids (Midge), Gerrids, Veliids (true bugs), Planarids (planaria/ flatworms), Class Oligochaeta (Aquatic Worms), Class Gastropoda (Snails), Class Pelecypoda (Clams). While some of these could be missing from a typical urban stream survey site, a few others that I have not listed could be present, such as crayfish, but in my system of Class and Family diversity that I used for decades to provide some numerically based descriptive diversity classification, such streams with 11- 19 macroinvertebrate families/classes would have been described as having a fair diversity. The point that I would really like to make about macroinvertebrate diversity for anglers is that it can include a lot of organisms beyond mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies, and midges.
Depending upon where you are geologically or geographically, you might be able to add or substitute other common critters, such as Tricorythids, other Coleoptera (beetles), such as Psephenids (water penny), Hydroptylids or Philopotamids (Caddis), other Odonates, such as Damselflies, other Diptera, such as Tipulids (water worms/craneflies), Sialids (fishflies), other true bugs, Gammarids (scuds), Asellids (cress bugs), Spongillids (freshwater sponges), and Class Hirudinea (leeches). I have listed all of these in the paragraphs above because they can all occur (not all together in any one stream though) in a suburban or urban sampling site, but none is indicative of very good water quality, fair at best for Heptageniids, Psephenids and Hydroptilids, and Tipulids, for example.
Generally speaking, some of the other problem streams for macros that I have seen have been agricultural, not just urban or suburban streams, although the very worst have been streams in any area with poor sewage treatment plant (instead of good sewage treatment) or raw sewage discharges, ones with very bad manure problems, and streams with mine acid drainage problems.
Most urban and suburban streams have fair macroinvertebrate diversity at the Family level plus some at the Class level. It is not hard to find the following in most urban streams.....Baetids, Heptagenids (2 mayflies), Gyrinids (Beetle), Hydropsychids (Caddis), Gomphids (Dragonfly), Chironomids (Midge), Gerrids, Veliids (true bugs), Planarids (planaria/ flatworms), Class Oligochaeta (Aquatic Worms), Class Gastropoda (Snails), Class Pelecypoda (Clams). While some of these could be missing from a typical urban stream survey site, a few others that I have not listed could be present, such as crayfish, but in my system of Class and Family diversity that I used for decades to provide some numerically based descriptive diversity classification, such streams with 11- 19 macroinvertebrate families/classes would have been described as having a fair diversity. The point that I would really like to make about macroinvertebrate diversity for anglers is that it can include a lot of organisms beyond mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies, and midges.
Depending upon where you are geologically or geographically, you might be able to add or substitute other common critters, such as Tricorythids, other Coleoptera (beetles), such as Psephenids (water penny), Hydroptylids or Philopotamids (Caddis), other Odonates, such as Damselflies, other Diptera, such as Tipulids (water worms/craneflies), Sialids (fishflies), other true bugs, Gammarids (scuds), Asellids (cress bugs), Spongillids (freshwater sponges), and Class Hirudinea (leeches). I have listed all of these in the paragraphs above because they can all occur (not all together in any one stream though) in a suburban or urban sampling site, but none is indicative of very good water quality, fair at best for Heptageniids, Psephenids and Hydroptilids, and Tipulids, for example.
Generally speaking, some of the other problem streams for macros that I have seen have been agricultural, not just urban or suburban streams, although the very worst have been streams in any area with poor sewage treatment plant (instead of good sewage treatment) or raw sewage discharges, ones with very bad manure problems, and streams with mine acid drainage problems.
afishinado
Moderator
Staff member
I've lived in my development for close to 20 years and each lot is close to 2 acres....lotsa grass! When I first moved there, I don't recall anyone using a lawn service to treat their grass with herbicides for weeds and chemical fertilizers. Now, hardly a day goes by without a truck pulling up to "treat" the grass for nearly every one of my neighbor's lawns. I'm the last holdout with a lawn full of dandelions and all types weeds and crabgrass; I'm "that" neighbor I guess.
The same story as above for all the new developments that have popped up in the area in recent years in Chester County.
FYI, I live a quarter mile from Pickering Creek and no doubt the runoff from those lawns makes its way into our storm drain system and enters the stream. Yet if I took a poll, I'd guess close to 100% of the neighbor shop at the local Whole Foods store. :-?
J
JeffK
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When I lived in Illinois the fertilizer run-off was studied and suburban run-off was 5X agricultural run-off. Bottom line; farmers are businessmen with slim margins and don't want to pay for fertilizer being wasted. Suburbanites will pay huge amounts per acre to get a "perfect" lawn. Also, lawn doesn't soak in water as well as you may think. It is more like a hard surface than a forest. Soil compaction is a big issue for suburban lawns.
