HR: 11:45h
AN: NB22F-06    [Abstracts]
TI: Benthic macroinvertebrate populations of urban freshwater tidal wetlands in the Anacostia River, Washington D.C.
AU: * Brittingham, K D
EM: kevin_brittingham@usgs.gov
AF: USGS/PWRC, Beltsville Lab, BARC-East 308 10300 baltimore Ave, Beltsville, MD 20705 United States
AB: This study characterizes the benthic communities establishing themselves on recently reconstructed urban freshwater tidal wetlands along the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. in comparison to a similar relic wetland as well as to a reference wetland in the adjacent Patuxent River watershed. The study's focus is the two main areas of Kingman Marsh, which were reconstructed from Anacostia dredge material by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2000. Populations from this 'new' marsh are compared to those of similarly reconstructed Kenilworth Marsh (1993), as well as to the relic Dueling Creek Marsh on the Anacostia and the outside reference Patuxent Marsh in an adjacent watershed. Benthic organisms were collected using selected techniques including the Ekman bottom grab sampler, sediment corer, D-net and Hester-Dendy sampler. Samples were collected seasonally from tidal channels, tidal mudflats, three vegetation zones (low, middle and high marsh), and pools. Data collected from this study can provide valuable information on the extent that benthic macroinvertebrate communities can serve as an indicator of the relative success of freshwater tidal marsh reconstruction.
DE: 1890 Wetlands
SC: North American Benthological Society [NB]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly