HR: 13:30h
AN: NB23B-01    [Abstracts]
TI: Similarities and Differences Between Headwater Streams in the Mountains and Piedmont of North Carolina
AU: * Eaton, L
EM: larry.eaton@ncmail.net
AF: North Carolina Division of Water Quality, 2321 Crabtree Blvd Suite 250, Raleigh, NC 27609 United States
AB: Biological sampling has been underway in headwater streams in the North Carolina Piedmont for two years and in Mountain headwater streams for one. Streams in the mountains usually started at springs, whereas most piedmont streams are fed by surface water runoff. Watersheds above springs, both mountain and piedmont, were smaller (mean 4 acres) than surface water streams in both regions (mean 19 acres). While taxa richness at perennial mountain headwater sites was similar (mean 38 taxa/sample) to piedmont perennial sites (mean 35), macroinvertebrate abundance in the mountains (mean 540 organisms/sample) was nearly double the sample abundance in the piedmont (mean 295). In both ecoregions winter/spring peaks in taxa richness and abundance were observed. Intermittent segments in the mountains were rare, but occurred as wet weather springs, while in the piedmont, intermittent segments were stream channels above perennial reaches. In both types, taxa richness and abundance were very low when the channel was dry, but were only slightly below levels found in perennial segments when wet. There were few species confined to intermittent reaches. Most taxa collected in intermittent reaches were also found downstream in perennial reaches, however some groups (e.g. mayflies, caddisflies, odonates, megaloptera) were rarely found in intermittent segments.
DE: 1860 Runoff and streamflow
SC: North American Benthological Society [NB]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly