HR: 15:45h
AN: NB24B-02    [Abstracts]
TI: An Examination of the Importance of Terrestrial Food Sources in the Diets of Fishes in Three Piedmont North Carolina Urban Streams
AU: * Northington, R M
EM: rmnorthi@uncg.edu
AF: University of North Carolina-Greensboro, 312 Eberhart Building, Greensboro, NC 27402 United States
AU: Hershey, A E
EM: aehershe@uncg.edu
AF: University of North Carolina-Greensboro, 312 Eberhart Building, Greensboro, NC 27402 United States
AB: Urban streams are greatly impacted by runoff, construction, and the loss of riparian buffers. Past studies have shown the importance of terrestrial subsidies to aquatic communities in pristine, non-urban systems. During the summer of 2004, I examined how urban stream fish communities are impacted by the degradation of streamside vegetation, which typically provides allochthanous input into their diets. North and South Buffalo Creeks in Greensboro, NC and Little Sugar Creek in Charlotte, NC were used in this study. Stable isotope natural abundances of periphyton, CPOM, benthic and drifting macroinvertebrates, terrestrial macroinvertebrates, seston, FBOM, and fish were examined in restored, unrestored, and forested sites on each stream. Macroinvertebrate samples were also taken for NCBI and EPT. Seston, periphyton, and FBOM showed significant site type differences in isotopic composition in the forested reaches. Fish data also show a significant effect of site type on isotopic composition, with forested sites showing the most dramatic differences. These data suggest that, thus far, these urban stream restorations efforts have not resulted in significant restoration of riparian subsidies to the fish community. The results of this study should be considered in stream restoration projects, which attempt to bring about a rejuvenation of aquatic communities.
DE: 1803 Anthropogenic effects
DE: 1860 Runoff and streamflow
DE: 9902 NABS Student Award Applied Research
SC: North American Benthological Society [NB]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly