HR: 11:00h
AN: NB42D-03    [Abstracts]
TI: Stream Restoration Effects on an Impaired Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community in a Small Coastal Plain Stream in Johnston County, North Carolina.
AU: * Price, G W
EM: gprice@buckengineering.com
AF: Buck Engineering, 8000 Regency Parkway Suite 200, Cary, NC 27511 United States
AU: Roessler, C E
EM: croessler@buckengineering.com
AF: Buck Engineering, 8000 Regency Parkway Suite 200, Cary, NC 27511 United States
AB: Pre- and post-construction benthic macroinvertebrate community data were collected from a recently restored small coastal plain stream in North Carolina. Metrics for comparing two sites, a restoration and a reference reach, included total and EPT taxa richness, total and EPT biotic indices (BIs), and EPT abundance. Initially, the restoration site scored worse than the reference site on every metric and indicated an impaired status for biological integrity, the stream's primary designated use. Two years after restoration, metric values for the restoration site have improved, while those for the reference site remained stable. EPT taxa richness has nearly doubled from 7 to 13 taxa, exceeding that of the reference site. However, BIs at the restoration site, while improving, remain worse than those of the reference site, suggesting that the restoration site community has not yet stabilized. This conclusion is supported by the lesser number of shredders found at the restoration site than the reference site. However, it is anticipated that the restoration shredder population will grow as organic matter input from maturing riparian vegetation increases. These observations suggest that stream restoration can be an effective management tool for restoring biological integrity, as measured by benthic macroinvertebrate communities.
DE: 9810 New fields (not classifiable under other headings)
SC: North American Benthological Society [NB]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly