Variable effects of sediment addition on stream benthos

Two upper Piedmont streams were studied to determine the effects of road construction, especially sediment inputs. Benthic macroinvertebrate data suggest that the stream community responded to sediment additions in two different ways. Under high flow conditions the benthic fauna occurs mainly on rocky substrates. As sediment is added to a stream the area of available rock habitat decreases, with a corresponding decrease in benthic density. There is, however, little change in community structure. Under low flow conditions, stable-sand areas may support high densities of certain taxa. Density of the benthic macroinvertebrates in these areas may be much greater than the density recorded in control areas, and there are distinct changes in community structure.

[1]  STREAM COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO ROAD CONSTRUCTION SEDIMENTS , 1977 .

[2]  E. Hansmann,et al.  Effects of Logging on Periphyton in Coastal Streams of Oregon , 1973 .

[3]  Douglas R. Hansen.  Effects of stream channelization on fishes and bottom fauna in the Little Sioux River, Iowa. , 1971 .

[4]  H. L. Sanders,et al.  Marine Benthic Diversity: A Comparative Study , 1968, The American Naturalist.

[5]  P. Nuttall,et al.  The effect of China-clay wastes on stream invertebrates , 1973 .

[6]  T. Piatt,et al.  Spatial heterogeneity of phytoplankton biomass and related factors in the near-surface waters of an exposed coastal embayment , 1978 .

[7]  B. Barton.  Short‐term effects of highway construction on the limnology of a small stream in southern Ontario* , 1977 .

[8]  R. Pearson,et al.  The effects of dredging operations on the benthic community of a chalk stream , 1975 .

[9]  S. Woodin.  Refuges, Disturbance, and Community Structure: A Marine Soft‐Bottom Example , 1978 .

[10]  P. Armitage.  Downstream changes in the composition, numbers and biomass of bottom fauna in the Tees below Cow Green Reservoir and in an unregulated tributary Maize Beck, in the first five years after impoundment , 1978, Hydrobiologia.

[11]  Robert M. May,et al.  Theoretical Ecology: Principles and Applications , 1981 .

[12]  B. T. Hart,et al.  Sediment/Water Interactions , 2012, Developments in Hydrobiology.

[13]  L. B. Tebo,et al.  Effects of Siltation, Resulting from Improper Logging, on the Bottom Fauna of a Small Trout Stream in the Southern Appalachians , 1955 .

[14]  D. Hart.  Diversity in stream insects: regulation by rock size and microspatial complexity: With 2 figures and 4 tables in the text , 1978 .

[15]  W. R. Oschwald.  Sediment-Water Interactions 1 , 1972 .

[16]  R. Pennak,et al.  Bottom Fauna Production and Physical Nature of the Substrate in a Northern Colorado Trout Stream , 1947 .

[17]  G. Hornberger,et al.  Relationships among substrate, flow, and benthic microalgal pigment density in the Mechums River, Virginia 1 , 1978 .

[18]  F. M. Chutter,et al.  The effects of silt and sand on the invertebrate fauna of streams and rivers , 1969, Hydrobiologia.

[19]  J. S. Alabaster,et al.  The effect of china-clay wastes on trout streams. , 1961, International journal of air and water pollution.

[20]  D. Etnier.  The Effect of Annual Rechanneling on a Stream Fish Population , 1972 .