Transcript The Nameless Fish Group

The Streamers:
The Effect of Environmental
Stress on Vulnerable
Streams
Elizabeth Nellums, Mark Momper,
Craig Riffle, Jesse Murphy
Introduction
Our group set out to explore the way that
drought affects streams that are damaged
from pollution and compare them to
undamaged streams that have also been
negatively impacted by drought.
Hypothesis
Our hypothesis is that the diversity of both
streams will be statistically lowered due to the
drought, but that Collins Run, a stream that
was affected by human development, will be
statistically more damaged than Harkers Run,
which flows through a preserve.
Purpose
The purpose of our experiment is to measure the
effects the recent drought has had, using diversity
as an indicator of health. We will compare the
data we collect to the research done by the
Fishbusters lab group in 2001, which acts as our
control, since it gives us the streams health when
there was no drought. The Fishbusters lab group
measured the diversity of fish populations in
Collins and Harkers Run and then compared the
data between the two.
Relevance of Research Question
“Once the causes of decline are addressed, the ecological
resiliency . . . takes over, often leading to the dramatic
recovery of the system.”
We are testing whether or not this is true. We are seeing if
damaged ecosystems are able to suffer through
environmental stress.
Specific Predictions
- Rainfall significantly affects the diversity in an ecosystem. Due to
the drought this year, the fish diversity in both Collins and Harkers
Run should be less compared to a non-drought year.
- As found in the Fishbusters study, the diversity in a damaged
ecosystem is considerably less than in a relatively undisturbed
ecosystem (2001). This should still hold true for this year.
- We predict that the diversity in the disturbed stream, Collins Run,
will be more affected by this year’s drought than the undisturbed
stream, Harkers Run, due to human influence.
Methods
Went to both
streams and captured
Fish using an
Electric fish shocker.
Also went to
Streams and sifted
Through dirt to find
Invertebrates.
Collins Run
Harkers Run
Results
Collins Run Fish Sample
Centeral Stoneroller - 50
Emerald Shiner - 1
Bluntnosed Minnow - 39
Orange Throat Darters - 7
Creek Chub - 27
Green Sunfish - 2
Blacknosed Dace - 35
Bluegill Sunfish - 1
Silverjaw Minnow - 5
Striped Shiner - 21
Whitesucker - 7
Golden Redhorse Sucker - 1
Spotfin Shiner - 74
Harkers Run Sample
Northern Hogsucker - 3
Carp Sucker -1
Sliverjaw Minnow - 4
Green Sunfish - 4
Golden Redhorse - 1
Whitesucker - 7
Blacknosed Dace - 38
Chubs - 105
Striped Shiner - 12
Central Stoneroller - 85
Mimic Shiner - 2
Bluntnose - 57
Spotfin Shiner - 4
Orange throat Darters - 7
Charts and Graphs
Harkers Run Present
Harkers run present
black redhorse sucker
blacknosed dace
bluegill sunfish
bluntnosed minnow
carp sucker
centeral stoneroller
creek chub
emerald shiner
Fantail Darter
golden redhorse sucker
Green Side Darter
green sunfish
hog suckers(n)
hybrid sunfish (stress)
Long ears
mimic shiner
Northern Hogsucker
orange throat darter
rainbow darter
red belly dace
silverjaw minnow
small mouth bass
spotfin shiner
striped shiner
whitesucker
Collins Run Present
Collins run present
black redhorse sucker
blacknosed dace
bluegill sunfish
bluntnosed minnow
carp sucker
centeral stoneroller
creek chub
emerald shiner
Fantail Darter
golden redhorse sucker
Green Side Darter
green sunfish
hog suckers(n)
hybrid sunfish (stress)
Long ears
mimic shiner
Northern Hogsucker
orange throat darter
rainbow darter
red belly dace
silverjaw minnow
Index of Similarity = .889
Describes how similar the two measured streams are to each other.
0=Not Similar, 1=Similar
Shannon Index of General Diversity
Harkers = .7901
Collins = .9076
Describes how diverse the stream is. 0=Not Diverse, 1=Very Diverse
Index of Dominance
Harkers = .2135
Collins = .1649
Describes how much the stream is dominated by individual species.
Present & Past Comparison
Total Number of Fish
Number of Specie s
Fishbusters
409
22
Collins’ Run
Fishbusters
310
16
Harkers’ Run
Stre amers
270
13
Collins’ Run
Stre amers
332
15
Harkers’ Run
Shannon Index of General
Diversity
Fishbusters: Harkers = .888
Fishbusters: Collins= .784
“Streamers”: Harkers = .790
“Streamers”: Collins = .908
Fishbu sters, Collins’ run
Total numb er of fish: 409
Number of species: 22
Dominant: central stoneroller
Blacknos ed dace
Creek chub
Least dominant: bluegill, greensun fish, hogsu ckers, hyb rid sun fish, longe ars, redbelly
dace, smallmouth b ass
Spotfi n sh iner number: 11 (low)
day one – Co llins, present
total numb er of fish: 270
number of species:13
dominant: spotfin shiner
stoneroller
blacknosed dace
least dominant: emerald sh/bluegill
Fishbu sters, Harkers run
Total numb er of fish: 310
Number of species: 16
Dominant: r edbelly d ace
Mimic shiner
Blacknos ed dace
Number of chub s: 14 (low)
Least dominant: bluegill, hogsu ckers, striped shiners, white suckers
day two, Harkers, present total: 332
number of species: 15
dominant: chubs
central stoneroller
bluntno sed
least: carpsucker/redhorse
Collins' Run Invertebrate Sampling Results
Type 1 Taxa
Type 2 Taxa
Type 3 Taxa
Invasive Species
Caddis Fly Larvae
Other Snails
Rifle Beetles
Crayfish
Damselfly Nymphs
Aquatic Worms
Slugs
Clams
Harkers' Run Invertebrate Sampling Results
Type 1 Taxa
Type 2 Taxa
Type 3 Taxa
Rifle Beetles
Snails
Damselfly Nymphs Aquatic Worms
Dragonfly Nymphs
Invasive Species
Conclusion
Despite our predictions streams in the year following a
drought are not less diverse than in the past.
This may indicate that disturbance increases diversity.
The unhealthy stream became more diverse, while the
healthy stream became less diverse.