Recovery of Macroinvertebrate Communities after Remediation of Acid Mine Drainage

Bell, Zachary

Recovery of Macroinvertebrate Communities after Remediation of Acid Mine Drainage

Persistent URL

http://hdl.handle.net/10456/33505

Author(s)

Bell, Zachary

Date Issued

April 1, 2011

Abstract

Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is a type of water pollution that affects many mining regions in Pennsylvania. The Slippery Rock Creek W atershed has installed 12 passive wetland treatment systems to treat mine drainage before it enters streams. Treatment wetlands have increased the water quality of the streams, but increase is not always accompanied by recovery of macroinvertebrates. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which macroinvertebrate communities in AMD remediated streams have recovered. I compared macroinvertebrates to pH and yellow boy of untreated, treated, and reference streams in Slippery Rock Creek. I hypothesized that reference streams would be characterized with more diversity of species and the presence of sensitive species. I also hypothesize that streams with high pH and no yellow boy will contain higher diversity and sensitive species than those with yellow boy. By sampling 12 sites in three different branches I found that reference streams were populated with more diversity and sensitive species. Streams with higher pH had more diversity and sensitive species. I also found that yellow boy negatively affected the macroinvertebrate community. Without the removal of yellow boy from the stream, reclamation and restoration may never reach its full potential.

First Reader(s)

Wissinger, Scott