Download Macroinvertebrate Protocol
(in development)

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Report Type Resource Brief Year 2009

Vital signs:

Aquatic macroinvertebrates

Justification:

Aquatic macroinvertebrates are a vital component of all healthy stream ecosystems. They are instrumental in nutrient and carbon dynamics and are themselves an important link in stream food webs (Webster 1983). Moreover, unlike fish and periphyton (i.e., benthic algae), aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages are both productive and diverse in virtually all undisturbed streams with permanent flow (Lenat, Smock and Penrose 1980). This is an important consideration in MIDN because many of the smaller tributary streams of component parks have gradients and natural barriers that impede the movement of fish, as well as canopies that restrict light and consequently limit algal productivity. As a result, fish and periphyton assemblages are often represented by very few species even in undisturbed streams.

Other advantages of using benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages to monitor streams include: 1) they are good indicators of local conditions because most benthic species are either sessile or have limited migration patterns through their aquatic phases; 2) they exhibit wide variation in tolerance among species and life stages to environmental stresses; 3) many species have long life cycles relative to other groups which allows inference regarding temporal trends; and 4) sampling aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages is relatively easy and inexpensive, and has minimal effects on resident biota (Barbour et al. 1999; Rosenberg and Resh 1992). In addition, because aquatic macroinvertebrates have been by far the most commonly used group for biological monitoring of aquatic habitats in North America, a large suite of aquatic macroinvertebrate summary metrics have been evaluated with respect to natural variation and responses to numerous sources of degradation (Rosenberg and Resh 1992).

Parks: Appomattox Court House National Historical Park (APCO), Booker T. Washington National Monument (BOWA), Eisenhower National Historic Site (EISE), Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park (FRSP), Gettysburg National Military Park (GETT), Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site (HOFU), Petersburg National Battlefield (PETE), Richmond National Battlefield Park (RICH), Valley Forge National Historical Park (VAFO)

Protocol status:In development

Contacts: Reese Voshell, Aquatic Ecologist, Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech

Download Macroinvertebrate Protocol
(Draft — NPS only)

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Report Type Protocol Resource Brief Year 1990 2008 2011

Vital signs:

Aquatic macroinvertebrates

Justification:

Aquatic macroinvertebrates are a vital component of all healthy stream ecosystems and advantages of using benthic macroinvertebrates assemblages to monitor streams include: 1) they are good indicators of local conditions because most benthic species are either sessile or have limited migration patterns through their aquatic phases; 2) they exhibit wide variation in tolerance among species and life stages to environmental stresses; 3) many species have long life cycles relative to other groups which allows inference regarding temporal trends; and 4) sampling aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages is relatively easy and inexpensive, and has minimal effects on resident biota (Barbour et al. 1999 and Selected References therein; Rosenberg and Resh 1992). In addition, because aquatic macroinvertebrates have been by far the most commonly used group for biological monitoring of aquatic habitats in North America, a large suite of aquatic macroinvertebrate summary metrics have been evaluated with respect to natural variation and responses to numerous sources of degradation (Rosenberg and Resh 1992).

An independent review by scientists as well as a review by park managers indicated that, out of 43 potential vital signs that were assessed during vital sign development for Shenandoah, macroinvertebrate communities ranked as the number one most significant based on combined ecological, management, and policy interests (Comiskey and Callahan, 2008). Staff at this park have sampled aquatic macroinvertebrates for 25 years, initially in response to gypsy moth defoliation. However, this data is also being used to monitor other impacts such as trail and road erosion, road salt contamination, wastewater treatment plant effluent, and acidification due to acid rain. This long term data set has proven to be highly beneficial for establishing and assessing environmental monitoring thresholds (and baselines) and for characterizing the influence of sampling protocols on monitoring results. In the Blue Ridge section of the Mid-Atlantic Network, approximately 240 known taxa of aquatic macroinvertebrates have been documented.

Parks: Shenandoah National Park (SHEN)

Protocol status: Shenandoah National Park has been monitoring aquatic macroinvertebrates since 1986. To meet current I&M standards, a revised protocol is under development.

Contacts:
Reese Voshell, Aquatic Ecologist, Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech
Jeb Wofford, Fish and Wildlife Biologist, Shenandoah National Park