Research Article


DOI :10.26650/ASE20231285476   IUP :10.26650/ASE20231285476    Full Text (PDF)

Assessment of Lotic Macroinvertebrate Assemblage in the Oconaluftee River Basin in Cherokee, North Carolina

Sierra B. BenfieldShem D. Unger

Macroinvertebrate assemblage assessments act as useful analysis tools for assessing aquatic ecosystems health. These animals also serve as a base trophic level, acting as a source of food for many other aquatic organisms including fish and salamanders. Obtaining baseline data for monitoring aquatic insects and subsequent river health is vital to understand food chains and river ecological interactions. We sampled macroinvertebrate communities in two streams in the Oconaluftee River basin, in the Cherokee Qualla, North Carolina. Over 600 macroinvertebrates were collected and identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible, providing a macroinvertebrate profile of both riffle and run habitats. We identified over 35 genera and report on functional feeding groups, with biotic indices of water quality. Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera values varied, 21% and 65.43% for Raven’s Fork and 22% and 79.06% for the Oconaluftee rivers. This macroinvertebrate community suggests healthy stream aquatic insects and above average water quality, in spite of the urban land use found in the riparian zones of the sample sites. This research can be used as a baseline for future monitoring of aquatic streams in the area of the Cherokee Qualla.


PDF View

References

  • Armitage, B.J., & Tennessen, K. J. (1984). The Trichoptera of Raven Fork, North Carolina- a stream subject to low pH events. Pp. 21-26, In J.C. Morse (Ed.), 4th International Symposium on Trichoptera. Dr. W. Junk Publishers, The Hague, Netherlands. google scholar
  • Buria, L., Albarino, R., Villanueca, V. D., Modenutti, B., & Balseiro, E. (2007). Impact of exotic rainbow trout on the benthic macroinvertebrate community from Andean-Patagonian headwater streams. Fundamental and Applied Limnology,168,145-154. google scholar
  • Cada, G. F., Loar, J. M., & Cox, D. K. (1987). Food and feeding preferences of Rainbow and Brown trout in southern Appalachian streams. The American Midland Naturalist, 117,374-385. google scholar
  • Flebbe, P. A., & Dolloff, C. A. (1995). Trout use of woody debris and habitat in Appalachian wilderness streams of North Carolina. North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 15,579-590. google scholar
  • Ghani, W. M., Rawi, C. S., Hamid, S. A., & Al-Shami, S. A. (2016). Efficiency of different sampling tools for aquatic macroinvertebrate collections in Malaysian streams. Tropical Life Sciences Research, 27,115-133. google scholar
  • Giroux, F., Ovidio, M., Philippart, J. C., & Baras, E.. (2000). Relationship between the drift of macroinvertebrates and the activity of brown trout in a small stream. Journal of Fish Biology, 56,1248-1257. google scholar
  • Hubert, W. A., & Rhodes, H. A. (1989). Food selection by brook trout in a subalpine stream. Hydrobiologica, 178,225-231. google scholar
  • Lenat, D. R. (1988). Water quality assessment of streams using a qualitative collection method for benthic macroinvertebrates. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 7, 222-233. google scholar
  • Lenat, D. R. & J. K. Crawford. (1994). Effects of land use on water quality and aquatic biota of three North Carolina Piedmont streams. Hydrobiologica, 294,185-199. google scholar
  • Loch, D. D., West, J. L., & Perlmutter, D. G. (1996). The effect of trout farm effluent on the taxa richness of benthic macroinvertebrates. Aquaculture, 147,37-55. google scholar
  • Logan, P. & Brooker, M. P. (1983). The macroinvertebrate faunas of riffles and pools. Water Research, 17,263-270. google scholar
  • Meissner, K., & Muotka, T. (2006). The role of trout in stream food webs: integrating evidence from field surveys and experiments. Journal of Animal Ecology, 75,421-433. google scholar
  • Nickerson, M. A., Krysko, K., & Owen, R. D. (2002). Ecological status of the hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) and the mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) salamanders in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Journal of the North Carolina Academy of Science, 118, 27-34. google scholar
  • Prakash, S., & Verma, A. K. (2022). Anthropogenic activities and biodiversity threats. International Journal of Biological Innovations, 4(1),94-103. google scholar
  • Rhode, F. C., Arndt, R. G., Lindquist, D .G., & Parnell, J. F. (1994). Freshwater fishes of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. University of North Carolina Press, Chappell Hill, 222p. google scholar
  • Tooman, L.A. (1997). Tourism and development. Journal of Travel Research, 35,33-40. google scholar
  • Walsh, C. (2005). Biological indicators of stream health using macroinvertebrate assemblage composition: a comparison of sensitivity to an urban gradient. Marine and Freshwater Research,57,37-47. google scholar

Citations

Copy and paste a formatted citation or use one of the options to export in your chosen format


EXPORT



APA

Benfield, S.B., & Unger, S.D. (2023). Assessment of Lotic Macroinvertebrate Assemblage in the Oconaluftee River Basin in Cherokee, North Carolina. Aquatic Sciences and Engineering, 38(4), 189-193. https://doi.org/10.26650/ASE20231285476


AMA

Benfield S B, Unger S D. Assessment of Lotic Macroinvertebrate Assemblage in the Oconaluftee River Basin in Cherokee, North Carolina. Aquatic Sciences and Engineering. 2023;38(4):189-193. https://doi.org/10.26650/ASE20231285476


ABNT

Benfield, S.B.; Unger, S.D. Assessment of Lotic Macroinvertebrate Assemblage in the Oconaluftee River Basin in Cherokee, North Carolina. Aquatic Sciences and Engineering, [Publisher Location], v. 38, n. 4, p. 189-193, 2023.


Chicago: Author-Date Style

Benfield, Sierra B., and Shem D. Unger. 2023. “Assessment of Lotic Macroinvertebrate Assemblage in the Oconaluftee River Basin in Cherokee, North Carolina.” Aquatic Sciences and Engineering 38, no. 4: 189-193. https://doi.org/10.26650/ASE20231285476


Chicago: Humanities Style

Benfield, Sierra B., and Shem D. Unger. Assessment of Lotic Macroinvertebrate Assemblage in the Oconaluftee River Basin in Cherokee, North Carolina.” Aquatic Sciences and Engineering 38, no. 4 (Dec. 2024): 189-193. https://doi.org/10.26650/ASE20231285476


Harvard: Australian Style

Benfield, SB & Unger, SD 2023, 'Assessment of Lotic Macroinvertebrate Assemblage in the Oconaluftee River Basin in Cherokee, North Carolina', Aquatic Sciences and Engineering, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 189-193, viewed 13 Dec. 2024, https://doi.org/10.26650/ASE20231285476


Harvard: Author-Date Style

Benfield, S.B. and Unger, S.D. (2023) ‘Assessment of Lotic Macroinvertebrate Assemblage in the Oconaluftee River Basin in Cherokee, North Carolina’, Aquatic Sciences and Engineering, 38(4), pp. 189-193. https://doi.org/10.26650/ASE20231285476 (13 Dec. 2024).


MLA

Benfield, Sierra B., and Shem D. Unger. Assessment of Lotic Macroinvertebrate Assemblage in the Oconaluftee River Basin in Cherokee, North Carolina.” Aquatic Sciences and Engineering, vol. 38, no. 4, 2023, pp. 189-193. [Database Container], https://doi.org/10.26650/ASE20231285476


Vancouver

Benfield SB, Unger SD. Assessment of Lotic Macroinvertebrate Assemblage in the Oconaluftee River Basin in Cherokee, North Carolina. Aquatic Sciences and Engineering [Internet]. 13 Dec. 2024 [cited 13 Dec. 2024];38(4):189-193. Available from: https://doi.org/10.26650/ASE20231285476 doi: 10.26650/ASE20231285476


ISNAD

Benfield, SierraB. - Unger, ShemD.. Assessment of Lotic Macroinvertebrate Assemblage in the Oconaluftee River Basin in Cherokee, North Carolina”. Aquatic Sciences and Engineering 38/4 (Dec. 2024): 189-193. https://doi.org/10.26650/ASE20231285476



TIMELINE


Submitted18.04.2023
Accepted10.07.2023
Published Online09.10.2023

LICENCE


Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)

This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.


SHARE




Istanbul University Press aims to contribute to the dissemination of ever growing scientific knowledge through publication of high quality scientific journals and books in accordance with the international publishing standards and ethics. Istanbul University Press follows an open access, non-commercial, scholarly publishing.