SDMS DOCID 283293 Establishment and Field Testing of a Rapid Bioassessment Screening of Rhode Island Freshwater Benthic Macroinvertebrates. Completion of a Research Project for Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management by Mark Gould College of Arts and Sciences Roger Williams University Bristol, RI 02809 December 1994 INTRODUCTION Previous studies by the author (Gould 1991, 1992, 1993) resulted in the enumeration of the freshwater macroinvertebrates in Rhode Island over a period of three years. These studies, along with the present study, provide a baseline for further studies and the documentation of freshwater macrofauna present within the state. The 1990 to 1991 sampling of the Rhode Island streams yielded significant information concerning the distribution of the macrofauna. The methodology provided a fast collection and data interpretation device once proper identification in the field was obtained. The 1991 to 1992 study confirmed the methodology, and began to develop trends within the macrofauna populations. The 1992 to 1993 study further refined the collection and analytical techniques and reports on longer term population structures within the streams of Rhode Island. In this study, the fourth year of data enumeration has resulted in an analysis of the data over the four year time frame to determine trends within the macroinvertebrate population. Stream invertebrates are well-adapted to their environment. Many species exist in the larval stage for a year or more; the adult often emerges for one or two days, mates, and dies. The survival of the species is dependent upon favorable environmental conditions in the water column. If conditions are not conducive at any time for the survival of a particular species, the stream will not support such a population. Species that occur in the freshwater environment are products of long-term environmental success. The density and species composition of freshwater benthic macroinvertebrates are controlled by many factors. These parameters may include substratum, temperature, oxygen concentration, organic content, and water chemistry. Similar to the summer of 1993 which was the second driest summer on record, the summer of 1994 began with drought conditions. At the collection time, all surface waters were at low levels. Many riffle communities were almost non-riffle environments. This produced a "worst case scenario" for the invertebrates within the streams for the second year. The presence or absence of an organism can measure the effects of all past, short-, and long-term environmental stresses. Therefore, the use of benthic macroinvertebrates as indicator organisms for the evaluation of the quality of a water body is a valuable tool for monitoring aquatic ecosystems. It is relatively difficult to obtain quantitative samples of benthic invertebrates due to: a) the heterogeneity of the habitat type; b) the depth of the organisms in the substrate; c) the stage in the life of the organism (many insects emerge as winged adults); d) variations in discharge, environmental conditions such as ice, etc.; and e) movement and transport of the organisms. In Rhode Island two major human contributed factors that may affect species density and diversity are the amount of organic enrichment from point and non-point sources. In order to determine whether or not these factors affect water quality, this study continued to evaluate the aquatic macro-invertebrates found throughout Rhode Island. The information was analyzed to determine species composition and ecosystem structure, as well as to determine reference baseline data for freshwater habitats in the state. Rhode Island water quality standards classify freshwater into three categories: Class A, Class B, and Class C. These standards are based primarily on point source discharges into the rivers from treatment plants and industry. This survey sampled 24 Class A streams, 14 Class B streams and 2 Class C streams to determine if the macroinvertebrates would confirm these classifications. Further classification of streams according to stream order (first through fifth) was completed in Table 1. Rhode Island is divided into two ecoregions (Griffith et al. 1992). Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. The map of the regions developed by Griffith et al. indicates that there is a Narragansett/Bristol Lowland region (NBLR) and a Southern New England Coastal Plains and Hills region (SNECPHR). The NBLR region encompasses mainly the Narragansett Bay Basin. The SNECPHR region includes the rest of the state. This macrofauna survey sampled within both ecoregions. Within the NBLR there are fourteen stations; within the SNECPHR there are thirty one stations (see Tables 1,2, and 3). Analyses of all information during the past several years focused on the Wood River as the reference station; this is within the SNECPHR region. This year's data analysis continues to use the Wood River, but also utilized Adamsville Brook as the reference station within the NBLR region. Data has been reported for both reference sites. The streams sampled within the state range in stream order from first to fifth. Eight of the streams are considered to be first order, sixteen second order, 12 third order, four fourth order and three of the fifth order. Lower order streams are quite dependent upon the immediate characteristics of the watershed. In other words, runoff is a direct component versus one of many components within a higher order stream. Table 1. Stream Sampling Sites for the 1993 Biological Monitoring Program, indicating stream order and ecoregion: Narragansett/Bristol Lowland region (NBLR) and Southern New England Coastal Plains and Hills region (SNECPHR) Stream Stream Order Ecoregion Abbot Run Brook North 3 NBLR Abbot Run Brook South 3 NBLR Adamsville 3 NBLR Ashaway 2 SNECPHR Bailey's Brook 1 NBLR Beaver River 2 SNECPHR Big River 3 SNECPHR Blackstone River 5 SNECPHR Buckeye Brook 2 NBLR Bucks Horn Brook 3 SNECPHR Canonchet Brook 2 SNECPHR Carr River 2 SNECPHR Chipuxet River 3 SNECPHR Clear River 4 SNECPHR Cold Brook 2 NBLR Congdon Brook 2 SNECPHR Dolly Cole Brook 2 SNECPHR Dundery Brook 1 NBLR Fall River 3 SNECPHR Hardig Brook 2 SNECPHR Hemlock Brook 3 SNECPHR Hunt River 4 NBLR/SNECPHR Jamestown Brook 1 NBLR Keech Brook 2 SNECPHR Kickemuit River 3 NBLR Lawton's Valley 2 NBLR Maidford River 1 NBLR Meadow Brook 2 SNECPHR Moswansicut Brook 1 SNECPHR Nipmuc River 2 SNECPHR Nooseneck River 2 SNECPHR Parris Brook 2 SNECPHR Pascoag River 2 SNECPHR Pawcatuck River 5 SNECPHR Pawtuxet River 5 SNECPHR Queens River 3 SNECPHR Rush Brook 2 SNECPHR Saugatucket River 3 SNECPHR Swamp Brook 1 SNECPHR Silver Creek 1 NBLR Ten Mile River 2 NBLR Tomaquag Brook 2 SNECPHR Wilbur Hollow Brook 3 SNECPHR Wood River 4 SNECPHR Woonasquatucket River 4 SNECPHR Table 1. Stream order and general physical conditions within the Rhode Island sample streams, summer 1994. Stream Stream Ord Summer 04 Physical Abbot Run Brook South 3 Good flow, clear; 12 ft wide; about 0. 5 ft deep Abbot Run Brook- North 3 Good flow. About 15 feet wide, depth 0.5 feet . Adamsville Brook 3 Flow fair to moderate; about 8 feet wide; Depth 6 inches Ashaway River 2 Flow moderate; 20 ft wide; depth 6 inches Bailey's Brook 1 Flow fair; 3 ft wide; 3 inch depth Beaver River 2 Flow fair; about 15 feet wide; depth 4 inches Big River 3 Good flow; about 15 ft wide; 15 inch depth Blackstone River 5 Good flow; width 30 ft; depth 1.0 ft. Buckeye Brook 2 Good flow about 10 feet wide; about 3 inches deep. Bucks Horn Brook 3 Moderate to fair flow; about 15 feet wide; 1.5 feet depth Canonchet Brook 2 Flow fair; about 15 feet wide near pool; Depth 4 inches Carr River 2 Flow fair; about 10 feet wide; depth 2-6 in Chipuxet River 3 Flow moderate; about 10 feet wide, 11 inch depth. Clear River 4 Flow moderate; depth 9 inches; width 15 feet. Cold Brook 2 Fair flow. About 5 feet wide; 3 inch depth. Congdon Brook 2 Fair flow; about 5 ft wide; 6 inch depth. Dolly Cole Brook 2 Fair flow; 12 feet wide, 4 inch depth. Dundery Brook 1 Flow fair; 5 feet wide; about 4 inches deep. Fall River 3 Moderate flow; 20 ft wide; about 4 inch depth Hardig Brook 2 Moderate flow; 12 feet wide; depth 4 inches Hemlock Brook 3 Fair flow; 15 feet wide; 4 inches deep Hunt River 4 Fair flow; about 15 ft wide; 3-4 inch depth. Jamestown Brook 1 Little to no flow; 3-4 ft width; 4-5 inch deep pool Keech Brook 2 Fair flow; 5 to 7 feet wide; 4 inches deep. Kickemuit River 3 Fair to low flow. 3 ft wide, 3 inch deep Lawton's Valley 2 Flow fair. 5 ft wide. Depth 4 inches Maidford River 1 Fair flow; 7 feet wide; 4 inches deep Meadow Brook 2 Fair flow; 5 feet wide; depth about 4 inches Moswansicut Brook 1 Flow fair; width 5 ft; depth 3 inches. ­ Nipmuc River- Top Brook. 2 Moderate to fair flow; 20 feet wide, about 3 inch depth Nooseneck River 2 Moderate flow; about 15 ft wide; depth about 4 inches. Parris Brook 2 Good flow; 4 feet wide; about 3 inch depth. Pascoag River 2 Moderate to fair flow; width 10-15 ft; Depth 1.0 ft Pawcatuck River 5 Flow good. Depth 8 inches. Width 30 feet Pawtuxet River 5 Flow good. Depth 10 inches. Width 50 ft. Stream Stream Ord Summer 94 Physical Queens River 3 Fair flow; about 10 feet wide; 6 inch depth Rush Brook 2 Fair flow; about 15 feet wide; 6 inch depth Saugatucket River 3 Fair flow; about 20 feet wide and depth 8 inches. Silver Creek 1 Flow low.